The cumulative outcome of the price index in Lebanon has risen by 3,000 percent, confirming a grim reality regarding food security risks.
These new data will intensify the risks that severely hit the food security system, as surveys show food insecurity among 37 percent of the country's residents after food prices increased by 2,000 percent during the period extending from the fall of 2019 until the end of last year.
This article was originally published in, translated from Lebanese newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.
Also included within the expected repercussions is the large gap between low incomes and the high cost of most necessities.
Coinciding with the month of Ramadan, deteriorating living results appeared after the value of Iftar per person exceeded LBP 1.2 million, calculated on the rate of one US dollar amounting to about 108,000 Lebanese lira on the black market, due to the continued rise in the prices of commodities.
After recording an increase in the price index by 8.5 percent during the first month of this year, the updated statistics issued by the Central Administration of Statistics show a monthly increase of 25.52 percent in the consumer price index during February, based on an average rate of LBP 85,000 per US dollar.
By annual digital measurement, the price inflation index approached the 200 percent threshold after it recorded 190 percent at the end of last month.
This is in parallel with the inclusion of sharply increasing costs of public services such as communications, electricity, water, fees, and others started the pricing based on the US dollar on the Sayrafa platform. Likewise, the price of the customs dollar increased from LBP 15,000 to LBP 45,000.
Further, the health sector has been dramatically affected by the crisis, as it suffers from a shortage of medicines, power outages, and a mass exodus of medical personnel, which has created additional pressure on workers in the sector.
The same applies to the educational sector, which suffers from the emigration of teachers and the interruption of electricity and internet service, noting that public schools have been closed for long periods.