Lebanon Emergency Crisis and COVID-19 Response Social Safety Net Project (ESSN)
1. What is the ESSN Project?
The ESSN is a US$246 million 3-year project that will provide cash transfers and access to social services to extreme poor and vulnerable Lebanese populations affected by the economic and COVID-19 crises. The objective of the ESSN is to arrest the increase in extreme poverty and to preserve the human capital of 13 - 18 years old children enrolled in public schools, through the provision of cash transfers and access to social services. The ESSN also aims to build a sustainable national social safety net (SSN) system in Lebanon. The ESSN will scale-up and enhance the Government of Lebanon s (GOL) National Poverty Targeting Program (NPTP). The NPTP is Lebanon s main poverty-targeting social assistance program launched in 2011 with financial and technical assistance from the World Bank. The ESSN project is financed through a US$246 million World Bank low-interest long-term matur