ST.PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd September, 2020) The World Food Programme (WFP) on Tuesday announced expanding its support to a key Lebanese social assistance program, with the goal of helping 270,000 people to go through a combination of economic crisis, the COVID-19 lockdown, and the blast in the Beirut port.
According to the humanitarian organization, it currently supports 15,000 families through the Ministry of Social Affair's National Poverty Targeting Programme but is ready to increase its scope to reach additional 35,000 families by the end of 2020.
"Now more than ever, impoverished families in Lebanon need a safety net to get through the month. The devastating blast that ripped through Beirut added to the woes of thousands of families already struggling to stay afloat," Abdallah Alwardat, the country director and representative of WFP in Lebanon, said in a statement, specifying that the organization's goal is to help 270,000 people.
In cooperation with the Lebanese ministry, WFP provides monthly assistance of 70,000 Lebanese Pounds ($46) per person in a family of six people. This money is transferred to an e-card that families can use to pay for their food when they are at one of the WFP-contracted shops across the country, according to the statement.
The statement attributes the expansion of this program to the contributions of donors like the European Union, France, Germany, Italy and Norway.
The WFP has been operating in the country since 2012 and has become increasingly more important amid the country's plunge into an economic and social crisis, exacerbated by the devastation wrought by the August explosion in Beirut, believed to have been caused by the improper storage of ammonium nitrate.
The explosions shattered the port and the city, killing 190 people, injuring many others, knocking down or damaging houses and vehicles. In the wake of the accident, many countries and international organizations offered their assistance in dealing with the aftermath of the tragedy.
