MANILA - The World Bank said Wednesday it would lend 405 million US dollars to help 376,000 households in the poorest parts of the Philippines.

The loan will be used to give direct cash payments to impoverished households, as well as fund a "national household targeting system" to identify those who need assistance, the World Bank said in a statement.

"The... programme provides cash grants to poor households to keep their children in school and give them health care, as well as promoting adequate care for pregnant women," the statement said.

The programme will boost incomes of 376,000 households by about 20 percent, World Bank country director Bert Hofman said in the statement.

"Reducing the vulnerability of poor households to sudden economic difficulties and improving their access to education and health services are among the most tangible ways to make growth work for the poor," Hofman said.

The loan supplements a government programme launched last year to provide cash assistance to one million poor households so they can cope with rises in food and fuel prices.

Government data shows that about a third of the country's 92 million population earn less than two dollars a day.