G.O.B. Launches Belize COVID-19 Cash Transfer Program

The government today announced the launch of the Belize COVID-19 Cash Transfer Program. The program aims to provide support to vulnerable households affected by COVID-19.  G.O.B. says that the program will provide supplementary short-term emergency cash to households that have not qualified for other social assistance schemes. A list of beneficiaries is being compiled using the Food Assistance Program for the cash-transfer with priority being placed on poor families with pregnant women, children, the elderly, and persons living with a physical disability. So far, thirty-six thousand beneficiaries have been assessed and those who are approved will receive approximately one hundred and fifty to six hundred dollars per month depending on the household composition. But only eighteen thousand households will receive assistance for a six months period and that’s because the government is funding the program with nineteen million dollars from the World Bank. For those persons who were not approved by the previous government, the application to receive assistance under this cash transfer program is now open and will remain open up to December twenty-third. Countrywide screening and enrolment into BCCAT are being conducted in eight phases.  Beneficiaries will be notified of their successful application and payment dates using MobilePayz, a new mobile payment solution developed by Digi. The application will allow beneficiaries to cash out their funds using their mobile phones. Beneficiaries will be notified of their payment amount, when and where to collect via bi-monthly text messages.