The end year dashboard summarizes the progress made by partners involved in the Lebanon Crisis Response and highlights trends affecting people in need. The Basic Assistance Sector in Lebanon is working to: OUTCOME 1) Strengthen the ability of vulnerable households, including female-headed, to meet their basic survival needs; OUTCOME 2) Ensure that In-kind assistance in support of populations affected by seasonal hazards and emergencies is provided; OUTCOME 3) Develop National Social Safety Net Strategy.
KEY CONTRIBUTIONS TOWARDS LCRP IMPACT(S)
Severely vulnerable people with limited economic means had improved access to basic goods and services essential to their survival.
238,500 households (Syrian, Palestine refugee, and Lebanese) living below extreme and survival monthly expenditure1 were prioritized in 2018 for targeted assistance, of which, 193,000 are Syrians, mainly concentrated in the northern and eastern governorates of the country; 35,500 Lebanese families identied by the national targeting poverty programme ( from a total of 105,000 families - pre-recertication); and 10,200 Palestine refugees from Syria.
Households were supported with immediate humanitarian assistance through regular and unrestricted cash transfers. These helped to boost their purchasing power and prioritize their spending. Overall, 93,613 (39%) economically vulnerable households have been reached through regular cash transfers.
Some of these households were targeted by multiple interventions given their specific vulnerabilities; 62,6272 (32%) severely vulnerable Syrian and 912 (2%) vulnerable Lebanese households were targeted with $175 monthly multi-purpose cash assistance packages, in addition to 9,674 (94%) poor Palestinian refugees from Syria who received $100 packages. In addition, 20,399 (76%) vulnerable Syrian households with school aged children received additional child focused cash transfers3 .
The total value of the regular assistance provided and injected in the local economy in forms of direct transfers reached $141.3 million by the end of the year.
During winter months, Basic Assistance sector partners design specic interventions that aim at increasing the preparedness levels of the most economically vulnerable households to face cold temperatures and properly insulate and warm their shelters. Overall, 181,758 (76%) economically vulnerable households were reached with winter assistance during January, February, October, November, and December 2018, of which 171,193 (88%) are vulnerable Syrian targeted and 1,207 (3%) vulnerable Lebanese households targeted with $100 - 147 monthly packages, as well as 9,358 (91%) poor Palestinian refugees from Syria targeted with $75 monthly packages, and.
Winter cash transfers value reached $69.1 million, representing additional support to families, and spent in local markets mainly on fuel, insulation and weatherproong, additional food, and winter clothing for children.
With the value of regular assistance added, the Basic Assistance sector partners have transferred $210.4 million in direct cash assistance to the most vulnerable households across the country.
Regular and seasonal cash assistance provided under the Basic Assistance sector are meant to complement existing direct assistance and specialized services targeting most vulnerable receive under diferent sectors.
For instance, the multi-purpose cash assistance programme, which is meant to provide $175 monthly regular support to identied households should top-up what these households receive in terms of food assistance. Together, these assistance packages represent a bit more than 70 percent of the survival basket.
Moreover, winter assistance represent additional seasonal monthly support during winter months to mitigate additional winter related needs and their associated expenditures; in case gaps in the regular programme exist, targeted households who do not receive food assistance and / or multi-purpose cash will use these packages for basic needs and therefore fail to meet the arising seasonal need.
Additional tiers of support in forms of monetized assistance do also complement these interventions, such as protection cash assistance provided under the protection sector and linked with case management to address specic needs, and transportation support provided for children to reach schools and therefore compensate for any additional expenses that might limit families from enrolling children in education.
Beyond cash, specialized services under health, protection, shelter & wash are critical to the optimization of the impact of any cash intervention provided under the basic assistance sector.