PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: 93079 Project Name Improving Access to Social Services and Employment Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities Region Latin America and Caribbean Country OppOpportunities for Persons with Disabilities Haiti Sector(s) Social Protection (100%) Theme(s) Social safety nets, social inclusion, vulnerability assessment and monitoring Lending Instrument Investment Project Financing Project ID P145468 Borrower(s) Republic of Haiti Implementing Agency Haitian Secretariat of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities (BSEIPH) Environmental Category C Date PID Prepared/Updated November 12, 2015 Estimated Date of Board N/A Approval Decision N/A Other Decision I. Project Context Country Context Haiti is characterized by high poverty rates and low social indicators. Over half of the Haitian population of ten million live in absolute poverty on less than US$1 a day and 78 percent of the population live on less than US$2 a day. Haiti was ranked 168 out of 187 countries in the United Nations Human Development Index in 2015, based on social indicators such as literacy, life expectancy, infant and maternal mortality and child malnutrition. These conditions lead to precarious human security, with few people having an assurance of survival, livelihood, and dignity in the face of current and emerging threats. Haiti is vulnerable to political and external shocks which disproportionately affect the poor. Since 2008, the country has suffered the fallout from the global food and fuel crisis, hurricanes, earthquakes, and a cholera outbreak – all of which have had a catastrophic impact on the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the vulnerability of the population, and infrastructure. Poverty and social conditions were severely worsened by the emergency situation that ensued following the January 2010 earthquake, which stripped affected areas of critical infrastructure including schools, hospitals, housing, electricity, water, and telecommunications, and which claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people. There is no recent reliable nationally representative estimate of disability prevalence in Haiti. Global disability estimates stand at 15 percent but disability exponentially increases with age and the population in Haiti is young: half of the population is younger than 21 and the average age is 25.4.1 According to Handicap International and the National Network of Associations for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities, the number of persons with some form of disability amounted to about 800,000 in 2003 or 10 percent of the population. The census, based on questions about severe impairments,2 estimated the prevalence of disability at 1.6 percent. The 2010 earthquake, which resulted in about 10 percent of the households with a lost or injured family member, increased the number of persons with disabilities in the country. The results of the 2012 household survey indicates that of the 280,000 persons injured during the earthquake, one quarter were severely injured and 7 percent remained with at least one permanent disability thereafter, including physical (amputees, etc.) as well as mental disabilities (due to psychological shocks).3 At the same time, public infrastructure was severely damaged—thus rendering the environment even less accessible to the disabled—and disrupting communities, which traditionally provide informal support to PwD. A recent survey in Port-au-Prince estimates the current prevalence of disability in the metropolitan area in a range between 2.2 and 17.8 percent, depending on the number and the level of functioning difficulties measured. Additionally, it is worth noting that about 172,000 people, including at least 900 persons with disabilities, are still living in camps.4 The country is characterized by a lack of coordinated, nation-wide activities able to identify and reach the most vulnerable PwD and to meet their basic needs. Donors’ interventions in this area have been fragmented, with no organization taking the lead, and mostly focused on health and rehabilitation. Though some resources for PwD are available, there is a strong need to strengthen institutional capacity at the government level and to create a system to identify eligible beneficiaries and systemize interventions, in order to improve efficiency and to make sure existing resources reach the people who are most in need. Unfortunately, at the moment, lack of data on the disabled population renders targeting impossible, and some of the poorest PwD remain invisible to public institutions. These numbers and factors highlight the crucial need to establish a registry of persons with disabilities in order to assess the needs of PwD and support more effective planning and targeting of social programs and services. The next census (currently planned for 2014-2015) will identify the total number of persons with disabilities in Haiti; however, because it does not collect the 1 Institut Haïtien des Statistiques. 2014. “L’évolution des conditions de vie en Haïti entre 2007 et 2012. La réplique sociale du séisme Institut de Recherche pour le Développement.� 2 According to the World Bank? Report on Disability, severe disability is “ the equivalent of disability inferred for conditions such as quadriplegia, severe depression, or blindness� (2011, p.44). 3 London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Handicap International. 2012. “Representation and evaluation of disability in Haiti.� 4 Handicap International. 2014. “Haiti. Situation update – Jan. 2014�, p. 24. names of each PwD and does not assess their needs or their functional limitations, it will not be used to identify specific persons with disabilities to populate a registry, nor to link these individuals with necessary services. Furthermore, there is a lack of rigorous evidence in Haiti on the economic situation of persons with disabilities. Anecdotal evidence in Haiti is consistent with available evidence in developing countries that persons with disabilities and their households are more likely to be poor. It is estimated that the majority of persons with disabilities in Haiti are unemployed and many live in extreme poverty. Based on experiences in other countries, PwD are also likely to face numerous barriers to entering the workplace, including competition with persons without disabilities for limited job opportunities, an inaccessible physical environment, limited access to education and training programs, and an environment that is still largely unreceptive toward inclusion. By economically empowering this group through improving employment access and retention, this Project is expected to have a positive economic impact on persons living with a disability as well as on their household members and the communities where they live. Although the Haitian Government has given a high priority to the issue of disability, institutional capacity remains low. Actions to promote the institutional strengthening of government institutions are therefore necessary to foster an effective design and implementation of disability policies and programs. The proposed activities will address two priority areas under the Policy and Human Resources Development (PHRD) Pillar 3, Disability and Development. First, they will address the capacity building needs of government organizations. The Project will improve the ability of the Haitian Government to mainstream disability in service delivery systems through the development of a registry of PwD and the strengthening of the job placement service in the Haitian Secretariat of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities (BSEIPH). Additionally, throughout Project implementation, actions will be taken to progressively increase the management and fiduciary capacity of the BSEIPH. Second, the activities will support the introduction of methods to improve the well-being of the disabled with a view to scale these methods up through government programs or other development initiatives. Specifically, the Project will support the reinforcement of the job placement service for PwD that the BSEIPH initiated in 2014 and that will initially operate in Port- au-Prince. Lessons learned from this experience will be collected and used to inform the scale-up of this model in the future. Sectoral and Institutional Context The state’s ability to provide basic public goods has thus far been undermined by a history of neglect, political capture and corruption, and compounded by difficult donor partnerships. The territorial reach of state institutions is minimal outside major urban centers, decentralization has not yet been implemented, and the national government has been unable to provide basic services or infrastructure to large portions of the population. A diverse and vibrant non-state sector has filled some of the gaps in health, education, and employment opportunities, but these efforts have been largely uncoordinated and unregulated. The result has been a substantial variation in the quality of services provided and significant gaps in services for certain regions and vulnerable groups. Due to credit constraints and limited access to existing services, poor families in Haiti tend to under-invest in the education, health and nutrition of their children, reducing their lifelong economic potential and human capital. Strengthening the stewardship role of Government to determine policy and coordinate assistance from donors, development organizations, and private sector providers is one of the key elements to successful outcomes in Haiti. Programmatic coordination and communication by Government across the large variety of implementing agencies has been an enormous challenge that has been significantly exacerbated by the high influx of aid organizations since the earthquake. This is the case for all social ministries. One of the main objectives of the disability registry will be to establish the foundation for better coordination of services for PwD across all government agencies as well as donor organizations seeking to support this population. Haiti’s labor force is characterized by widespread unemployment and underemployment. More than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal jobs (the United Nations Special Envoy for Haiti estimates that the formal sector generates no more than ten percent of employment), and instead work in the informal sector, which offers lower remuneration, minimal job security, no benefits and significant gender inequality in pay. Although Haiti registers a higher proportion of economically active women than many developing countries (50 percent), 75 percent of these mostly work in the informal sector. Since the earthquake, Haiti’s Parliament has enacted a law that requires increased social and economic inclusion of PwD. For example, schools and public buildings must be accessible, and two percent of jobs in companies with more than 20 employees must be reserved for persons with disabilities. The textile industry has also agreed to employ an unspecified number of PwD. To make this law a reality, there is a great need to identify and register PwD and link them with services, including job placement. Also, employers need to be sensitized on the needs and potential of workers with disabilities. The BSEIPH supports public policies and programs that integrate PwD into all spheres of life. The agency was founded by Presidential decree on May 17, 2007, under the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. Its specific objectives include implementing a national policy leading to the integration of PwD, working to improve the living conditions of PwD, raise awareness among the public about disability, strengthen the capacity of organizations working in the field of disability, and put in place a legal framework for the protection of PwD. The current Secretary of State for the Integration of Persons with Disabilities is a long-time advocate for PwD and has strong support from the President. In March 2012, Haiti approved new legislation to integrate PwD into public programs and services. In October 2012, during a governmental forum on the integration of PwD, the President and the Prime Minister signed a government declaration for the mainstreaming of the disability agenda in the different ministerial agendas, demonstrating strong support for the disability agenda by the highest level of the Government. The BSEIPH has taken initial steps to create a job placement service to support employment opportunities for PwD. They hired a full-time staff member responsible for the development of employment services for the PwD and the organization of job fairs for disabled persons, including a website where PwD can post their resumes online and prospective employers can post job opportunities. However, more efforts are needed to systematize the service and increase its outreach. In order to fully implement its mandate, BSEIPH’s capacity should be strengthened via the five regional offices and the central office to ensure improved coordination with other social ministries. There is also a need to strengthen the BSEIPH’s capacity to monitor, evaluate, and use data on PwD to plan and target potential benefits and programs. Several other actors are involved in the field of disability in Haiti. These include primarily the Organization of American States (OAS), which is supporting legal frameworks for the inclusion of PwD; the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which is also strengthening legal frameworks for disability as well as supporting rehabilitation and reintegration of PwD; and several NGOs (e.g., Christian Blind Mission, Handicap International) providing direct services to PwD. Handicap International is also going to expand its mapping beyond rehabilitation services for PwD to include education and other social services. No agency is currently developing a registry or systematically providing job support to PwD, thus this Project would fill a critical gap. II. Project Development Objective(s) The development objective is to increase PwD access to social services and employment opportunities. This would be achieved through the development of a Registry of Persons with Disabilities and the reinforcement of a job placement service for PwD. III. Project Description Component Name Component 1: Registration of persons with disabilities Comments (optional) The objective of this Component is to provide reliable data on PwD in Haiti and to design a mechanism to support the targeting of social programs and benefits to these PwD. Component Name Component 2: Piloting and promoting a model to increase labor market access for PwD Comments (optional) This component will finance the reinforcement of the job placement service for PwD recently initiated by the BSEIPH. Component Name Component 3: Project Management, monitoring & evaluation, and knowledge dissemination Comments (optional) This Component aims to strengthen the BSEIPH’s capacity for effective outreach and communication, as well as monitoring and quality control of the registry. IV. Financing (in USD Million) Total Project Cost: 2.29 Total Bank Financing: 2.29 Financing Gap: Financing Source Amount BORROWER/RECIPIENT 0.00 PHRD Trust Fund / Grant financing 2.29 Total 2.29 V. Implementation Implementation of project activities will be overseen by the BSEIPH, with the support of a Project Coordinator. The BSEIPH will be in charge of the organization and implementation of the registration of PwD, the setting up of the registration system, and the monitoring of the work of the enumerators and DPOs. In addition, the BSEIPH will be responsible of coordinating training and outreach activities to reinforce the job placement service. This task will include the hiring of one part-time consultant, the identification of suitable training providers and the engagement of employers, through awareness raising and sensitization activities. Financial management and procurement aspects of the Project will initially be supported by the fiduciary team of the Disaster Risk Management and Reconstruction Project, located within the Project Coordination Bureau of the Ministry of Interior, as detailed below in the appraisal summary. VI. Safeguard Policies (including public consultation) Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project Yes No Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01 X Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 X Forests OP/BP 4.36 X Pest Management OP 4.09 X xX Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11 X Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 X Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 X Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 X Projects on International Waterways OP/BP 7.50 X Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 X Comments (optional) The Project is rated category C as it is not expected to have any significant, large scale, or irreversible adverse environmental or social impacts. On the contrary, the Project is expected to have a positive impact on the social and economic inclusion of PwD and improve life conditions for them and their families. Moreover, to ensure a broader positive social impact, consultations with disabled people’s organizations will be carried out during project implementation. VII. Contact point Contact: Lucy Bassett, Title: Task Team Leader Tel: 473-7230 Email: lbassett@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Name: Republic of Haiti, Ministry of Finance Contact: Wilson Laleau Tel: (509) 2992-1012 Implementing Agency Name: Office of the Secretary of State for Integration of Persons with Disabilities (BSEIPH) Contact: Mr. Gérald Oriol Title: Secretary of State for Integration of Persons with Disabilities Tel: (509) 3408-6254 | (509) 2942-1707 Email: geraldoriol@seiph.gouv.ht VIII. For more information contact: The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 458-4500 Fax: (202) 522-1500 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/infoshop