Lebanon's parliament backs $556M cash subsidy

As Lebanon grapples with an economic crisis, qualifying families would receive up to $137 per month to help cover basic goods.
A volunteer gives out food handouts to people in need at the Lebanese grassroots organization in Beirut's Mar Mikhael district, which was hard hit by last year's port explosion, on March 24, 2021.
A volunteer gives out food handouts to people in need in Beirut's Mar Mikhael district, which was hard hit by last year's port explosion, on March 24, 2021. Lebanon is in the grips of its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war, with more than half of its population living in poverty. - ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Getty Images
Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Al-Monitor Staff

Lebanon’s parliament on Wednesday approved the distribution of $556 million on prepaid cash cards to half a million struggling families in the cash-strapped country.

Under the new law, households that qualify will receive up to $137 a month to help purchase necessities over the next year. A government official told Agence France-Presse that Beirut hopes to use World Bank loans to cover $300 million of the $556 million program.

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