The World Bank has granted additional funding of $300 million to the Emergency Crisis and COVID Response Social Safety Net Project (ESNN) to aid impoverished Lebanese families.
This funding will extend and expand the provision of cash transfers to vulnerable households and support the development of a comprehensive social safety net delivery system in Lebanon.
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The project, also known as AMAN, was originally approved in January 2021 to address the economic crisis and COVID-19’s impact on the poor and vulnerable population.
This new package represents the second additional financing, following the first of $4 million in May 2022.
The ESSN project and the additional funding will provide cash transfers to 160,000 households for 24 months, with eligible households receiving a flat amount of $25 per month in addition to $20 per household member (up to six members), with a maximum monthly amount of $145.
The largest share of beneficiary household spending was on food, followed by healthcare. The Ministry of Social Affairs and the Central Management Unit at the Premiership jointly implement the project.
The Bank stated that this second additional financing will help Lebanon continue to protect its population from the impact of various crises while developing a targeted and digitized social safety net system.
Going forward, Lebanon would need to secure the fiscal space needed to finance social protection needs, including social safety nets, over the long term.
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