Since Professor Ramzi Al-Moucharafieh took office as Social Affairs Minister on January 21 2020, he has been working on achieving the following objectives:
1- The Return of Displaced Syrians Plan: For the first time since the onset of the Syrian crisis in 2011, a public policy on the Read more..
return of the Displaced Syrians was developed in an attempt to tackle this delicate file away from populism and political polarizations, taking into consideration the national interests of the Lebanese state, the common good of the Lebanese people and the dignity of the displaced Syrians. This public policy was approved by the Council of Ministers on July 14, 2020, and it was supposed to be launched in a national conference at Baabda Palace in August 2020 and to be discussed with the relevant ministries, international organizations and donors. Due to Beirut blast and the resignation of Prime Minister Dr. Hassan Diab cabinet, this conference was suspended.
2- Extension of Lebanon Crisis Response Plan LCRP: 2017-2020 LCRP was extended until 2021 in partnership with UN agencies, donors and line ministries, in a way that ensures a balanced approach in providing support to the Lebanese host communities and the displaced Syrians, and complies with the principle of conflict sensitivity.
3- Strengthening the social safety net for the Lebanese by scaling up the number of Lebanese households beneficiaries of “The National Poverty Targeting Program (NPTP) from 15,000 to more than 50,000 families. Furthermore, the share of each individual has been increased from 43,000 to 70,000 Lebanese pounds.
4- Launched the National Social Solidarity Program (NSSP) in April 2020 as a part of the social emergency plan which aims to alleviate the economic impact of the Covid-19 among the most vulnerable communities in Lebanon. Cash assistance of 400,000 Lebanese pounds was provided to about 200.000 families. Thus, a data base on social segments was created as a result to the automation of data exchange mechanism between municipalities, state administrations and ministries.
5- Launched the Inter-municipality Platform for Assessment, Coordination, and Tracking (IMPACT) in partnership with Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM), The Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM) and Central Inspection a platform to target vulnerable Lebanese. This platform provided MoSA with updated data of about 467,000 Lebanese Households (HH). This data will be utilized in targeting poor families after conducting a Proxy Mean Test (PMT) by MoSA’s social workers who will be visiting those households in their houses to verify this data.
6- Kicked off workshops to discuss and develop the National Social Protection Strategy in cooperation with line ministries, civil society organizations, and UN agencies on June 9 2020. It was scheduled to be discussed at the Council of Ministries in late August 2020.
7- Launched in collaboration with UNICEF and partners the National Strategy on the Protection of Women and Children on June 25 2020. The work plan for 2020-2021 includes all scheduled activities. The objective of this strategy is to provide credible data and services and advocate for positive alternatives within a supportive environment that enables to remove obstacles and overcome challenges, and prepare the local communities to achieve behavioral change and translate this knowledge into good practices and attitudes, to ensure a safe environment for women and children.
8- Emergency Social Safety Net Program (ESSNP) is under- negotiation with the World Bank
9- Merging Emerging (Monbathika) projects at MoSA with a cost reduction of 4billion Lebanese pounds to the state’s budget.
10- Using ISO 26000 to assess the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs): MoSA is engaged in preparing a study that aims to improve the kind of services provided by NGOs in compliance with ISO 26000 standards, in a way which guarantees that social responsibility transcends volunteering and Charity into a developmental economic approach, in pursuit of achieving sustainable development to the Lebanese population.
11- Seeking to approve the Housing policy number 2242 Prepared by the Public Corporation for Housing (PCH) and approved by the Minister at the Council of Ministries, which responds to the difficult economic situation amid the devaluation of the Lebanese currency and the banks decision to stop providing loans. Once approved, this policy would guarantee for Lebanese living with dignity under the roof of a decent house, and mobilizing 60 sectors related to housing. The main objectives of this policy are:
● Reducing the burden of housing for the Lebanese citizen
● Encouraging savings, facilities and housing facilities, especially for young people
● Addressing the problem of unemployment and moving the economic cycle
12- Reducing interest rates on housing loans at the Public Corporation for Housing (PCH) to 3% in February 2020.
13- Following up on pending financial issues at the Ministry of Social Affairs, related to the salaries and the allowances for its staff.
14- Assessing the impact of the existing Social Development Centers (SDCs) and whether they fulfill their role in achieving development taking into account the provided services and the geographical and demographic aspects. This study is done in collaboration with the Italian embassy in Beirut and the objective is to have exemplary and modernized centers that ensure sustainable development.