ILO and the UK join forces to strengthen the national social protection system in Lebanon

BEIRUT (ILO News) - The UK government is providing GBP 500,000 pounds sterling to support ILO’s technical assistance to the Government of Lebanon and social partners to implement the recently approved National Social Protection Strategy. The partnership will focus on supporting Lebanon in key strategic reforms areas such as pension systems for private and public sector workers, sustainable health financing and universal health coverage, and improving underlying national systems for implementing social grants. 

“The ILO is very pleased with this new partnership, with the United Kingdom joining other donors to support the government of Lebanon in driving forward the implementation of the National Social Protection Strategy,” said ILO Deputy Regional Director for Arab States Peter Rademaker. “The UK funding will allow the ILO to both support the consolidation of short-term practical benefits such as the National Disability Allowance as well as ensuring that longer-term reforms of private and public sector pension systems take root,” Rademaker said.

“The UK remains committed to supporting the most vulnerable and policy reform in Lebanon. That’s why I’m delighted to announce our £500K partnership with the ILO in support of the Government of Lebanon’s first National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS),” said UK Ambassador to Lebanon Hamish Cowell. “Our contribution will focus on providing technical assistance to private and public pensions, the national disability allowance and health insurance. Implemented in full, the NSPS has the potential to make socio-economic recovery in Lebanon fair and inclusive,” Cowell said.

A comprehensive reform of the pension system in Lebanon is a key element of the national social protection strategy and is essential to preventing poverty and ensuring income security in old age. A new law passed by the Lebanese Parliament in December 2023 – supported through ILO technical assistance – envisions the reform of the current failing end-of-service indemnity scheme provided to private sector workers into regular pension payments indexed to inflation. The partnership will provide further support that is needed to ensure the implementation of the law through additional policy, institutional and system adjustments. Reforms are also urgently required for public sector schemes, and the ILO will provide technical assistance, in collaboration with the World Bank, following a request by the Lebanese government. 

Another key pillar of Lebanon’s Social Protection Strategy is social health protection. The Strategy outlines crucial reform objectives and initiatives aimed at mitigating the effects of the country’s multiple socio-economic crises on the sector, while also establishing a sustainable health financing framework to achieve universal health coverage. While there have been different attempts at recovery and reform by various actors within their respective mandates, such reforms have been insufficient to compensate for the disastrous impact of the crises on the social health protection system. Comprehensive systemic reforms are needed to restore adequate health coverage and prevent further negative impact on the population. Through this partnership with the UK, the ILO will support sector-wide dialogue among technical stakeholders and policy recommendations guided by the Health Strategy and the National Social Protection Strategy. 

Finally, as the National Disability Allowance (NDA) enters its second year of implementation, benefiting over 27,000 individuals with disabilities in Lebanon, it is imperative to strengthen national institutions and establish sustainable systems to operate both the NDA and forthcoming social grants. This strategic approach is crucial for the long-term viability of these programmes, ultimately paving the way for the full transition of operations to the government. This endeavour gains further significance and momentum with the government's allocation of approximately $4.5 million to social grants in the 2024 budget, underscoring the need to support the execution of such allocations through established governmental mechanisms.