PROJECT INFORMATION DOCUMENT (PID) APPRAISAL STAGE Report No.: PIDA21375 Public Disclosure Copy Project Name Zambia Rural Women Empowerment Project (P151451) Region AFRICA Country Zambia Sector(s) Public administration- Other social services (100%) Theme(s) Social Safety Nets/Social Assistance & Social Care Services (35%), Other social protection and risk management (35%), Gender (30%) Lending Instrument Investment Project Financing Project ID P151451 Borrower(s) Government of Republic of Zambia Implementing Agency Ministry of Community development Mother and Child Health (MCDMCH), Ministry of Gender and Child Health, Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training, and Early Education Environmental Category C-Not Required Date PID Prepared/Updated 27-Feb-2015 Date PID Approved/Disclosed 16-Mar-2015 Estimated Date of Appraisal 20-Mar-2015 Completion Estimated Date of Board 29-May-2015 Public Disclosure Copy Approval Appraisal Review Decision (from Decision Note) I. Project Context Country Context Despite consistent growth during the last decade, poverty remains high in Zambia, particularly in rural areas. Zambia has registered a growth rate of over 6 percent for more than a decade and is now classified as a lower-middle-income country with a per capita GNI of US$1,810 in 2013. However, poverty remains high at around 60 percent (as of 2010), and 42 percent of the population live in extreme poverty. Poverty in Zambia is overwhelmingly a rural phenomenon, with roughly two- thirds of the population being located in rural areas. In 2010, the moderate poverty rate in rural areas was 74 percent, more than double the urban poverty rate of 35 percent, and the extreme poverty rate (58 percent) was four times higher than in urban areas (13 percent). Zambia's growth needs to become more inclusive to speed up poverty reduction, and social protection can play an important role in achieving that end. Most people in rural areas have not benefited from the country's growth, which has been driven by capital-intensive industries in urban Page 1 of 7 areas, mainly mining, construction, and transport. Growth in the rural sector has been hampered by the low productivity of small-scale farmers, a lack of skills, and poor connectivity of many areas to markets. The government needs to foster inclusive growth and make public spending more pro-poor Public Disclosure Copy by increasing the access of poor children to human development opportunities and by investing in social safety nets that can accelerate the reduction of chronic poverty at a low cost. Girls and women are particularly vulnerable, and gender inequality is high. Although poverty in rural areas does not differ greatly between male-headed and female-headed households, women face many other challenges that make them more vulnerable than men. Girls and young women are particularly vulnerable as a result of many age- and sex-specific social barriers and gender inequalities. According to the UNDP’s Human Development Report 2014, Zambia ranks as low as 101 out of 148 countries on the Gender Development Index (GDI) and 134 out of 152 on the Gender Inequality Index (GII). / Educational attainment among women is very low, particularly in rural areas. Only 15 percent of women in rural areas (aged 15 to 49) have some secondary education, and only 1.5 percent has completed secondary school (compared to 25.4 and 4.7 percent respectively for men in rural areas in the same age group). In addition, 47.3 percent of women in rural areas are illiterate compared to 16.4 in urban areas and compared to 23.4 percent of men in rural areas. One-third of girls aged between 10 and 14 in rural areas have never been in school, are not currently in school, or are in school but are more than two years behind in terms of grade-for-age. In rural areas, the gender disparity in terms of access to education becomes acute as children progress to secondary school. Indeed, while the percentage of girls aged 10 to 14 not in school is similar to that of boys (12 percent and 11 percent respectively), the percentage of out-of-school youth aged 15 to 19 is more than double for girls compared to boys (51 percent and 22 percent respectively). For girls, economic constraints, marriage, and pregnancy seem to be the major reasons for dropping out of school. First, the costs of secondary education remain a constraint to keeping older girls in Public Disclosure Copy school, unlike primary education, for which tuition is free. The direct and indirect costs of secondary school (starting in Grade 8) are often prohibitive for the poorest families. Between 2002 and 2010, most of those who dropped out of school reported that it was because of a lack of financial support. In the Northern Province, 19 percent of women aged 20 to 24 had been married by the age of 15 according to the 2007 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). Even in the absence of child marriage, girls are often forced to leave school when they become pregnant. The 2007 Zambia DHS data show that 28.5 percent of all 15 to 19 year old women had been pregnant or had had a child. This means that Zambia is one of the 20 countries with the highest prevalence of early pregnancy in the world. More adolescent girls in rural areas get pregnant than their counterparts in urban areas. Between 2009 and 2012, 80 percent of reported pregnancies among school-going girls were reported in rural areas. A large proportion of women in rural areas are employed in the informal agricultural sector, and many are unpaid family workers. The 2010 LCMS data indicate that over 90 percent of women in rural areas are involved in informal agricultural employment. Forty-five percent of employed women in rural areas are unpaid family workers (compared to 16.1 of men). Most other employed women are self-employed (48 percent), and the most recent poverty assessment for Zambia suggests that those working in household enterprises earn the lowest income. Findings from a recent gender assessment in Zambia confirm these general trends, noting that women's livelihood strategies center on: (a) small-scale farming; (b) small-scale business activity, including the selling Page 2 of 7 of fish or produce; brewing and selling beer; selling charcoal; and the rearing and selling of livestock; and (c) providing services for other households. Public Disclosure Copy Zambian women's farming activities are typically sufficient to meet basic consumption needs and possibly yield small profit, but they are not productive enough to sustain the viable agribusinesses to which many women aspire. The gender assessment research highlights numerous constraints to women's productivity, including access to quality inputs, risk management, access to markets, access to credit, etc. Data from the most recent poverty assessment confirm women's constraints in accessing productive inputs. Rural women report not being able to afford agricultural inputs as the most important reason for their (self-assessed) poverty. Arecent economic brief for Zambia describes improving the earnings of the working poor by improving their productivity as a “development priority”. The report confirms that improving employment outcomes in the Zambian economy will mainly be about increasing productivity, as opposed to employment per se. Zambians are already working because they cannot afford not to; unemployment in Zambia is low for both men and women (2.2% and 2.8%, respectively). The report emphasizes that increasing productivity in the agriculture sector, where the working poor are primarily concentrated, will be key. Sectoral and institutional Context The Government of Zambia is committed to supporting women and adolescent girls through its social protection agenda. The Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP) for 2011 to 2015 and its revised version (for 2013 to 2016) highlights the need to empower low-capacity households, provide social assistance to incapacitated households, and support various vulnerable groups. The SNDP also stresses that the government will continue to ensure that gender issues are mainstreamed in the development process and to promote the empowerment of women. Also, Vision 2030 and the National Social Protection Policy (NSPP) both include strategies and objectives to guide programs Public Disclosure Copy in various sectors such as health, education, water and sanitation, agriculture, social protection, and disability. The NSPP highlights the need to tailor Zambia's social protection system to the specific needs of the country’s different poor and vulnerable populations and to promote empowerment in the immediate term and for future generations. To alleviate the current challenge of poverty in Zambia, the government is focusing on income support targeted to extremely poor and labor-constrained households and livelihood productivity of extremely poor households with labor. Specifically, for extremely poor and labor-constrained households, the government has prioritized the provision of regular, targeted cash transfers (through the SCTS). For extremely poor households with the potential to carry out productive and income-generating activities, the government aims to provide livelihood and empowerment services. Then, to help break the intergenerational transmission of poverty, the government is committed to improving access to education of children in poor households, particularly girls in secondary school. Through the adoption of such complementary programs, the government will create a more coherent social protection system that will be more effective in reaching those most in need. Such a system aims to address not only the needs of households with different poverty profiles (i.e. with and without available labor) but also the differing needs of people across the life cycle (i.e. children and adolescents as compared to adults). A variety of different social protection programs are being implemented in Zambia, but limited Page 3 of 7 spending and a lack of coordination mean that coverage of the poorest is low. According to a review of safety net programs carried out by the Bank in 2013, only about 0.2 percent of GDP is spent on safety net programs for the poor, well below the regional average (about 0.5 percent to 3.5 Public Disclosure Copy percent). Furthermore, these programs are fragmented, and there is little coordination between implementing agencies and no systematic way of coordinating the targeting of the poorest beneficiaries. Even if existing programs were to be perfectly targeted, they would be able to cover only 1 to 2 percent of the extreme poor, with the exception of the Social Cash Transfer Program, which reaches about 6 percent of the total population. A number of programs support productive livelihoods (particularly for women), but they involve a variety of operational challenges. There are two main Women's Economic Empowerment Funds (WEEFs) that provide grants or micro-credit to individuals or groups of women. One is implemented by the Ministry of Community Development, Mother and Child Health (MCDMCH) and the other by the Ministry of Gender and Child Development (MGCD). In addition, the MCDMCH in partnership with the Social Protection Platform and Care Zambia is piloting an initiative to teach savings and business planning skills to beneficiaries of the Social Cash Transfer Scheme (SCTS). However, the government has identified several operational issues that are hampering the efficiency of the WEEFs, including a lack of training for beneficiaries on how to effectively use the funds, inadequate business startup grants, difficulties in targeting the most deserving beneficiaries, the misuse of funds, and a lack of coordination in the monitoring and evaluation of the funds. A recent review of existing empowerment and livelihood programs also highlighted some issues, including unreliable budget allocations to the funds, insufficient personnel to implement the programs, and a lack of solid design parameters and systems (including targeting, enrollment, M&E mechanisms, and management information systems). The government is subsidizing secondary school fees through two programs, but their coverage is small and there is need for better coordination and greater operational efficiency. Through its Public Welfare Assistance Program (PWAS) in the MCDMCH, the government is providing ad hoc Public Disclosure Copy support for secondary school fees to a small percentage of the most destitute families as identified by community welfare assessment committees. However, its coverage is limited, and a study undertaken by Kimetrica in 2008 showed that the targeting approach of the PWAS can be unduly influenced by the community members charged with its implementation. Through the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training, and Early Education (MESVTEE)the OVC Bursary Scheme provides secondary school bursaries to orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs). However, a lack of sufficient resources severely restricts its coverage with only 20,676 pupils receiving bursaries in 2013. According to ministry staff, this only covers about 10 percent of deserving OVCs. Also, none of these programs directly target adolescent girls. In addition to these government-financed programs, there are a large number of OVC bursary schemes operated by NGOs, and there is need for more coordination among these various initiatives to improve targeting and increase their efficiency. In response to the need for more coordination among programs targeted to the poor and for more accurate identification of beneficiaries, the government has embarked on a number of activities. Firstly, the government has adjusted the targeting of the SCTS based on recommendations from a recent external review. Second, the government is creating a single registry of beneficiaries with the aim to improve targeting accuracy of all safety net programs (this effort is being led by the MCDMCH with support from the Rapid Social Response -RSR- Multi-donor Trust Fund with technical assistance from the World Bank). The trust fund supports the design and setting up of the Page 4 of 7 system, but continued commitment and support will be needed to ensure the effective launch and roll-out of the system. Thirdly, the government has launched an attempt to articulate a Women Empowerment Program (consisting of various existing programs) for better harmonization and Public Disclosure Copy expressed their interest in harmonizing and consolidating women empowerment/livelihood initiatives and bursary scheme initiatives (with support from this project). The MCDMCH is the lead ministry in social protection, while the MGCD is responsible for gender policy. Under the NSPP, the MGCD also provides complimentary empowerment opportunities for women, in particular through the Women's Empowerment Fund. Within the MCDMCH, two departments implement most social protection programs: (i) the Department of Social Welfare oversees interventions for extremely poor, labor-constrained households and (ii) the Department of Community Development focuses on interventions that support extremely poor households that are not labor-constrained. II. Proposed Development Objectives The project development objective is to support the Government of Zambia to increase access to livelihood support for women and access to secondary education for disadvantaged adolescent girls in extremely poor households in selected districts. III. Project Description Component Name Supporting Women’s Livelihoods Comments (optional) Component Name Keeping Girls in School Public Disclosure Copy Comments (optional) Component Name Institutional Strengthening and Systems Building Comments (optional) IV. Financing (in USD Million) Total Project Cost: 65.00 Total Bank Financing: 65.00 Financing Gap: 0.00 For Loans/Credits/Others Amount BORROWER/RECIPIENT 0.00 International Development Association (IDA) 65.00 Total 65.00 V. Implementation Page 5 of 7 An existing Inter-Ministerial Committee of permanent secretaries will serve as the Project Steering Committee, with representation of eighteen permanent secretaries, including the key Ministries participating in this project. The MGCD is the Secretariat and convener of this Inter-Ministerial Public Disclosure Copy Committee. The overall coordination of the project will be the responsibility of the MGCD, in line with its mandate to lead the overall Rural Women's Empowerment Program. A Coordination Committee will be set up, consisting of the project managers for component 1 and 2 and the overall project manager for the project. This committee will be responsible for overall coordination of the implementation. A Project Implementation Unit will sit under the Coordination Committee in the MGCD and be responsible for the preparation of IFRs, withdrawal applications etc. and for overall reporting of the project across the three components to the Project Steering Committee. Component 1: Supporting Women's Livelihoods will be implemented by existing DCD staff at the national, provincial, district, and community levels who will be assisted by Livelihood Support Volunteers from the targeted communities. The government has a national registry of pre-qualified volunteers who are engaged by government and NGOs on an as-needed basis for various programs. The MCDMCH will select qualified persons from this registry and, in keeping with common practice, will compensate these persons for their work supporting the program. An NGO will be engaged to provide technical assistance to the DCD team; the NGO selection will be based on a scoping and assessment of not only the direct capacity of such actors to deliver livelihood support programs but also their demonstrated work to build and transfer capacity. Component 2: Keeping Girls in School will be implemented under the leadership of the MESVTEE, in collaboration with the Department of Social Welfare (who will particularly provide support for targeting and beneficiary awareness activities). Funds will be transferred electronically directly from MESVTEE to each participating school at the beginning of each term, following confirmation that the beneficiary girls remain enrolled and are attending school. Component 3, Institutional Strengthening and Systems Building, will focus on strengthening management systems, monitoring and evaluation, policy awareness and capacity for policy development within the MCDMCH and MGCD, beyond support provided under Components 1 and 2. Institutional strengthening and systems building Public Disclosure Copy activities will also be supported within the MESVTEE as part of Component 2. VI. Safeguard Policies (including public consultation) Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project Yes No Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01 ✖ Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 ✖ Forests OP/BP 4.36 ✖ Pest Management OP 4.09 ✖ Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11 ✖ Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 ✖ Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 ✖ Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 ✖ Projects on International Waterways OP/BP 7.50 ✖ Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 ✖ Comments (optional) Page 6 of 7 VII. Contact point World Bank Contact: Cornelia M. Tesliuc Public Disclosure Copy Title: Sr Social Protection Specialis Tel: 5327+6507 / Email: ctesliuc@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Name: Government of Republic of Zambia Contact: Felix Nkulukusa Title: Permanent Secretary Tel: 260966551066 Email: fnkulusa@yahoo.com Implementing Agencies Name: Ministry of Community development Mother and Child Health (MCDMCH) Contact: Prof. E. Chomba Title: Permanent Secretary Tel: 260211235341 Email: echomba@zamnet.zm Name: Ministry of Gender and Child Health Contact: Victor Mbumwae Title: Director, Planning Tel: 260977414455 Email: vmbumwae@gmail.com Name: Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training, and Early Education Contact: Ms. Ngonya H. Miyoba Title: Ag. Chief Education Officer Tel: 260977798024 Email: ngonyamwaanga@yahoo.com Public Disclosure Copy 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 Page 7 of 7