The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Lebanon not spared global food and fuel crisis made worse by Ukraine war: UN senior aid official
Veteran UN aid coordinator Najat Rochdi on Friday signalled grave concerns about rising humanitarian needs across Lebanon linked to the global food insecurity crisis, which is affecting “everyone, everywhere”.
Since last year, the number of people in urgent need of support has risen by 46 per cent, said the UN Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon and UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon, speaking in Geneva.
“Lebanon’s crisis is affecting everyone, everywhere across the country, with women bearing the brunt of the profound impact of this multi-layered crisis…2.2 million vulnerable Lebanese, 86,000 migrants and 200,000 Palestine refugees in Lebanon currently require emergency aid; in addition to 1.5 million Syrian refugees that are unable to afford or even access health, food, electricity, water, education and waste-water management, not to mention lifesaving protection services.”
Asked specifically about the fallout on global food and fuel insecurity in already struggling Lebanon from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, Ms. Rochdi told journalists that the country was “no exception”, after suffering a spike in fuel prices, greater food insecurity and difficulties importing food.
Even hospitals had been affected, faced with an “acute shortage in medical supplies and power shortages, at a time when over 40 per cent of Lebanon’s doctors and 30 per cent of nurses have left country, since the beginning of the economic meltdown”, she added.
Unemployment – and in particular growing youth unemployment – has forced many of the country’s youngest and brightest jobseekers to leave Lebanon, she noted, with almost one-third of the population out of work now, compared with 11.4 per cent before COVID-19.
Women are also facing an alarming rise in sexual exploitation, in inverse proportion to the country’s “economic meltdown”, the UN official said, pointing to widespread reports of women and children “feeling unsafe in public spaces, such as streets, markets or when using public transport”.
To help meet these and many other challenges, Ms. Rochdi issued a revised humanitarian appeal for $546 million for more than one million Lebanese, refugees and migrants.
Highlighting how the UN and its partners have taken action to help, she noted that emergency fuel supplies had been distributed to more than 600 health facilities and water pumping stations “to ensure the provision of lifesaving services to the most vulnerable populations affected by this ongoing energy crisis and maintain the provision of basic services across Lebanon”.
ends
STORY: Lebanon Humanitarian Update – OCHA
TRT: 2 mins 52s
SOURCE: UNTV CH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH/ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 1 July 2022, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Wide shot, UN Geneva flag alley.
- Wide shot, Press room, UN Geneva.
- SOUNDBITE (FRENCH): Najat Rochdi, Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon: “L’impact de la guerre en Ukraine sur le Liban est le même qu’ailleurs, il faut le dire, l’impact de la guerre en Ukraine sur les pays, c’est bien évidemment les prix, comme vous l’avez si bien dit, du fioul, etcetera, c’est aussi un impact par rapport à la sécurité alimentaire, c’est aussi un impact par rapport à l’approvisionnement; donc le Liban n’est pas une exception.”
- Mid shot, TV camera operators.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Najat Rochdi, Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon: “Lebanon’s crisis is affecting everyone, everywhere across the country, with women bearing the brunt of the profound impact of this multi-layered crisis.”
- Mid shot, journalists, participants typing on laptops.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Najat Rochdi, Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon: “2.2 million vulnerable Lebanese, 86,000 migrants and 200,000 Palestine refugees in Lebanon currently require emergency aid; in addition to 1.5 million Syrian refugees that are unable to afford or even access health, food, electricity, water, education and waste water management, not to mention lifesaving protection services.”
- Close-up, pen in hand, notes being written on notepad.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Najat Rochdi, Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon: “Hospitals suffer from an acute shortage in medical supplies and power shortages, at a time when over 40 per cent of Lebanon’s doctors and 30 per cent of nurses have left country, since the beginning of the economic meltdown”
- Close-up, microphones in foreground, blurred, Najat Rochdi in focus, side shot.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Najat Rochdi, Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon: “Alarmingly, gender exploitation and sexual exploitation and abuse are on the rise. We have received widespread reports of women and children feeling unsafe in public spaces, such as streets, markets or when using public transport.”
- Close-up, hands typing on laptop keyboards.
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Najat Rochdi, Deputy Special Coordinator for Lebanon, UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon: “Through the emergency fuel provision, we have been able to support over 600 health facilities and water pumping stations to ensure the provision of lifesaving services to the most vulnerable populations affected by this ongoing energy crisis and maintain the provision of basic services across Lebanon.”
- Medium shot, participants typing on laptops, podium speakers to rear.
- Close-up, TV viewfinder showing Ms. Rochdi in frame and to rear.
- Medium shot, participant writing on notepad, microphone on desk, TV camera and tripod to rear.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Press Conferences | BRS
Outcomes of the 2025 BRS Conventions Conference of the Parties (COPs)
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNRWA , UNICEF , OCHA , WHO , ITU , WFP , UNHCR
Rolando Gómez of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, attended by spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Telecommunications Union.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF , UNRWA
Israel’s aid plan will force Gaza families to choose ‘between displacement and death’ – UN humanitarians
Israel’s plan to take control of relief assistance in Gaza risks increasing the suffering of families already exhausted by 18 months of war by putting their lives in danger and inciting more displacement, using aid as “bait”, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNDP , UNHCR , WHO , UNECE , OCHA , WMO
Rolando Gómez, for the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
UN Humanitarians reject Israeli plan to take over aid delivery
The reported Israeli proposal to deliver humanitarian supplies through hubs controlled by the military would be a breach of the core principles of neutral, impartial and independent aid delivery, the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News , B-roll | OCHA
Gaza: ‘Worst-case scenario’ unfolds as two-month aid blockade deepens suffering - OCHA
Two months into a devastating aid blockade of Gaza food has run out and people are fighting over water amid relentless bombing, the UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on Friday.
/Includes OCHA footage from Gaza City/
1
1
1
Press Conferences | UNDP , OCHA , UNHCR
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the United Nations Refugee Agency.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Children in Gaza are going to bed starving, says aid agency
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade on Gaza that has left families sharing a single tin of food at mealtime and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help, amid daily bombardment.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | IFRC , UNHCR , UNRWA
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the representatives and spokespersons of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the United Nations Refugee Agency, the World Health Organization and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR
With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Press Conferences | BRS
2025 BRS Conventions Conference of the Parties (COPs)
1
1
2
Press Conferences | WFP , UNHCR , WHO
Rolando Gómez, Chief of the Press and External Relations Section at the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the World Food Programme, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Health Organization.