The $556 million ration card program was officially launched today by the Lebanese government and a website [DAEM] was put in place to allow people to register. However and unsurprisingly, the website has crashed and is not accessible for few hours now.

The program is set to provide some 500,000 vulnerable families with cash payments of an average of $93 per family over a year period. Eligible households will receive $25 per person per month, with an additional $15 for those over the age of 64, up to a total of $126. The payouts will be made in US dollars or in lira at the market rate.

It is worth noting that the government launched the program even though they’re still looking for ways to fund it.

You can read all about it [here].