The new funding comes two years after the World Bank approved a $246 million loan to provide emergency financial assistance to hundreds of thousands of people in the country of 6 million people.
Lebanon is going through the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history. The collapse, rooted in decades of corruption and mismanagement in Lebanon, began in October 2019 and left more than three quarters of the Lebanese population in poverty.
“The additional financing will allow the Lebanese government to continue to meet the growing needs of poor and vulnerable families suffering from the severe economic and financial crisis,” said Jean-Christophe Carret, World Bank Regional Director for the Middle East.
The World Bank said the additional funding will provide cash transfers to 160,000 families for 24 months, including existing beneficiaries. The bank said eligible families would receive up to $145 per family. The project is jointly managed by the Lebanese Ministry of Social Affairs and the World Food Programme.
The Lebanese pound lost more than 95% of its value at the onset of the economic crisis, leaving many in the country, including a million Syrian refugees, in need of assistance.
The World Bank’s announcement came after a separate announcement issued on Wednesday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Program about the start of cash assistance to refugees in Lebanon in dollars instead of Lebanese pounds, with a maximum of 125 dollars per family. per month.
Since the collapse of the Lebanese currency, UN agencies have been disbursing aid to refugees in Lebanese pounds. Before the change announced this week, each refugee family received a maximum of 8 million lira per month, worth $80 at the current exchange rate.
But “the rapid depreciation of the pound, increased exchange rate volatility and pressure on the financial services provider to provide large amounts of liquidity in Lebanese pounds” led to the change, according to the UNHCR and WFP officials.
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