Economic crisis, severe shortages make Lebanon 'unlivable'

Lebanon is struggling amid a 20-month-old economic and financial crisis that has led to shortages of fuel and basic goods like baby formula, medicine and spare parts

BEIRUT -- Ibrahim Arab waits in line several hours a day in the hot summer sun to buy gas for his taxi. When he's not working, the 37-year-old father of two drives from one Beirut pharmacy to another, looking for baby formula for his 7-month-old son — any he can find — even though the infant got severe diarrhea and vomiting from an unfamiliar brand. He worries what would happen if his children got really sick. Once among the best in the region, Lebanon's hospitals are struggling amid the country's economic and financial crisis that has led to daily power outages that last for hours, shortages of diesel fuel for backup generators, and a lack of medical equipment and drugs. After 20 months of suffering with no end in sight, a new reality is setting in for most of Lebanon's 5 million people: Days filled with severe shortages — from spare parts for cars to medicine, fuel and other basic goods in the import-dependent country.