Minister of Social Affairs: 82% of the Lebanese are Poor

Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Hector Hajjar (NNA)
Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Hector Hajjar (NNA)
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Minister of Social Affairs: 82% of the Lebanese are Poor

Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Hector Hajjar (NNA)
Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Hector Hajjar (NNA)

Lebanon’s Minister of Social Affairs Hector Hajjar highlighted “the increase in the proportion of poor people in Lebanon since 2019.”
In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said that the “rate of multidimensional poverty among the Lebanese has reached 82 percent,” while 32 percent of the population was suffering from extreme poverty.
According to Hajjar, “the war in the South negatively affected many families who were unable to collect their agricultural crops,” revealing that the ministerial committee supposed to be monitoring the situation in the South has not met even once since its formation.
The National Strategy for Social Protection, which was approved by the government in February, constitutes a major shift in the social policies. The strategy presents a comprehensive vision based on five pillars: social assistance, social security, social care, job opportunities for the most vulnerable, and financial support to access educational and health services.
Hajjar explained that his ministry began implementing this strategy, even before its approval, but pointed to the need to secure the necessary budgets, warning of “dangerous indicators in terms of reducing external funding, whether for the Lebanese or the Syrians.”
75,000 Lebanese families benefit from the national program to support the poorest families, but after the significant reduction in funding (from $147 million to $33.9 million), the Ministry was forced to reduce the amount being transferred.
Sobhia Najjar, a specialist in public policy and coordinator of the Social Protection for All campaign at the Center for Social Sciences for Applied Research (CESSRA), told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Today, we are not talking about one type of poor, but rather about multidimensional poverty, in light of the complete absence of the middle class that includes public sector employees, professors, judges, members of the army and security forces.”
Najjar pointed to several factors that contribute to the exacerbation of poverty.
Those include the economic crisis that led to high unemployment rates and a deterioration in the purchasing power of citizens, corruption, which affects the equitable distribution of resources and increases social and economic disparities, internal tensions and political instability.

 

 



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.