In Numbers
US$21.4 m cash-based transfers made
US$82.0 m six months (November 2018 –April 2019) net funding requirements
691,180 people assisted in October 2018
Operational Context
Lebanon is classified as an upper middle-income country. The current Human Development Index (HDI) value is 0.763 – in the high human development category – positioning the country at 80 out of 188 countries and territories.
With six million people living in a land area of just 10,000 square kilometres on the eastern Mediterranean coast, Lebanon is small and densely populated.
As of September 2018, 952,562 Syrian refugees have been registered in Lebanon by UNHCR. The massive influx of refugees has placed a significant strain on existing resources and host communities.
WFP has been present in Lebanon since 2012.
Operational Updates
• Throughout October 2018, WFP conducted a joint ecard validation exercise with UNHCR, targeting Syrian refugee families receiving cash assistance to ensure that the correct beneficiaries are still in possession of the right e-cards. The exercise was carried out across the country and utilised biometric technology (both facial recognition and iris scanning) to validate beneficiary identity. In 2019, WFP will be moving towards conducting even more regular e-card validation exercises to ensure beneficiaries are still in possession of their e-cards and are in-country.
• WFP, in partnership with the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA), continued operationalizing the results of the 2018 recertification exercise for the National Poverty Targeting Programme (NPTP). Vulnerable Lebanese households eligible to receive food assistance from NPTP were requested by MoSA Social Development Centers (SDC) to collect their new NPTP food e-cards to begin receiving their entitlements.
• Throughout October, WFP resumed the school snack programme with the commencement of the 2018/2019 academic year. With the new school year, the programme has scaled up from 17,000 children to targeting 24,000 Syrian refugee and vulnerable Lebanese children in 40 public primary schools implementing the double-shift system across Lebanon, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE). During each school day, participating students receive a nutritious snack of locally grown fruits, UHT milk and nuts.
• October marked the one-year anniversary of WFP Lebanon implementing the multi-purpose cash for essential needs e-cards modality of cash assistance for Syrian refugees. Beneficiaries receive USD 27/person as well as USD 175/household each month to contribute towards their food and other essential needs. This assistance is redeemable at an ATM throughout Lebanon. Currently, WFP is reaching 135,000 Syrian refugees with this modality, with the goal of scaling up to 180,000 in 2019.
Learn more about this modality and its outcomes throughout the last year here.
