Beirut, May 26, (dpa/GNA) – The World bank said on Friday it had approved $300 million in funding to help support poor and vulnerable households in crisis-hit Lebanon.
“The additional financing will expand and extend the provision of cash transfers to poor and vulnerable Lebanese households and further support the development of a unified social safety net delivery system in Lebanon to allow a better response to ongoing and future shocks,” the institution said.
It added in a statement that the new funding package represents the second additional financing to the $246 million originally approved in January 2021 to help Lebanon address the impact of the economic crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic on the poor and vulnerable population.
The World Bank has described Lebanon’s economic crisis, which started in 2019, as among the most severe in the world since the mid-1800s.
Since 2019, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 95% of its value. During the economic crisis, poverty in Lebanon has drastically increased and now affects more than 74% of the population, according to a UN report.
“This second additional financing will continue to help Lebanon protect its population from the impact of various crises, as well as help the country develop a targeted and digital social safety net system.”
The World Bank added that Lebanon would need to secure the fiscal space needed “to finance social protection needs, including social safety nets, over the long term.”
GNA