Lebanon scales up domestic financing for the National Disability Allowance

Beirut, Lebanon (ILO News)-Lebanon has taken a landmark step in further strengthening its social protection system by making direct payments to National Disability Allowance (NDA) recipients from the national budget, using a customized UNICEF payment module, and increasing domestic resource allocations. With US$ 10 million allocated in 2025 and technical support from the ILO and UNICEF, the programme now provides monthly income support to around 30,000 Lebanese persons with disabilities.

The move signals a steady shift from dependence on development partners to national ownership, signalling the Lebanese state's progressive realization of the right to social security for persons with disabilities and highlighting a growing fiscal commitment to social justice. It also follows the first national budget allocation to the NDA in 2024 of USD 5 million, as well as Lebanon’s ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in June 2025, reaffirming the country’s obligations to promote inclusion, equality, and dignity.

Launched in 2023 through a partnership with the European Union, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, UNICEF and the ILO, the NDA is Lebanon’s first-ever social allowance providing direct income support to persons with disabilities. Since its inception, the ILO and UNICEF have supported the Lebanese government in designing, operationalizing and mobilizing resources for the programme. They have also worked to strengthen the institutional frameworks essential for its long-term sustainability, reinforcing government capacity to progressively expand lifecycle social grants under Lebanon’s first National Social Protection Strategy.

Initially targeting youth aged 18–28, the programme was expanded to cover ages 15–31 in 2023, and provided emergency transfers to all Lebanese persons with a disability during the 2024 conflict. Today, the NDA covers Lebanese children and young adults aged 0–31, older persons aged 65 and above. Importantly, UNICEF and the ILO also manage the NDA for the forcibly displaced non-Lebanese population, applying the same design parameters and delivery mechanisms to ensure equality of treatment across target groups. 

The allowance currently provides USD 40 per month per recipient, delivered through more than 1,300 payment agents nationwide. UNICEF and the ILO continue to offer technical assistance as the Ministry of Social Affairs develops its own delivery systems, ensuring continuity and reinforcing state-led ownership of the programme. As implementation progresses, the NDA remains a cornerstone of Lebanon’s social protection vision, as outlined in the National Social Protection Strategy. It shines as a key example of how joint efforts by government, Organisations of Persons with Disabilities, and development partners can drive lasting impact.