Inflation, FX rates
undermine aid value

Devex

International donors are pouring millions of U.S. dollars into cash-strapped Lebanon, where an economic crisis has plunged over half the population into poverty and the local currency — the Lebanese pound — has lost over 85% of its value to inflation since 2019.

Humanitarian aid groups and their clients are facing a currency crisis exacerbated by the use of multiple exchange rates in the country. Lebanon’s central bank requires aid groups to use exchange rates far below what is common in the market — while the country’s financial sector pockets the difference. Complicating matters further, different exchange rates apply to different organizations.
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