Phnom Penh (FN), Dec. 5 – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet stated that the new National Social Assistance Program Guidelines will be implemented as part of the existing family package program, with a focus on four target families.

The premier spoke on Tuesday morning (Dec. 5) at the official launching of the new guidelines at Sokha Phnom Penh Hotel.

The program will provide monthly cash payments to vulnerable families in several categories, including pregnant women and children under two years old, people with disabilities, people aged 60 and older and people living with HIV. It will also provide scholarships to underprivileged students from grades 1 to 12.

Samdech Thipadei Hun Manet underlined that distributing the new guidelines also extends basic support to all families with ID Poor cards, taking into consideration family members living with HIV/AIDS. The Government has allocated USD 1,355 million to assist individuals affected by COVID19 and inflation in 2021, with an additional allocation of about USD 600 million in 2022.

The National Social Assistance Fund will play a role in implementing the family package framework which is similar to the cash transfer assistance program for poor and vulnerable families we rolled out during COVID19.

This new family package assistance program is set to commence in April 2024. It is expected to benefit about 700,000 families with ID Poor cards, equivalent to 2.8 million people, with a plan to spend about 674.5 billion Riels (USD 165 million) in 2024.
=FRESH NEWS