Executive Summary

This policy paper assesses Lebanon’s social protection response to the ongoing war and provides recommendations for policymakers to further develop this response and later improve the shock-responsiveness and -resilience of the country’s social protection system.

The war in Lebanon has exacerbated the existing economic crisis, leading to mass displacement and increased poverty. The social protection system, already fragmented and underfunded, is struggling to meet the humanitarian needs of the affected population. The emergency response has been inadequate and limited to cash transfers and in-kind donations reaching only a small portion of those in need.

Lebanon’s social protection system primarily relies on poverty-targeted social safety nets, which offer limited coverage and are heavily dependent on international funding. These safety nets have been expanded in response to the war but their reach remains relatively narrow. This implies an urgent need for a more comprehensive and coordinated approach to address the crisis – an approach that involves immediate humanitarian assistance as well as longer-term social protection measures that strengthen the system’s shock-responsiveness and -resilience. Linkages between the humanitarian and social assistance systems are also crucial for an integrated and sustainable approach.

The paper concludes that for Lebanon’s social protection system to become more fit for purpose, universal social security schemes should be prioritized, followed by a plan that tackles the issue of being composed of a complex web of different programs and registries. The government must therefore take decisive action to secure additional funding through domestic resources, improve coordination among stakeholders, and expand the reach of social assistance programs so that vulnerable populations receive the support they need to cope with the current crisis, and have their wellbeing and livelihood constantly protected.

The following policy recommendations provide a roadmap for policymakers to take immediate action to address the present crisis and build a more inclusive and effective social protection system for the future, both considering the key gaps and challenges in this system, and capitalizing on key opportunities and leverage points:

• Immediate Action:
  
  
  
  • The government should open credit lines and allocate funds through the budget reserves to provide additional support to those affected by the war.
  
  
  • The government should develop financial mechanisms to facilitate the transfer of funds to social safety nets and the National Disability Allowance (NDA).
  
  
  • The government should vertically expand the reach of the social safety nets to include all those displaced and registered in the affected areas.
  
  
  • The government should horizontally expand the reach of the social safety nets by opening a dedicated online registration platform for the newly displaced.
  
  
  • The government should pass emergency decrees to allow for the channeling of internal budget allocations to the unified social safety net.
  
  
  • The Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) should establish a two-way data-sharing protocol with humanitarian organizations to facilitate the expansion of social assistance.
  
  
  • Humanitarian organizations should align their response with existing social protection mechanisms and avoid creating parallel systems.
  
  
  • MoSA should establish a coordination body to ensure an integrated response between humanitarian assistance and social protection systems.
  
  
  • Donors should channel resources through existing systems and refrain from funding the creation of parallel humanitarian responses to avoid inefficiencies.
  
  
  
  

• Mid-Long Term Solutions:
  
  
  
  • The government should implement the National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS) and the pension law to establish a universal social security system.
  
  
  • The government should invest in improving its social safety nets to ensure they can effectively complement the universal social security system in times of crises and shocks.