Lifeline for vulnerable Cambodians as poverty rises during COVID-19 pandemic

The UN family supported the Government in rolling out its first social assistance cash transfer programme to all Cambodians living below the national poverty line, as identified by the ID Poor program. This build on GIZ’s long term support that had helped the RGC to establish a fully digital ID Poor platform. The UN’s role, led by UNICEF and UNDP, was to provide the support to help Government rapidly upscale from a series of small pilot programs to one that covered all people below the poverty line. The UN support included providing tablet computers for all Government staff working on ID Poor registration, down to community level, and the necessary training and support. Under the programme, each eligible and registered household receives either $20 or $30 a month depending on poverty status (i.e., Poor 1 or Poor 2), as a basic benefit. In addition, the household receives top-up amounts for members of vulnerable groups including pregnant women, children under 2, the elderly, people with disabilities and people living with HIV. The UN took the opportunity for medium and longer term building of social protection and insurance in Cambodia. With the World Bank, UNDP is working on improving the poor identification process and at the same time helping the Royal Government of Cambodia to move to a more universal and rights-based system, starting with pensions for the aged. The UN is also working closely with the Government to measure the social and economic impact of the cash transfers so far, to help build a solid business case for further social protection investments. Resources: The Government spent about US$200 million for the cash transfer program running from late June to Dec 2020. The Government also allocates a budget of US$200 million for 2021.