Central

 
Central government is responsible for:

• The welfare and social assistance policy;
• Examining and planning social policies;
• Providing social assistance to certain disadvantaged social groups, either directly or through contracts with civil society and non-governmental organisations;
• Promoting local development through a network of social development centres and joint projects with civil society and local authorities;
• National strategies for social development[1];
• The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) manages key elements of the social insurance system, providing insurance, and family allowances.
  
  
  
  [1] United Nations Development Program, Enhancing Capacity for Social Development, available at the following address: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/documents/projects/LBN/PD.pdf (EN).

Regional

Governorates and districts implement national policies and enforce the law in areas of responsibility but have no exclusive competencies of their own.

Local ​

 
Social assistance at local level is often provided by the local confessional party, which has its own social centres and social welfare bodies.
In addition to dispensing services directly in their affiliated establishments, the local confessional parties provide help with health, education and food and financial assistance[1].
The municipalities themselves do not have direct authority to provide services to their citizens. The services are organised primarily by the ministries, mainly the Ministry of Social Affairs[2]

 
[1] M. C. Cammett, ‘Partisan Activism and Access to Welfare in Lebanon’, Department of Political Science, Brown University (2011), pp. 74-75, available at the following address: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2309683 (EN).

[2] Ministry of Social Affairs, The National Development Strategy of Lebanon (2011), available at the following address: http://www.socialaffairs.gov.lb/docs/NationalSocialDevelopmentStrategy.pdf (EN).

Responsible ministries/bodies

Ministry of Social Affairs

Sources

Law No 212/93

ETF, Labour Market and Employment Policy in Lebanon, 2015