Project profile — Expanding the Social Safety Net

The project aims to enhance food security and the social safety net for the most vulnerable Lebanese families impacted by the explosions in Beirut. It will also help address the economic crisis for those who can no longer meet their daily food needs. Project activities include: (1) providing monthly food assistance to families via a food e-card; and (2) providing technical assistance to enhance governance and gender-sensitivity of Lebanon’s national social assistance program.

The expected outcomes for this project include: 1) Maintained or improved consumption of sufficient, nutritious foods by vulnerable Lebanese households, including female headed households; 2) Enhanced responsiveness of the national social assistance program to the needs of vulnerable Lebanese households, including female headed households.

Results achieved as of March 2025 include: (1) provided bi-monthly cash assistance to 75,000 vulnerable Lebanese households (52% women), supporting improved food access and facilitating their transition to the Emergency Social Safety Net. A government-led recertification process enabled the onboarding of approximately 73,000 eligible households into AMAN, Lebanon’s consolidated national platform for social safety nets. This ensures continued support to the most vulnerable; (2) deployed Lebanon’s shock-responsive social protection mechanism to assist 65,000 conflict-affected households with emergency cash support, highlighting the growing adaptability and resilience of national delivery systems; (3) operationalized a centralized Grievance Redress Mechanism, which since its launch in August 2024 has handled over 150,000 calls and resolved over 125,000 complaints, significantly enhancing transparency and responsiveness across the programme; (4) trained 518 Ministry of Social Affairs staff on gender-based violence, protection from sexual exploitation and abuse, and inclusive service delivery. A complementary gender and disability assessment finalized in 2024 provided targeted recommendations to strengthen the inclusiveness of AMAN, particularly for women-headed households and persons with disabilities.