SITUATION ANALYSIS
The sector provided food assistance to over 920,000 individuals using various transfer modalities such as in-kind parcels, vouchers, bank cards and e-cards. In addition 27,209 vulnerable Lebanese individuals received food assistance through e-cards uploaded with USD30 under the government of Lebanon's emergency National Poverty Targeting Programme (NPTP). This programme is a stabilization initiative managed by the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) and the Presidency of Council of Ministers. The food security sector is providing technical support to the NPTP. In January a total of 10 female social workers from MoSA were trained on post assistance baseline and post distribution monitoring tools and data entry. Significant funding shortfalls for the humanitarian component of the Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP) resulted in a reduced food e-card value to 70% of the entitled ration for targeted Displaced Syrians individuals and Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS). This meant reduced food intake among these two population groups. Although the sector expects increased incidences of various forms of consumption-based negative coping mechanisms, food security sector members were still collecting information through immediate ad hoc beneficiary feedback and the more systematic regular post distribution monitoring and evaluation activities. These activities will assess and quantify the extent of the actual impact of the reduction in rations in January. A contingency plan activated to try and minimize the impacts of the food assistance funding shortfalls did not yield any significant contributions since most humanitarian actors lacked the financial resources to step in.
Preparations for agriculture interventions also began in January. Sector members planning to carry out agriculture and livestock activities started preparatory work that included procurement of materials, mobilization of beneficiaries for training and meetings and consultations within the sector for technical support and overall coordination. The actual implementation of the LCRP’s agriculture-based activities in the field is expected to gather momentum in the coming months.