Attachments
Highlights
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WFP supported 629,500 Syrian refugees and 16,340 Palestinian refugees from Syria with food assistance. Additionally, 52,403 vulnerable Lebanese were reached under the National Poverty Targeting Programme.
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Approximately 90,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees continued receiving USD 27/person for food as well as a monthly household top-up of USD 175 to contribute towards additional food expenses and other non-food essentials, redeemable at an ATM throughout Lebanon With additional funding in December, approximately 115,000 vulnerable Syrian refugees will be targeted with this assistance.
WFP Assistance
In Lebanon, WFP is implementing its programmes under the regional Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) 200987, which provides lifesaving food assistance to the most vulnerable individuals while also building the self-reliance of Syrians refugees and host communities.
WFP’s primary form of assistance to Syrian refugees is provided through an electronic food voucher (e-card) system. E-cards can be used to purchase food from over 450 WFP-contracted shops. Starting from late 2016, WFP together with UNICEF, UNHCR and the Lebanon Cash Consortium introduced a common card, allowing a unified system for cash transfers.
Based on a WFP-commissioned cash pilot study, which was conducted by the Boston Consulting Group in 2016, WFP began implementing unrestricted cash transfers in September for 170,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The refugees have the choice to redeem their basic food assistance either at any WFP-contracted shop or withraw cash from any ATM throughout the country. Additionally, in October approximately 90,000 of the most vulnerable Syrian refugees began receiving monthly unrestricted cash. This assistance is redeemable at any ATM throughout the country.
Moreover, WFP provides electronic food vouchers to more than 52,000 vulnerable Lebanese and 16,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria. This is done in partnership with the Ministry of Social Affairs and UNRWA.
As a means of transforming the refugee crisis into a development opportunity, WFP works with partners to provide income and skills-building opportunities for vulnerable Lebanese and Syrian refugees by building productive community assets. WFP currently implements over 111 livelihoods activities in 80 municipalities throughout the country with the support of cooperating partners, reaching 40,500 people in 2017.
To ensure there is no lost generation of Syrian refugee children, WFP, alongside UNICEF, runs a cash for education programme. WFP offers a monthly cash grant to 48,500 Syrian refugee children aged 5 to 14+ enrolled in second shift public schools within select governorates. The support aims to cover the monthly costs associated with purchasing food for school meals. UNICEF covers other indirect costs associated with refugee families sending their children to school.
To address short-term hunger and to improve childhood nutrition, WFP also runs a small-scale public primary school snack programme for 14,500 vulnerable children, both Lebanese and displaced Syrians.