The World Bank Benin Multisectoral Food Health Nutrition Project (P143652) REPORT NO.: RES27309 DOCUMENT OF THE WORLD BANK RESTRUCTURING PAPER ON A PROPOSED PROJECT RESTRUCTURING OF BENIN MULTISECTORAL FOOD HEALTH NUTRITION PROJECT APPROVED ON DECEMBER 19, 2013 TO MINISTRY OF ECONOMY AND FINANCE HEALTH, NUTRITION & POPULATION AFRICA Regional Vice President: Makhtar Diop Country Director: Pierre Frank Laporte Senior Global Practice Director: Timothy Grant Evans Practice Manager/Manager: Gaston Sorgho Task Team Leader: Menno Mulder-Sibanda, Jenny R. Gold The World Bank Benin Multisectoral Food Health Nutrition Project (P143652) ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS CFA Communauté Financière Africaine (African Finance Community) IDA International Development Association ISR Implementation Status Report MFHNP Multisectoral Food Health Nutrition Project PDO Project Development Objective SDR Special Drawing Rights SOE Statement of Expenditures SP/CAN Secrétaire Permanent du Conseil de l’Alimentation et de la Nutrition (Permanent Secretary of the Food and Nutrition Council) The World Bank Benin Multisectoral Food Health Nutrition Project (P143652) BASIC DATA Product Information Project ID Financing Instrument P143652 Investment Project Financing Original EA Category Current EA Category Not Required (C) Not Required (C) Approval Date Current Closing Date 19-Dec-2013 31-Jul-2019 Organizations Borrower Responsible Agency Secretariat Permanent du Conseil de l'Alimentation et de Ministry of Economy and Finance la Nutrition Project Development Objective (PDO) Original PDO The development objective of the new project is to increase the coverage and utilization of community-based child growth and nutrition interventions in selected areas in the Recipient’s territory. The project will establish a decentralized multisectoral platform for the implementation of community-based food, health and nutrition interventions aimed at improving child growth and nutrition outcomes. Summary Status of Financing Net Ln/Cr/Tf Approval Signing Effectiveness Closing Commitment Disbursed Undisbursed IDA-53370 19-Dec-2013 11-Feb-2014 08-Apr-2014 31-Jul-2019 28.00 10.58 15.23 Policy Waiver(s) Does this restructuring trigger the need for any policy waiver(s)? No I. PROJECT STATUS AND RATIONALE FOR RESTRUCTURING The World Bank Benin Multisectoral Food Health Nutrition Project (P143652) 1. The Multisectoral Food Health Nutrition Project (MFHNP) is in its third year of implementation. The Permanent Secretariat of the Food and Nutrition Council (SP/CAN) as the implementing agency of the project has made progress in conducting activities in line with the work and procurement plans agreed upon with the Bank with 29% of total proceeds disbursed to date (SDR 5.24 million out of a total of SDR 18.3 million IDA credit). 2. After a series of unfortunate delays in getting the Commune-level sub-projects off the ground (component 2), the project is now moving full-steam ahead. Twenty-one (21) Communes have signed agreements, received extensive training, and are now implementing community-based nutrition interventions. The process for another 19 Communes is well underway and agreements will likely be signed in the course of the calendar year. Accordingly, disbursement has picked up fast and jumped from 17% to 41% since the ISR of November 2016. According to the projections, the project should have no problem fully disbursing the project proceeds. In the latest ISR of May 2017, the project is rated satisfactory on both the PDO and Implementation Progress. 3. The Mission noted that between January 1 and December 26, 2016, the project submitted six (6) requests to withdraw funds for approximately US$2 million. With the 21 Commune-level subprojects in place, the quarterly payment volume has significantly increased and reached a level close to the ceiling of one billion CFA francs (equivalent to approximately US$1.6 million) on the designated account. Currently, the SP/CAN manages the situation by splitting quarterly payments in two and replenish the account within a month. However, with 19 additional Commune-level subprojects to be added later in the year, the current approach will no longer suffice. Taking into account the good performance of the project in maintaining the accounts and regularly producing interim financial reports and requests for withdrawal, the mission recommended an amendment to the disbursement letter governing the financing of the project. The recommended amendment would consist of a transition from the disbursement procedure based on statements of expenses (SOE) to one based on reports. The recommended amended is the justification of this restructuring. 4. The Bank’s Task Team is comfortable with the shifting of the Project’s SOE based disbursement method to Report Based Disbursement procedures as the financial management arrangements in place are functioning in satisfactory manner with an experienced financial management team supported by a well experienced financial management consultant. The Financial Management Specialist on the team confirms that the project has the capacity to use the Report Based Disbursement Method. II. DESCRIPTION OF PROPOSED CHANGES 5. The proposed restructuring recommends a level II restructuring that involves the following changes to the disbursement letter: a. An increase of the ceiling amount for the designated account from CFA 1,000 million to CFA 1,500 million, b. A transition from the use of SOEs to unaudited Interim Financial Reports as the basis for withdrawal requests for the replenishment of the designated account. 6. The amendment to the disbursement letter is necessary to allow the implementing agency to implement the project efficiently and avoid serious delays in implementation as a result of insufficient balance on the designated account. The World Bank Benin Multisectoral Food Health Nutrition Project (P143652) III. SUMMARY OF CHANGES Changed Not Changed Change in Disbursements Arrangements ✔ Change in Implementing Agency ✔ Change in DDO Status ✔ Change in Project's Development Objectives ✔ Change in Results Framework ✔ Change in Components and Cost ✔ Change in Loan Closing Date(s) ✔ Cancellations Proposed ✔ Reallocation between Disbursement Categories ✔ Change in Disbursement Estimates ✔ Change in Systematic Operations Risk-Rating Tool ✔ (SORT) Change in Safeguard Policies Triggered ✔ Change of EA category ✔ Change in Legal Covenants ✔ Change in Institutional Arrangements ✔ Change in Financial Management ✔ Change in Procurement ✔ Change in Implementation Schedule ✔ Other Change(s) ✔ Change in Economic and Financial Analysis ✔ Change in Technical Analysis ✔ Change in Social Analysis ✔ Change in Environmental Analysis ✔ The World Bank Benin Multisectoral Food Health Nutrition Project (P143652) IV. DETAILED CHANGE(S)