Our centre hosted the online roundtable “Intersectional Perspectives on Social Protection in Lebanon. Current Inequalities and Ways Forward To Reform” on Monday 6 December 2021. During the roundtable Dr. Michele Scala (CeSSRA) presented our centre’s ongoing work on social protection in Lebanon 

“The social protection system in Lebanon is currently based on a scattered contributory system and palliative ad hoc service provisions for eligible vulnerable populations”, Dr. Scala Stated. He considered that “formal social security schemes constitute the main pillar of the Lebanese social protection system”, however “they are tied to access to formal employment in a labor market where informality is largely dominant and constitute the norm rather than the exception”. Dr. Scala commented on the “ad hoc provisions for vulnerable populations” as they “have a negligible impact on income of targeted populations and present high error rates pertaining to eligibility criteria, which hinders their effectiveness”, linking these patterns of exclusion to work status, class, gender, citizenship, resident status, ethnicity, and other social characteristics such as disability or age of individuals. He mentioned that “the existing system largely fails in ensuring protection leaving behind most of the populations residing in Lebanon, thus contributing to widespread social insecurity”.

Watch the roundtable here: <a watch?v="LH34aPZ0UFM&t=295s''">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH34aPZ0UFM&t=295s