Promised thing, due thing, 70 tons of food aid arrived by plane from Qatar and that for the benefit of the Lebanese Army.
As a reminder, moving to Lebanon, Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani pledged to provide 70 tonnes of food aid monthly to the Lebanese armed forces via Beirut international airport for 1 year.
Qatar is reportedly taking part in the aid conference for Lebanon which took place in France last month. As a reminder, the salary of a soldier, which was 1.3 million pounds per month, or the equivalent of 894 USD 2 years ago, now only represents 80 USD, a sum largely insufficient to cover basic needs. This deterioration was mainly induced by the deterioration in the value of the local currency, which would have lost 90% of its value against the greenback. The situation is further aggravated by the shortages – in particular of essential products such as fuel, medicines and food products – which now affect the Lebanese population.
Thus, nearly 77% of the population would no longer have enough to eat and 33% of children would sleep hungry, said the authors of a UNICEF report. 43% of the active population is unemployed
For the time being, the international community is reluctant to grant any economic aid as long as the Lebanese authorities do not carry out the reforms deemed essential to put an end to the widespread corruption of institutions and would require an audit of the accounts of the Bank of Lebanon. However, a new government is a prerequisite, with the outgoing government having resigned since August 10, 2020.
