Poverty and Covid needs
earmarked for $246 million

World Bank loan to benefit 150,000 families

The Ministry of Finance signed a $246 million loan agreement with the World Bank for the Lebanon Emergency Crisis and COVID-19 Response Social Net project (ESSN).

The project will be implemented in coordination with the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA), and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education.

To go into effect, the agreement still needs the approvals of Parliament and of the board of directors of the World Bank.

The ESSN aims to provide cash transfers and access to social services to extremely poor and vulnerable segments of the Lebanese population who have been affected by the economic crisis and the COVID-19 shock. The project will provide monthly cash transfers in lira to around 150,000 households under extreme poverty. It will also provide social services to vulnerable households, enhance the delivery of social safety nets in the country, and introduce a contingent emergency response.

MOSA’s National Poverty Targeting Program (NPTP), provides healthcare and education benefits to 43,000 households. The ESSN will build on the achievements of the NPTP.