Cash Assistance for COVID-19 Hard-Hit People to Begin Next Month

Cash Assistance for COVID-19 Hard-Hit People to Begin Next Month

People who have been seriously affected by COVID-19 stricken lockdown period will receive cash relief as social assistance to cope with their basic survival in the post-lockdown period.

Those with family members deceased or infected by COVID-19 from the Feb. 20 incident will also benefit from the cash assistance.

The cash relief scheme will start in June, according to an inter-ministerial meeting on guidelines on the procedures and mechanisms to provide cash assistance for COVID-19 hard-hit people, held on Tuesday under the presidency of Mr. Vong Sauth, Minister of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth Rehabilitation.

Currently, the government is working to collect the specific number of poor people affected in the lockdown and people who have family members contracted or died from COVID-19.

This is a one-off post-lockdown support provided to people through Wing electronic payment service provider.

Households eligible for the assistance are those headed by drivers, construction workers, street vendors, waste collectors and the like, and they are entitled to between 156,000 Riel (about US$39) and 311,000 Riel (nearly US$78)– depending on the size of their family.

Lockdown affected factory workers will receive an amount of 160,000 Riel (US$40) each as a one-off subsidy through an existing mechanism supervised by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training.

Families with members deceased to COVID-19 will receive 300,000 Riel (US$75) in addition to the five-month cash support to settle utility fees.

Those with infected family members in both within and outside of the broad locked-down areas will receive similar amounts entitled by the marginalised households mentioned above.

Mr. Vong Sauth encouraged the officials of all provincial and municipal departments to collect comprehensive and clear data by monitoring and evaluating the mechanism for implementing the social assistance policy measures to address the challenges of poor families living in the lockdown areas in Phnom Penh capital, Takhmao city of Kandal province and Sihanoukville of Preah Sihanouk province and families with members contracted or died from the deadly COVID-19.

This is another procedure of the government to help reduce the burden of people who have been adversely affected by the pandemic.

Since July last year, the government spent US$291 million for the emergency cash transfer programme for COVID-19 hit-hard people.

Under the programme, each ID-poor family is given US$30 per month including an additional US$10 per family member and another US$10 for any children under the age of five, people with disabilities, senior citizens, or those who are HIV/AIDS positive.