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Episode details

World Service,15 Dec 2022,23 mins

Why is Lebanon falling apart?

The Inquiry

Available for over a year

Lebanon is experiencing of one of the world’s worst-ever economic disasters. Its currency has lost 90 per cent of its value. 80 per cent of the population is now in poverty, and inflation is in triple figures. Some people are resorting to armed robbery of the banks who are denying them full access to their own savings. The political system is deadlocked too - with no President and only a caretaker government to try to pull the country back from the brink. And cholera – an entirely preventable disease - has returned for the first time in 30 years. So how did Lebanon fall so far, so fast? This week on The Inquiry we’re asking: Why is Lebanon falling apart? Presented by Anna Foster Produced by Ravi Naik Researcher Christopher Blake Editor Tara McDermott Technical producer Craig Boardman Broadcast Coordinator Brenda Brown (a demonstrator waves the Lebanese flag in front of riot police during a protest in Beirut, Lebanon 2020. Credit: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

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