The World Bank Report No: ISR14253 Implementation Status & Results Tajikistan Social Safety Net Strengthening Project (P122039) Public Disclosure Copy Operation Name: Social Safety Net Strengthening Project (P122039) Project Stage: Implementation Seq.No: 6 Status: ARCHIVED Archive Date: 15-Apr-2014 Country: Tajikistan Approval FY: 2011 Product Line: IBRD/IDA Region: EUROPE AND CENTRAL ASIA Lending Instrument: Specific Investment Loan Implementing Agency(ies): Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, The Ministry of Health (MoH) Key Dates Board Approval Date 16-Jun-2011 Original Closing Date 31-Dec-2015 Planned Mid Term Review Date 31-Jul-2014 Last Archived ISR Date 01-Sep-2013 Effectiveness Date 11-Oct-2011 Revised Closing Date 31-Dec-2015 Actual Mid Term Review Date Project Development Objectives Social Safety Net Strengthening Project (P122039) Project Development Objective (from Project Appraisal Document) The development objective of the Project is to improve the capacity of the Government of Tajikistan to plan, monitor, and manage social assistance for the poor through the development of a national registry of social protection and the provision of training, equipment and related items for improving said capacity. Has the Project Development Objective been changed since Board Approval of the Program? Yes No Component(s) Component Name Component Cost Component 2: Capacity building 1.20 Component 3: Project Management 0.30 Component 1: National Registry for Social Protection 1.40 Overall Ratings Public Disclosure Copy Previous Rating Current Rating Progress towards achievement of PDO Moderately Satisfactory Moderately Unsatisfactory Overall Implementation Progress (IP) Moderately Unsatisfactory Moderately Unsatisfactory Overall Risk Rating Substantial Implementation Status Overview The Government of Tajikistan is working on a reform of its system of social assistance to make more equitable and efficient use of the scarce budget resources that it allocates for social assistance. The reform is consolidating legacy social assistance programs,introducing a new targeting mechanism, and strengthening the system of administration of benefit payments. The Ministry of Labor & Social Protection (MLSP) launched a pilot of Targeted Social Assistance (TSA) scheme in two districts in 2011-2012. This pilot tested a new mechanism of identifying poor households using Proxy-Means Test (PMT) method. The evaluation found that the PMT identified the poor more accurately that the legacy system of Page 1 of 6 The World Bank Report No: ISR14253 social assistance. In 2013, the TSA was expanded from two to ten districts. Subsequently, the Government approved expansion of the program to 15 more districts in 2014, bringing the total number of the districts to 25. The World Bank mobilized grants to help the Government build its capacity to reform social assistance throughout the country as follows: Public Disclosure Copy -USD 3.2 million IDA Grant for the Social Safety-net Strengthening Project, signed on July 13, 2011; and the -USD 2.2 million Rapid Social Response (RSR) Trust Fund Grant for Poverty-targeting of Social Assistance, signed on July 15, 2011. The RSR grant expired on December 31, 2013. By the time of its closure, the Government was able to disburse the contingency fund of $500,000 allocated to the benefit payments. The IDA grant will continue providing support to the Government in (i) improving design of the targeting formula, (ii) fine-tuning Operations Manual for the TSA program, (iii) implementing the new MIS system, and (vi) developing effective strategy for the national roll out of the program. Support from the Project Coordination Group (PCG) to the MLSP somewhat improved but coordination remained weak. In 2013 the Government issued request to assign management responsibility over the project to the MLSP. At the same time, in November 2013, the Government decided to transfer the social protection function from MLSP to the Ministry of Health (MOH). That Ministry would also take over responsibility over the TSA implementation and the project management. The planned project restructuring was put on hold until the final legal and operational details of the new mandate of the Ministry of Health get clarified. Locations Country First Administrative Division Location Planned Actual Tajikistan Dushanbe Dushanbe ✔ Results Project Development Objective Indicators Indicator Name Core Unit of Measure Baseline Current End Target Eligibility compliance: The share of applicant Percentage Value 90.00 households that were correctly classified as Date 31-Dec-2009 31-Dec-2013 31-Dec-2015 eligible or ineligible. Comments Baseline not available. This indicator has been This indicator has been dropped from the revised dropped from the revised results framework of the results framework of the restructuring package. restructuring package. Payments compliance: (i) percent of payments Percentage Value 95.00 Public Disclosure Copy from the Treasury that are disbursed by the Date 30-Jun-2011 31-Dec-2013 31-Dec-2015 payment agent; and (ii) the estimated percent Comments Baseline not available. This indicator has been This indicator has been of payments from the payment agent that are received by the benef dropped from the revised dropped from the revised results framework of the results framework of the restructuring package. restructuring package. Coverage of the registry: The share of Percentage Value 1.30 2.60 25.00 households with records in the registry. Date 30-Jun-2011 31-Dec-2013 31-Dec-2015 Comments The interim database program This indicator has been This indicator has been developed by the Ministry of dropped from the revised dropped from the revised Page 2 of 6 The World Bank Report No: ISR14253 Labor of Social Protection results framework of the results framework of the covers the two pilot districts. restructuring package. restructuring package. Development of the National Registry has not begun. Public Disclosure Copy Beneficiaries of Safety Nets programs Number Value 0.00 258000.00 (number) Date 30-Jun-2011 31-Dec-2013 Comments Number of members of the Number of members of all households covered by the households that have become new TSA program beneficiaries of the TSA program in 2013 Beneficiaries of Safety Nets programs - Female Number Value 0.00 116600.00 (number) Sub Type Date 30-Jun-2011 31-Dec-2013 Breakdown Comments Number of female members Number of female members of the households covered by of all households that the new TSA program received the benefit in 2013 Beneficiaries of Safety Nets programs - Number Value 0.00 258000.00 Unconditional cash transfers (number) Sub Type Date 30-Jun-2011 31-Dec-2013 Breakdown Comments Number of members of the Number of members of all households covered by the households that have become new TSA program beneficiaries of the TSA program in 2013 Use of the registry for planning and budgeting. Text Value No No Yes Date 31-Dec-2013 31-Dec-2015 Comments The registry specifications have been developed. The is in the process of development is being contracted out. Intermediate Results Indicators Public Disclosure Copy Page 3 of 6 The World Bank Report No: ISR14253 Indicator Name Core Unit of Measure Baseline Current End Target MLSP and Agency, including region and Text Value 0 190 To be provided district-level staff provided with training Date 30-Jun-2011 31-Dec-2013 Public Disclosure Copy Comments Baseline to be established by (Revised) 81 specialists have Subject to the roll out capacity-assessment at start been trained on TSA schedule of the program of Project. mechanism from the SP Agency 109 specialists have been trained on basic computerliteracy,including 7 from central office of SP Agency, 61 staff from the SP Agency at district level and 41 staff foats. Proportion of district-level offices equipped with Percentage Value 0.00 90.00 adequate computers and connected to the Date 30-Jun-2011 31-Dec-2013 31-Dec-2015 Internet. Comments Baseline to be established by This indicator has been This indicator has been capacity-assessment at start dropped from the revised dropped from the revised of Project. results framework of the results framework of the restructuring package. restructuring package. Number of jamoats piloting electronic input of Number Value 0.00 20.00 applications through the NRSP. Date 30-Jun-2011 31-Dec-2013 31-Dec-2015 Comments This indicator has been dropped from the revised results framework of the restructuring package. Payments tracked by the NRSP. Text Value No Yes Date 30-Jun-2011 31-Dec-2013 31-Dec-2015 Comments This indicator has been This indicator has been dropped from the revised dropped from the revised results framework of the results framework of the Public Disclosure Copy restructuring package. restructuring package. Use of mechanism for recertification. Text Value No Yes Date 30-Jun-2011 31-Dec-2013 31-Dec-2015 Comments N/A This indicator has been This indicator has been dropped from the revised dropped from the revised results framework of the results framework of the restructuring package. restructuring package. Page 4 of 6 The World Bank Report No: ISR14253 Policy, Planning and Administrative Units within Text Value No A full technical team of Fully functional unit within the the MLSP and Agency are staffed and consultants is in place Agency, including TOR for all functioning staff Public Disclosure Copy Date 30-Jun-2011 31-Dec-2013 31-Dec-2015 Comments N/A Revised This includes policy and planning, monitoring, training, and IT, all hired under RSR. Data on Financial Performance (as of 10-Jan-2014) Financial Agreement(s) Key Dates Project Ln/Cr/Tf Status Approval Date Signing Date Effectiveness Date Original Closing Date Revised Closing Date P122039 IDA-H7260 Effective 16-Jun-2011 13-Jul-2011 11-Oct-2011 31-Dec-2015 31-Dec-2015 P123704 TF-98826 Closed 15-Jul-2011 15-Jul-2011 11-Oct-2011 30-Jun-2012 31-Dec-2013 Disbursements (in Millions) Project Ln/Cr/Tf Status Currency Original Revised Cancelled Disbursed Undisbursed % Disbursed P122039 IDA-H7260 Effective USD 3.20 3.20 0.00 0.24 2.98 7.00 P123704 TF-98826 Closed USD 3.20 2.20 0.00 1.83 0.37 83.00 Disbursement Graph Public Disclosure Copy Page 5 of 6 The World Bank Report No: ISR14253 Key Decisions Regarding Implementation In November 2013, the Government decided to transfer the mandate over both policy and implementation of the social protection programs from the Ministry of Labor to the Ministry of Health. While improvements in the project management and operations were observed in the fall 2013, towards the end of the year and beginning of 2014 the implementation slowed down due to the change in the implementing agency. The new Ministry remains committed to the effort but several organizational decisions on the new structure of the Public Disclosure Copy program administration are pending. The ratings for several indicators has therefore been downgraded. The World Bank team and the Government of Tajikistan agreed on restructuring of IDA with explicit transferring of the project management function to the Ministry of Health, pending formal notification from the Ministry of Finance. To support the Ministry of Health in its new role, the World Bank team will utilize the current work on safety nets analysis in Tajikistan to build capacity of the Ministry in policy making and to inform further policy choices in improving design of the TSA program. Restructuring History There has been no restructuring to date. Related Projects P123704-Tajikistan Government-implemented grant for targeting and payment of social assistance Public Disclosure Copy Page 6 of 6