The fund to support poor families during Covid-19 increased to $28 million in July and 50,000 more poor people were added to the list, Prime Minister Hun Sen said while visiting farmers in Takeo province on Tuesday.

“The Ministry of Social Affairs reported the number of registered families had increased from 560,000 to 610,000 and the budget grew from $24 million to $28 million in July.

“We found 50,000 more poor families and we will continue to find them. If the Covid-19 situation does not get better, we will continue the social assistance programme, although the State cannot help forever,” said Hun Sen.

He said some families received $100 per month, depending on the number of family members.

“Cambodia will not allow anyone to die. All provincial governors must check carefully in case these funds are not reaching those who are truly poor,” Hun Sen said.

The Ministry of Planning on Monday announced the procedures for identifying those eligible for the government funding programme. The process is conducted once every three years through interviews and family evaluations.

To ensure transparency, the ministry is also creating representative teams in each village consisting of five to seven members elected by the citizens. These representatives conduct interviews with villagers and check data with commune and district councils, according to the ministry.

The ministry said three years is a long period, and family living conditions can change. Some people migrate or raise their living standards.

Some families add more members, while some people get married. The ministry has new measures to identify the poor to request for IDPoor cards, the ministry said.

Directorate General of Planning head Theng Panhathorn, said on Tuesday that as of July 15, 613,564 families had received payments, while 2.8 million people will receive funds on July 25.

The Ministry of Planning took back 6,000 IDPoor cards after noting that the cardholders had improved their living conditions, said Panhathorn.