The World Bank Strengthening Social Protection - Rwanda (P162646) Note to Task Teams: The following sections are system generated and can only be edited online in the Portal. Project Information Document/ Integrated Safeguards Data Sheet (PID/ISDS) Concept Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 25-Aug-2017 | Report No: PIDISDSC21228 Feb 23, 2017 Page 1 of 11 The World Bank Strengthening Social Protection - Rwanda (P162646) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data OPS TABLE Country Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Project Name Rwanda P162646 Strengthening Social Protection - Rwanda (P162646) Region Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Practice Area (Lead) AFRICA Sep 20, 2017 Feb 26, 2018 Social Protection & Labor Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Investment Project Financing Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Local Economic Planning Government (MINECOFIN) (MINALOC),Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA) Proposed Development Objective(s) To improve the effectiveness of Rwanda’s main social protection program, the Vision Umurenge Program (VUP), for targeted vulnerable groups. Financing (in USD Million) Finance OLD Financing Source Amount Free-standing TFs AFR Human Development 18.00 International Development Association (IDA) 80.00 Total Project Cost 98.00 Environmental Assessment Category Concept Review Decision B-Partial Assessment Track II-The review did authorize the preparation to continue Note to Task Teams: End of system generated content, document is editable from here. Feb 23, 2017 Page 2 of 11 The World Bank Strengthening Social Protection - Rwanda (P162646) Other Decision (as needed) No other decision needed at this point. B. Introduction and Context Country Context Official poverty estimates suggest a continued, substantial decrease in poverty and extreme poverty between 2010/11 and 2013/14. The 2013/14 Integrated Household Living Conditions Survey (EICV4), published in August 2015, showed that 39 percent of the population lives below a national poverty line and 16 percent below the extreme poverty line, a reduction from 45 percent and 24 percent respectively in 2010/11. Despite Rwanda’s impressive achievements in reducing poverty, critical challenges remain, including the need to address the nexus between poverty, vulnerability and child development. With a GDP per capita of US$718 (2015), Rwanda remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Poverty remains high in rural areas and among households with many children. Child malnutrition affects 38 percent of Rwandan children under five, a sign of severe limits on the productive capacity of the next generation. Rwanda’s very young demographic profile (17 percent of its population is under 5 years old), coupled with its vision for the future where services will increasingly be drivers of economic growth, calls for investments in the human capital of its children. Rwanda is poised to address these challenges through continued economic growth and through the effective management of public sector programs, even as decentralization continues at a rapid pace. Rwanda ranks well in global governance metrics, including corruption indicators measured by the World Governance Indicator (WGI) rankings and competitiveness in the World Economic Forum’s global Competitiveness Index. This strong performance continues to be tested by the ambitious development agenda of the country enshrined in the Vision 2020 agenda, coupled with weaker capacity at decentralized levels as Rwanda advances active deconcentration of development planning and delivery of services across multiple sectors. Sectoral and Institutional Context Social protection remains one of the Government of Rwanda’s main tools for meeting its ambitious poverty reduction and human capital development goals. Rwanda is among global leaders in building an integrated social protection system in a low-income environment that is closely tied to national goals of poverty reduction. Rwanda has emphasized the importance of building effective social protection systems to guarantee a minimum standard of living and access to core public services, boost resilience to livelihood shocks, promote equitable growth and strengthen opportunity through increased human capital development and access to productive employment. However, these efforts remain at a fairly early stage by global standards. Much work remains to ensure extension of the coverage of SP programs to poor households, to maximize the poverty and human development impact of Rwanda’s social protection programs, and to ensure that opportunities exist for families benefitting from social protection to build pathways out of poverty. These goals and priorities are well established in Rwanda’s National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS, 2013-2018) and Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRS-2, 2013-2018). The five key priorities of the NSPS are to: i) increase coverage of the extreme poor and vulnerable; ii) address child poverty and vulnerability in the poorest households; iii) ensure a sustainable impact of the social protection system on extreme poverty; iv) establish a more efficient, effective and harmonized social protection system; v) and improve the measurement and visibility of social Feb 23, 2017 Page 3 of 11 The World Bank Strengthening Social Protection - Rwanda (P162646) protection results and impacts. Specific commitments under priority ii) on child poverty are to: increase the coverage of public works programs; review the design of public works programs to maximize their impact on child poverty and nutrition; and create synergies with complementary programs that promote child nutrition and well-being. The proposed investment project would build on the success of three series of development policy operations (DPOs) which helped establish the foundation of Rwanda’s social protection system. The recently concluded DPO series allowed Rwanda to establish a well-structured social safety net with national geographical coverage, based on a set of reforms foundational to the efficiency, accountability and transparency of the system. At the heart of these reforms was the 2008 establishment and active scale up of the flagship Vision 2020 Umurenge Program (VUP), an effort that received strong technical and financial support from the World Bank and other development partners. The proposed operation would shift from foundational reforms to a focus on tailored implementation to support the Government of Rwanda to improve the coverage of the vulnerable and effective delivery of social protection, with a primary focus on the Vision Umurenge Program. The proposed project is aligned with the end goals established in the NSPS and the EDPRS-2 and would help ensure an effective transition into the next period of policy planning in the social protection sector. The project would allow for strengthening the social safety net by (i) tailoring it more closely to ensuring human capital investments, particularly among households with young children to address risks of malnutrition and delayed development; (ii) improving the design of the VUP program to improve service delivery, notably the timely, transparent delivery of cash transfers in the direct support and public works programs; (iii) supporting management capacity for social protection planning, monitoring, evaluation and implementation at both central and local government levels. The project would be implemented by the Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) and the Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA), the ministry and implementing entity charged with social protection and local government coordination. MINALOC is a well-established ministry within the GoR structure, with a broad mandate for local development cutting across a range of sectors and is the primary agency responsible for social protection. LODA is a semi-autonomous agency under MINALOC, with a mandate to coordinate implementation of local government support activities in economic development and social protection. LODA would have primary responsibility for program implementation, but MINALOC would administer elements of the proposed technical assistance component (#3) focused on policy, systems and program management. Relationship to CPF This proposed operation is directly aligned with the Rwanda Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) (FY2014-18) which will likely be extended to FY20. This project falls under Theme 2 of the CPS: “Improving the productivity and incomes of the poor through rural development and social protection�. As World Bank analysis of poverty shows, growth alone will not be sufficient to reach poverty targets. International and national goals for poverty reduction are only attainable with a strategy that builds the incomes of the poorest quintiles and ensures that the prosperity that is generated by growth is adequately shared and used to address foundational elements of prosperity, including among the youngest to ensure that future generations reach their full potential as adults in an increasingly globalized world. The project is contemplated in the current draft of the Performance and Learning Review of the CPS and has been formally requested by the Government of Rwanda. Feb 23, 2017 Page 4 of 11 The World Bank Strengthening Social Protection - Rwanda (P162646) C. Proposed Development Objective(s) Note to Task Teams: The PDO has been pre-populated from the datasheet for the first time for your convenience. Please keep it up to date whenever it is changed in the datasheet. Support the Government of Rwanda to improve the coverage and effectiveness of its social safety net. Key Results (From PCN) Coverage:  Number of households receiving VUP Direct Support (DS), Classic Public Works (cPW), and Expanded Public Works (ePW); % female headed households  Of all Ubudehe 1 households in Rwanda, % who are included in a VUP safety net program (DS, c-PW or e-PW)  % of beneficiary households meeting eligibility criteria for VUP safety net program (DS, cPW, and ePW )  Average annual number of days of work of PW beneficiaries, disaggregated by gender of beneficiary Effectiveness:  % of moderately labor-constrained Ubudehe 1 households who access i) e-PW or ii) c-PW  % of VUP beneficiaries receiving child sensitive accompanying measures, including nutrition support services  % of VUP beneficiaries who receive payments on time  Number and % of primary appeals that have been resolved at first instance at sector levels within 2 weeks in VUP sectors D. Concept Description The proposed operation will have three components, which will seek to strengthen and expand the flagship social protection program, improve social protection’s contribution to nutrition and early childhood development goals and support the continued improvements to the larger social protection system in Rwanda. Component 1: Strengthening and expanding the coverage of the flagship Vision Umurenge Program (VUP ). The VUP program is at the core of the Social Protection sector, and evidence points to VUP’s positive impacts at the household level as well as scope to further strengthen these. A 2014 impact evaluation1 (Hartwig, 2014) found that both DS and PW can have short-term positive impacts on livestock accumulation, but that some design features and implementation issues constrain impacts. Various analytical work (Ayliffe et al., 2015a and 2015b; FAO, 2015; and FATE Consulting, 2015) has suggested that stronger impacts of VUP can be expected if i) the timeliness and predictability of DS and PW payments is improved; and ii) PW are better adapted to the needs and constraints of the intended target group, and provide higher transfers; and iii) linkages to key services and to information on entitlements are strengthened for vulnerable and marginalized households. Key challenges with the classic public works program have been that: the limited supply of work means that many eligible households are not covered; average annual transfer values are much lower than for DS; and the program is not well adapted to the needs of moderately labor-constrained households, who face particular access barriers. 1 Feb 23, 2017 Page 5 of 11 The World Bank Strengthening Social Protection - Rwanda (P162646) The VUP program has been recently re-designed to respond to these findings and to emerging national priorities and the proposed operation will focus on supporting the new innovative modalities as well as improvements in the overall effectiveness of the safety net in terms of coverage, timeliness of payments, and adequacy of PW transfers. VUP now consists of four main elements: 1) safety nets (direct support, c-PW and a new expanded public works (e-PW) component); 2) nutrition services (still under design and the subject of component two); 3) livelihoods enhancement (asset transfer, skills development and financial services); and 4) sensitization and community mobilization, including a new model of caseworker support. The new ePW component offers multi-year, year-round public works with flexible hours targeted to moderately labor-constrained households, mainly one-worker households (many female-headed) with caring responsibilities for a person with a severe disability or a child. The types of work under e-PW currently being implemented is flexible road maintenance; other types such as childcare and other social/community work with resultant synergies to cross-cutting objectives around nutrition and early child development are yet to be implemented. The new caseworker model will promote linkages of VUP households to productive and other services, through a home- visiting and referral system. Component 2: Enhancing social protection’s contribution to nutrition and early childhood development (ECD) . The Government of Rwanda has established reducing child chronic malnutrition as a national priority and recently approved a new ECD policy that calls for social protection to contribute to meeting ECD goals. The prevalence of stunting in children under five years of age fell considerably during the period 2005-2015, from 51% to 38% (DHS survey data); however, the national average is still alarming and remains above the WHO high severity threshold of 30%. Also, the reduction in stunting was slower among children from poor households. The VUP, as the main social protection intervention in Rwanda, has been called upon to ensure a focus on nutrition and child sensitive social protection. This mandate is reflected in the redesign of the main program document of the VUP, notably the introduction of the e-PW scheme described above. In addition, Rwanda has just launched a National Food and Nutrition Coordination Secretariat (NFNCS), housed in MINALOC tasked with coordinating efforts at combatting malnutrition. In coordination with other components, Component 2 would address a number of elements to improve the contribution of the Social Protection sector to national nutrition and ECD goals. This may include: (a) adopting child stimulation or nutrition support services as complementary measures for vulnerable households, informed by the analysis of the determinants of chronic malnutrition; (b) improving the targeting of social protection interventions by including child and nutrition vulnerability criteria; and (c) strengthening case management and local coordination for support to vulnerable families between social protection programs and complementary programs. Coordination with other sectors responsible for the delivery of child and nutrition focused goods and services complementing the VUP transfers (including MINISANTE, MINAGRI, MIGEPROF and MINEDUC) will be critical, as will coordination with development partners (including UNICEF, DfID, the EKN, FAO and EU). Component 3: Capacity building for policy development, systems strengthening and program management . This will be a technical assistance component to support the cross cutting policies, systems, tools and resources required for the successful implementation of Components 1 and 2, as well as continued improvements to the larger social protection system in Rwanda. LODA and MINALOC will both manage this component. The main areas of intervention include: 1. Feb 23, 2017 Page 6 of 11 The World Bank Strengthening Social Protection - Rwanda (P162646) Service delivery systems; 2. Institutional strengthening through capacity building and coordination, especially at the decentralized district and sector levels; and 3. Sector-wide policy development and planning. Service Delivery Systems (LODA): Substantial efforts have gone into designing and improving Rwanda’s social protection service delivery systems. Notably, the government has developed a comprehensive integrated social protection management information system (iSP-MIS), which serves as an integrated registry and link to the Ubudehe database (social registry) and other program specific registries as well as the national ID database. LODA has also developed an updated monitoring and evaluation MIS (MEIS) and has newly introduced a grievance and redress system. Further support is required to operationalize and upgrade these systems for use across the social protection system, and build in further functionality, such as citizen monitoring and payments. Institutional Strengthening (MINALOC & LODA): There are significant capacity gaps, particularly at the decentralized levels. Support will be provided to provide training to build human resource capacity, notably for decentralized service delivery. Technical support will also be provided to improve program coordination, through training and expertise to develop guidance and systems to improve coordination. In addition, capacity building activities would be implemented to strengthen the institutional roles of the National Food and Nutrition Coordination Secretariat (NFNCS). Sector-Wide Policy Development, Planning and Institutional Strengthening (MINALOC): The NSPS and EDPRS-2 expire in 2018 and the GoR is embarking on the preparation of the new strategies. In addition, Rwanda’s development strategy, Vision 2020, will need to be renewed. Finally, support will be required for the various coordination bodies within MINALOC and to improve evidence-based policy making and program implementation. Analytical work will be supported to inform the: (i) Update of the National SP Policy and Strategy; and (ii) Integration of social protection into EDPRS-3 and Vision 2050. Expert technical advice will be contracted to improve VUP monitoring mechanisms, impact evaluation design and implementation, and building the capacity of various coordinating bodies under MINALOC through training, increasing staff numbers and development of guidance and operating principles. Note to Task Teams: The following sections are system generated and can only be edited online in the Portal. SAFEGUARDS A. Project location and salient physical characteristics relevant to the safeguard analysis (if known) The proposed project will support Rwanda’s social protection programs through, among several initiatives, increasing access and coverage of social services by implementing various public works. One of the key results of the project is to increase coverage of Classic Public Works (cPW) and Expanded Public Works (ePW) in the sectors implementing VUP up to 270 sectors. c-PW implementation has been ongoing, and the project intends to support geographical scale up of these activities; whereas new types of e-PW, beyond road maintenance will need to be developed. The kind of project activities (sub projects) to be implemented will include: • Constructions of feeder roads, road drainage channels, health centres, classrooms, bridges, settlement sites and Feb 23, 2017 Page 7 of 11 The World Bank Strengthening Social Protection - Rwanda (P162646) power transmission lines infrastructure; • Rehabilitation of feeder roads, bridges and commercial centres; and • Rehabilitation and extension of water supply systems. B. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity for Safeguard Policies The main project implementing entities are LODA with the oversight of MINALOC. These entities have experience in the implementation of similar projects. The project will be implemented at the community level which calls for the involvement of the district and sector social and environmental staff in the monitoring of the project Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) and Resettlement Policy Framework(RPF) implementation. These local government units will be supported by LODA as well as the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) which is mandated to provide guidance in the monitoring of the implementation of safeguard measures. Although the districts have designated officers in charge of environment and social development, they are often time overwhelmed and stretched by the workload, which negatively affects their service delivery in overall project implementation supervision. It is proposed that technical support be provided to build safeguards capacity for better project implementation and delivery at the PIU as well as the decentralized level. Specific activities include: • Support to overall project ESMF and RPF implementation and monitoring; • Support LODA/MINALOC in the preparation and implementation of sub-project specific Environmental and Social Management Plans (ESMP) and Resettlement Action Plans (RAP) where applicable; and • Training of district personnel in the implementation of the Project ESMF/RPF and the subproject-specific ESMPs & RAPs recommendations and mitigation actions. The EA category for this project is Category B, owing to the subproject specific and manageable nature of the potential environmental and social impacts. This EA category will however be reviewed during appraisal subject to the findings of the pertinent assessments. C. Environmental and Social Safeguards Specialists on the Team Theogene Habakubaho, Social Safeguards Specialist Emmanuel Muligirwa, Environmental Safeguards Specialist D. Policies that might apply Safeguard Policies Triggered? Explanation (Optional) The project will engage in the execution of various public works activities in numerous sites that will potentially impact the environment. The environmental impacts will vary in scale or magnitude Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01 Yes and will be sub-project specific. In the absence of sufficient information on specific project implementation sites, an ESMF will be prepared and consulted upon and disclosed before Feb 23, 2017 Page 8 of 11 The World Bank Strengthening Social Protection - Rwanda (P162646) appraisal. The ESMF will include methods and procedures for screening subprojects and monitoring the implementation of mitigation measures. Wherever appropriate and required, the project ESMF will be adopted to prepare subproject specific ESMPs during implementation. Although the majority of public works involve rehabilitation of existing infrastructure which minimizes the likelihood of significant environmental impacts. The implementation of expanded public Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 TBD works and construction of new infrastructure could affect natural habitats. However potentially negative environmental impacts will be assessed during ESMF preparation. The project areas are habited locations with the focus on improving and increasing delivery of social services. Forests OP/BP 4.36 No It is not envisaged that the project will require forested areas to attain its development objective. Pest Management OP 4.09 No N/A The extent of the project impacts on Physical Cultural Resources(PCR) are not yet known. Since the project will rehabilitate and construct public works in 270 sectors in all the 30 districts of the country. There is an Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11 TBD increased chance that PCRs might be affected. However potential impacts to the PCR will be assessed during ESMF preparation. The ESMF will provide a management plan including “Chance Finds� procedures. Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 No N/A Extended public works will most likely induce land acquisition. A Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) will be prepared, consulted upon, and disclosed prior Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 Yes to appraisal. Wherever appropriate and required, subproject specific RAPs will be prepared during implementation. Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 No N/A Projects on International Waterways No N/A OP/BP 7.50 Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 No N/A Feb 23, 2017 Page 9 of 11 The World Bank Strengthening Social Protection - Rwanda (P162646) E. Safeguard Preparation Plan Tentative target date for preparing the Appraisal Stage PID/ISDS Jun 30, 2017 Time frame for launching and completing the safeguard-related studies that may be needed. The specific studies and their timing should be specified in the Appraisal Stage PID/ISDS The ESMF and RPF will be prepared, reviewed consulted upon by 16th June 2017. CONTACT POINT World Bank Laura B. Rawlings, Briana N. Wilson Lead Social Protection Specialist Borrower/Client/Recipient Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) Ronald NKUSI Director, External Finance ronald.nkusi@minecofin.gov.rw Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN) Joy DUKUZE External Finance Staff joy.dukuz@minecofin.gov.rw Implementing Agencies Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) Odette UWAMALIYA Permanent Secretary odette.uwamariya@minaloc.gov.rw Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) Yves Bernard NINGABIRE DG – Planning and M&E bernard.ningabire@minaloc.gov.rw Ministry of Local Government (MINALOC) Emmanuel BUGINGO Feb 23, 2017 Page 10 of 11 The World Bank Strengthening Social Protection - Rwanda (P162646) Social Protection Specialist ebugingo@minaloc.gov.rw Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA) Laetitia NKUNDA Director General laetinkunda@yahoo.fr Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA) Justine GATSINZI Division Manager, Social protection programs gatsinzijustine57@gmail.com Local Administrative Entities Development Agency (LODA) Saidi SIBOMANA Division Manager / Local Development Planning and Programs saidi.sibomana@loda.gov.rw FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects APPROVAL Task Team Leader(s): Laura B. Rawlings, Briana N. Wilson Approved By APPROVALTBL Safeguards Advisor: Nathalie S. Munzberg 20-Jul-2017 Practice Manager/Manager: Penelope Jane Aske Williams 08-Aug-2017 Country Director: Gandham N.V. Ramana 27-Aug-2017 Note to Task Teams: End of system generated content, document is editable from here. Feb 23, 2017 Page 11 of 11