Lebanon gets $ 246b loan to combat crisis

NEARLY 800,000 LEBANESE NEED EMERGENCY CASH ASSISTANCE

The World Bank has approved a $ 246 million loan to Lebanon to provide emergency cash assistance to nearly 800,000 Lebanese reeling under the country’s compounded economic and health crises.

The significant portion of the loan — nearly $ 200 million — will go toward providing cash assistance to around 786,000 individuals through a pre- paid electronic card.

The World Bank said in a statement late on Tuesday the loan would also support the development of a national social safety net in Lebanon, which was struggling with a financial crisis before the pandemic struck, driving nearly half the population of the small country of six million into poverty. Over a million refugees from Syria live in Lebanon.

4,000 Covid cases a day

Meanwhile, a surge in coronavirus infections— rates have been hovering at around 4,000 new cases a day in recent days — and a strained health care system have added to the concerns. “The consequences of these repeated shocks on the economic well- being of households is far- reaching and potentially disastrous,” said World Bank Regional Director Saroj Kumar Jha.

The economic crisis has led to a projected 19.2 per cent decline in gross domestic product, triple- digit inflation and is pushing 1.7 million people belowthe poverty line. Some 22 per cent of the population is expected to fall into extreme poverty.

The loan also includes school fees for some 87,000 children. Itwill also help Lebanon develop a social registry.