The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Saturday of the danger of a severe shortage of potable water supplies in Lebanon.

This came in a statement by UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, reported by the official Lebanese News Agency.

“4 million people in Lebanon, most of them children, are likely to face severe shortages in the supply of safe drinking water in the coming days, unless urgent action is taken,” Fore said.

She recalled that “UNICEF warned last July that more than 71 percent of the population of Lebanon may not have access to water during the summer.”

She added: “Water, sanitation, energy and health care networks in Lebanon have been subjected to enormous pressures (..), which puts lives at risk.”

And she continued, “Lebanon may witness an increase in water-borne diseases,” calling for the urgent restoration of energy supplies, for the continued operation of water services in the country.

She stressed that “the urgent formation of a new government with clear commitments to reform is critical to addressing the current crisis,” according to the same statement.

Since August 10, 2020, the new Lebanese government has been unable to form, due to political disputes over ministerial portfolios, to replace the current caretaker government, which resigned 6 days after the explosion of the port of Beirut.

For more than two months, Lebanon has been suffering from a severe shortage of fuel designated for power generation, due to the lack of foreign exchange to import from abroad, which has caused an increase in the hours of power cuts to more than 22 hours a day, and has affected all its course of daily life.