The Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) in Lebanon, with the support of the World Food Programme (WFP), launched a first call center to assist people who rely on social assistance. The news release stated that the call center would act as a source of information for circa 169,000 Lebanese families benefiting from social assistance programmes. In addition, the press release mentioned that the call center would be able to manage 20 calls simultaneously, respond to families’ inquiries, and receive their complaints. The WFP news release noted in this regard that the call center is a key milestone to boost government accountability by strengthening feedback channels for families applying and/or obtaining social assistance. The call center will be devoted to people benefiting from the National Poverty Targeting Programme and the Emergency Social Safety Net Programme. In this vein, the MoSA is planning to expand its call center’s reach to assist people benefiting from other social safety programmes that the Ministry implements. According to the WFP Country Director in Lebanon Mr. Matthew Hollingworth, the call center is considered a vital step towards strengthening Lebanon’s social safety nets and will allow the WFP to reach families in a more efficient manner during the current challenging situation. The press release revealed that at present, almost half of the Lebanese population live in poverty and food insecurity is still on the rise. Furthermore, food insecurity is estimated to have affected approximately one-quarter of the Lebanese population (i.e. 1.26 million inhabitants) between April and September 2024.