Lebanese President Michel Aoun (l) talking with Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Hector Hajjar at Baabda Palace on Jan. 28, 2022. (Photo taken from the Presidency's Twitter account @LBpresidency)
BEIRUT — Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar said Friday that “around 500,000" households are now registered on Daem, the registration platform for the Emergency Social Safety Net and ration card cash assistance programs meant to help the poorest families in Lebanon.
Here’s what we know:
• After a meeting with President Michel Aoun, Hajjar said that the deadline for registration on the platform is Jan. 31. He added that “150,000 families among the poorest will be paid in dollars,” starting March 1.
• The registration platform for the World Bank-funded Emergency Social Safety Net and the separate government ration card program was launched in early December, about two and a half months later than originally planned.
• The two programs aim to help the most vulnerable families in a country in the midst of an economic crisis, as more than three quarters of the population now live below the poverty line.