BEIRUT: The United Nations Childrens Fund Tuesday launched an emergency cash assistance program for vulnerable families affected by the devastating Beirut Port explosion.

The Emergency Cash Grant Program aims to reach around 80,000 children and vulnerable individuals, UNICEF said in a statement.

Eligible individuals to receive the financial assistance are children, people with disabilities, elderly people over the age of 70 and females who are heads of households, as identified by UNICEF.

The cash grant is a one-off transfer of LL840,000 for eligible household members living in priority areas starting from Burj Hammoud and Karantina where poverty levels are high.

Up to three members in each household can receive the cash grant, UNICEF said.

The UN agency categorizes priority areas in accordance with the level of the explosions impact and the inherent vulnerabilities of each neighborhood.

The Beirut Port blast rocked the Lebanese capital on Aug. 4, claiming more than 190 lives, injuring 6,500 people and leaving 300,000 homeless.

In addition to Karantina and Burj Hammoud, areas such as Mar Mikhael, Gemmayzeh and Ashrafieh were also heavily impacted.

Poverty levels increased dramatically in Lebanon in 2020, after an unprecedented economic and financial crisis characterized by high inflation rates and the steep devaluation of the local currency, decreased the purchasing power of many people in the country.

According to figures presented by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, extreme poverty in Lebanon increased from 8 percent in 2019, to 23 percent in 2020.

Rapidly implementing a large-scale emergency grant can enable families to prioritize exactly what they need right now to tackle the vulnerabilities of children and other at-risk groups, Yukie Mokuo, the UNICEF representative said.

Eligible households can directly apply to the emergency grant themselves starting Tuesday, through an online application.

UNICEF registration sites will also be set up between Sept. 28 until Oct. 16 for those unable to apply online.

Link: http://bit.ly/unicef-ect

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