SITUATION ANALYSIS
The sector provided food assistance to over 960,000 individuals, including displaced Syrians and Palestine Refugees from Syria (PRS) using various assistance modalities such as in-kind parcels, paper vouchers, ATM cards and electronic vouchers (e-cards). E-cards account for approximately 95 percent of the total caseload, whereas only 1 percent of the caseload was reached by in-kind parcels and 4 percent by ATM cards. In addition, 27,209 vulnerable Lebanese individuals received food assistance under the government's emergency National Poverty Targeting Programme (NPTP) through the e-cards. The NPTP is a social safety net programme to assist vulnerable Lebanese affected by the Syria crisis and managed by the Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) and the Presidency of Council of Ministers. The food security sector provides technical supports to the NPTP.
Continued funding shortfalls in February resulted in a reduced food voucher value for the second month in a row to 70% of the entitled ration for targeted Syrian refugees. The sector members conducted focus group discussions with beneficiaries to collect feedback on the impact that the reduction in assistance is having on the households. The findings of the focus group discussions will be shared in March.
WFP, in collaboration with cooperating partners, conducted an e-card validation exercise to validate e-cards distributed to targeted Syrian refugees. The exercise ensured that all active e-cards were valid and provided refresher training on the programme policy and the rights as e-card beneficiaries. The results of the validation exercise will be shared in March.
Preparations for agricultural interventions continued during the month of February. Trainings of facilitators were conducted across Lebanon, who in-turn have started supporting 500 (male and female) small-scale farmers with technical trainings and handling of materials and equipment to carry out poultry activities to enhance family farming production.