Coronavirus Deals Potential Death-Blow to Lebanon’s Economy
By: Nathan Matsko
The Lebanese army has been deployed to maintain a lockdown, dampening the already limping economy. Source
Bellefonte — Lebanon’s new government has stated that it will have a plan to address the country’s economic woes within the year, as it scrambles to put the shattered economy back together.
The declaration comes a few weeks after Lebanon chose to default on several billion dollars of foreign loan payments. Prime Minister Hassan Diab stressed that the government must address many of the issues plaguing the country, such as medicine shortages and economic struggle affecting the majority of Lebanon’s citizens.
These economic woes months led to nationwide protests that ultimately resulted in the resignation of Prime Minister Saad Hariri and his government late last year. Many of the demonstrators cited corruption and general incompetence amongst the political elite as factors in the country’s economic decline.
The situation in Lebanon grows incredibly dire, even after the new Prime Minister, appointed by President Michel Aoun, established a new government and vowed to address the concerns of the nation. The value of the Lebanese Pound continues to fall as unemployment and inflation are on the rise.
Businesses across the country are shutting their doors, and those that are able to stay open are struggling to make ends meet as the debt-stricken populace hold on to whatever money they have. A monetary shortage has even led to banks restricting the amount of money a person may withdraw from their account per week.
The untimely arrival of the Covid-19 Pandemic has set the stage for a potential collapse. Hospitals have an increasingly limited number of the supplies and equipment needed to treat those with the virus. Currently, they are unable to pay debts or hire new medical staff due to the state of the economy as well.
A report from Human Rights Watch states that the government has only paid about 40% of dues owed to hospitals around the country. Attempts to import the much-needed equipment have been hampered by the current economic status of the country, with only 10% of equipment needed able to be acquired.
The government is failing to address the many struggles that the Lebanese people are facing. With few jobs, overwhelming debt and a rapidly diminishing currency, basic needs are left unmet.
With the continued pandemic keeping the country in a state of lockdown, the prospects of the average person to improve their condition are disappearing and getting worse by the day.
Though Hassan Diab’s government has plans in motion to begin to fix a broken economy and restructure a system that bears a large amount of responsibility for the economic downfall, it first must weather the storm arriving on Lebanon’s shores. It very well may be the case that the situation will get much worse before it can get any better.