The World Bank Improving ECD outcomes in rural Morocco (P173073) Program Information Document (PID) Concept Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 02-Dec-2020 | Report No: PIDC208759 Nov 20, 2020 Page 1 of 8 The World Bank Improving ECD outcomes in rural Morocco (P173073) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Program Data OPS TABLE Country Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Program Name Morocco P173073 Improving ECD outcomes in rural Morocco Does this operation Region Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date have an IPF component? MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH 08-Mar-2021 13-May-2021 No AFRICA Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Practice Area (Lead) Program-for-Results Kingdom of Morocco National Initiative for Human Education Financing Development Proposed Program Development Objective(s) To improve access to and quality of select services that promote early childhood development in rural areas of Morocco COST & FINANCING FIN_SRC_TABLE1 SUMMARY (USD Millions) Government program Cost 600.00 Total Operation Cost 600.00 Total Program Cost 599.50 Other Cost 0.50 Total Financing 600.00 Financing Gap 0.00 FINANCING (USD Millions) Total World Bank Group Financing 200.00 World Bank Lending 200.00 Total Government Contribution 400.00 Nov 20, 2020 Page 2 of 8 The World Bank Improving ECD outcomes in rural Morocco (P173073) Concept Review Decision B. Introduction and Context Country Context 1. After two decades of rapid progress in reducing poverty, Morocco is at a crossroad in its development path. Morocco has made significant social and economic progress since 2000, thanks to political stability, large public investments and political, institutional, and sector reforms. Accelerated economic growth led to the eradication of extreme poverty, a sharp decline in the national poverty rate, 1 increased life expectancy, greater access to basic public services, and significant public infrastructure development. Despite these achievements, heightened aspirations by Moroccans, especially youth, remain unmet. Economic growth has slowed in recent years, job creation remains insufficient resulting in a large inactive population, and the labor force participation rate is low. Pockets of poverty remain across the country and territorial disparities reflect deep social and economic inequalities. Despite dramatic progress, Morocco’s development risks slowing down, unless it can overcome structural impediments to growth and boost job creation through private sector led growth and accelerated productivity and competitiveness gains. 2. The new development model under preparation will lay out a way forward in addressing persisting challenges to sustainable growth and is anticipated to focus heavily on strengthening human capital. The King Mohamed VI, in his speech for the 20th anniversary of the Throne on July 28, 2019, called for the development of a new and inclusive development model (New Model for Development). He appointed a special committee (Commission Spéciale sur le Modèle de Développement – CSMD) consisting of experts drawn from different backgrounds and charged with thinking through a new development model through a participative and inclusive approach. Expected to be delivered in early 2021, the New Model for Development is anticipated to place improvements in human capital front and center of the new development paradigm for the country. Such focus is already apparent in major reform announcements, such as the overhaul of the social protection system by 2024, the rolling out of a universal health insurance and the expansion of family allowances to all Moroccan households with children. Sectoral (or multi-sectoral) and Institutional Context of the Program 3. For Morocco to move towards a trajectory of faster growth and improved opportunities for all, achieving stronger human capital outcomes will be key. Human capital in Morocco contributes 41 percent to wealth per capita, a level substantially lower than in countries with a similar level of development (Lange, Wodon, & Carey, 2018).2 Indeed, weak human capital outcomes are hindering productivity— with a Human Capital Index (HCI)3 of 0.5, Moroccans born today will only reach fifty percent of their productivity potential. Morocco’s future social and economic trajectory is 1 With an average economic growth rate of 4.2 percent during the period 2007-2015, poverty has reduced significantly (from 15.3 percent in 2001 to 4.8 percent in 2014). Life expectancy increased from 68.7 to 75.8 between 2010 and 2016. 2 Lange, Glenn-Marie, Quentin Wodon, and Kevin Carey. 2018. The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018: Building a Sustainable Future . Washington, DC: World Bank 3 The Human Capital Index measures the amount of human capital that the average child born in 2018 is expected to achieve and reflects information from five education and health indicators: probability of survival to age five, expected years of schooling, harmonized test scores as a measure of quality of learning, adult survival rate, and proportion of children who are not stunted. Nov 20, 2020 Page 3 of 8 The World Bank Improving ECD outcomes in rural Morocco (P173073) therefore conditioned by its ability to accelerate progress in human capital accumulation and distribution. 4. Achieving stronger human capital outcomes requires overcoming various supply and demand-side constraints faced by Moroccan children in reaching their full development, especially in rural areas. Over the past decades, Morocco has put in place essential programs to deliver critical services to families with young children. While coverage has improved, there remain significant weaknesses in terms of delivery of and access to many of these services. The maternal mortality ratio in rural areas is more than two times higher than in urban areas (111 versus 45 deaths per 100,000 live births) and child mortality is 27 percent higher in rural areas compared to urban areas. While 96 percent of women in urban areas give birth in a health facility, the proportion is only 73.4 percent in rural areas. Nutrition deficiencies are persisting, with 20.5 percent of children under 5 in rural areas being stunted versus 10.4 percent in urban areas, with some regions reaching 30 percent. There is a 17-percentage point difference between rural and urban areas in the preschool enrollment rate of children ages 4 and 5 (62.4 vs. 79.4 percent). 5. Despite strong commitments to improve Early Childhood Development (ECD) outcomes and various ambitious sector strategies, efforts have been constrained by the lack of institutional coordination mechanisms, making it difficult to align interventions and leverage synergies impact. Although ECD has gradually become a national priority for the government, Morocco does not have a multisectoral strategy and a coordinating body that would govern the provision of integrated services for the early years. Different institutions are involved in the promotion of ECD with sometimes overlapping responsibilities. Roles and responsibilities of different actors and agencies are not clearly defined, multiple service providers still follow a sectoral approach and mechanisms for collaboration and communication are underdeveloped. As a result, convergence of ECD interventions on priority geographic areas and on households with pregnant mothers and young children is low. To add to this, limited data systems for monitoring and evaluating ECD interventions hinders the assessment of progress and impact. 6. Finally, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought additional challenges. The sanitary lockdown has impeded access to healthcare, including key services for families with young children such as vaccination (reduction in utilization by 36 percent of households with children needing immunization), prenatal and postanal visits (decline by 30 percent of households with eligible women), and reproductive health services (decline by 34 percent of concerned households)4. Children who were normally attending school have lost learning opportunities during the school shutdown. Despite proactive measures by the Ministry of Education (MoE), distance education is exacerbating equity issues as 75 percent of children do not have high-speed internet connection. Only a few manage to benefit from online education on a regular basis (48 percent of households at the primary level, 51 percent at the lower-secondary level and 69 percent at the upper secondary level)5. At the pre-primary level, 84 percent of normally enrolled children did not benefit from the continuity of service6. Finally, social distancing is especially harmful for children who precisely need social, child- child and adult-child interactions to develop and reach their full potential. Relationship to CAS/CPF 7. The proposed Program is closely aligned with the Country Partnership Framework (CPF, 2019-2024, Report No. 131039-MA). The overall objective of the CPF is to support Morocco in promoting social cohesion by improving the conditions for job creation and reducing social and territorial disparities. Building on the Government of Morocco’s (GoM) program, the CPF pursues three strategic focus areas: (a) Promoting Job Creation by the Private Sector; (b) 4 HCP 2020 (a). Enquête sur l’impact du coronavirus sur la situation économique, sociale et psychologique des ménages. The majority of households surveyed (51 to 64 percent) mentioned the risk of contamination to COVID-19 as a reason for renouncing to using those services. 5 HCP 2020 (a) 6 HCP 2020 (b) Rapports sociaux dans le contexte de la pandémie COVID-19. 2 The World Bank Improving ECD outcomes in rural Morocco (P173073) Transforming and Protecting Human Capital; and (c) Promoting Inclusive and Resilient Territorial Development. In line with the findings of the Systematic Country Diagnostic (World Bank, 2018)7, Governance and Citizen Engagement form a foundation of the CPF. The proposed Program directly supports the second strategic area of the CPF and will contribute to achieve its objective 4 on improving early childhood development (ECD) outcomes. The project also directly contributes to the WBG expanded MENA Strategy (March 2019) pillar on “Building Human Capital�, which places a greater focus on harnessing human capital. Rationale for Bank Engagement and Choice of Financing Instrument 8. The proposed Program stems from an upstream engagement during the conceptualization and early implementation of the third phase of the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH3). INDH3 was launched in September 2018, following on earlier phases implemented between 2005 and 2017. Based on the evaluation of the first two phases, and building on international experience and evidence, INDH3 has re-centered its focus towards key elements that affect human capital, and now includes a sub-program entirely focused on children and adolescents (INDH3-P4). Since 2018, the Bank contributed to the conceptualization of the ECD window of INDH3-P4 through extensive policy dialogue and technical assistance. 9. The Bank supports the client’s request for the use of the Program for Results (PforR) instrument, which closely fits with the Program’s focus. The PforR instrument is considered an appropriate lending instrument to support improved efficacy and efficiency of INDH programs. The PforR instrument is particularly suitable for supporting a large national program in which alignment across different implementing agencies, such as different sector ministries, regional and provincial authorities is essential. Disbursement-linked indicators (DLI) will be a critical tool for shifting the policy dialogue toward results and facilitating the convergence of sectoral interventions. This choice of instrument builds on the GoM’s interest in managing for results and their positive experience with successfully using results-based financing to implement key reforms in several sectors including Agriculture, Education, Health, Transport, and Urban Development. C. Program Development Objective(s) (PDO) and PDO Level Results Indicators Program Development Objective(s) To improve access to and quality of select services that promote early childhood development in rural areas of Morocco PDO Level Results Indicators The following preliminary results indicators are proposed to measure progress towards this PDO: • Percentage of children under the age of 1 benefiting from prioritized ECD services in a timely manner in project areas. • Percentage of children ages 1-5 years benefiting from improved ECD services which meet new quality standards in project areas. • Institutional framework for the delivery of integrated ECD services established and operationalized. 7 World Bank. 2018. Morocco - Systematic Country Diagnostic (English). Washington, D.C.: World Bank Group. 3 The World Bank Improving ECD outcomes in rural Morocco (P173073) D. Program Description PforR Program Boundary 10. Within the broader INDH3, the fourth window (P4) is articulated around key multisector interventions aimed at boosting human capital accumulation in vulnerable areas. Interventions under INDH3-P4 target two defining moments, early childhood and adolescence, for vulnerable populations in rural and disadvantaged areas, including pregnant and nursing mothers, children under 6 years of age, school-age children, and adolescents at risk from dropping out from the education and training system. More specifically, INDH3-P4 comprises three sub-programs: 1. Improving maternal and child health and nutrition. The health objective is to support the MoH in reducing maternal, neonatal and child mortality, by boosting access to prenatal and postnatal care, delivery of birth attended by skilled health personnel, and early screening of disability in young children in the most needed areas. The nutrition objective is to combat stunted growth and micronutrient deficiencies, by improving the monitoring of the nutritional status of mother and young children, providing micronutrients to targeted population in highest impact areas and raising awareness on nutrition issues to change behaviors. 2. Promoting child cognitive and social development. The objective is to support the MoE in providing universal access to quality pre-primary education by boosting access to preschool in rural and remoted areas, in partnership with key Foundations and associations, including through the creation of 10,000 new preschool units (UPs) and the rehabilitation of 5,000 existing UPs, by improving pedagogical quality, and by raising stakeholders’ awareness on the importance of quality preschool education. 3. Combatting school dropout and promoting educational achievement. The objective is to reduce learning gaps and promote personal development of children and adolescents, by providing educational support, supporting school reintegration and non-formal education, developing equipment and infrastructure such as student residences and school buses, providing early education guidance to students, and promoting personal development through extra-curricular activities, infrastructures such as sport centers and libraries, and partnerships with civil society 11. The proposed World Bank-financed Program is expected to contribute substantively to the attainment of key results identified in the government program. The proposed operation will support a portion of the INDH3-P4 with a view to improve access and quality of select services that promote early childhood development in rural areas of Morocco. The Program will support a selected set of activities as defined in the Program boundaries: - Duration: The Program duration is aligned with the government program’s third phase and will run between 2021 and 2024. - Program Area: The Program area includes the regions of Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceima, l’Oriental, Fès-Meknès, Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Béni-Mellal-Khénifra, Casablanca-Settat, Marrakech-Safi, Draâ-Tafilalet, and Souss-Massa. - Exclusions: Investments to be excluded from Program financing include those that have the potential to cause significant adverse impact on the environment and/or affected people as defined in the World Bank Policy and Directive on PforR Financing, or if they involve works, goods, and consultancy contracts above the Operations Procurement Review Committee (OPRC) thresholds. E. Initial Environmental and Social Screening 12. To inform the preparation of this PforR, an Environmental and Social System Assessment (ESSA) will be conducted by the Bank to identify potential environmental and social impacts of the Program. The ESSA will examine the risks entailed by the Program activities and assess the Coordination Nationale de l’INDH’s environmental and social 4 The World Bank Improving ECD outcomes in rural Morocco (P173073) management systems8 with a view to determining compliance with the Bank Policy and Bank Directive for PforRs financing and suggesting risk mitigation measures to include within the Program. 13. Based on a preliminary assessment and available information during identification, the proposed operation is compliant with the Bank Policy and Bank Directive for PforR financing and is not expected to have significant adverse impacts on the environment and/or affected people. Indeed, while the first two phases have supported massive investments in basic infrastructure, INDH3 marks a major turning point towards investment in intangible elements contributing to the improvement of human capital. 14. Potential negative, individual or cumulative environmental and social impacts associated with the Program are considered negligible to moderate. 1. No adverse impacts on natural habitats and physical cultural resources are expected. Activities which require construction or rehabilitation work (generalization of pre-school education, support for the schooling of children and adolescents) are limited to classrooms confined within existing educational establishments. Regarding Dar Al Oumouma, the new constructions will be developed on cleared land meaning that the land has to be acquired by MoH before any construction can begin. Expected impacts are those linked to work construction and their mitigation is controlled by good practices introduced in the subcontractors’ ToRs. 2. No major physical population displacement is likely to occur, and temporary or permanent land requirements are expected to be limited with a focus on using public land wherever possible. In fact, the Program is expected to generate positive social impacts, its objective is to find solutions to the main causes of the delay in human development at each phase of an individual's development. 3. The Program is also expected to have a positive social impact as it aims at improving equal opportunities for Moroccan children and their mothers to access quality health and/or education services. It will support the provision of adequate early education inputs for populations in poor areas. Given their family and socio-economic backgrounds, poor children are often facing steep learning obstacles when entering the education system and tend to drop-out from school before acquiring the foundational literacy and numeracy skills on which any further education or training needs to build. By focusing on pre-schooling and early grades learning, the Program is expected to have positive benefits on poor children’s future opportunities. This will also ensure better inclusion of rural young mothers who will be able to pursue their studies or engage in economic activities while their children will attend pre-school. 15. The operation will support the government to identify and screen potential negative effects in advance and implement effective mitigation measures. It should be recalled that the two previous phases of the INDH in which the Bank participated, made it possible to set up an environmental and social (E&S) management system based on monitoring tools and a strengthened institutional organization at the local level. 16. Morocco has a strong legal basis regarding environmental and social management and impact assessments, and reliable country systems in place to manage the risks associated with the program’s activities. The key legislative text is Law no. 12-03 of May 12, 2003, aimed at minimizing the negative impact of projects and improving ecological sustainability. The Moroccan legal land tenure regime refers to different land-use systems. Respect for property is a fundamental principle of Moroccan law, consecrated by Article 35 of the new Constitution of 2011 and implemented by numerous laws. 8The assessment of Coordination Nationale de l’INDH’s systems will include the scope of national and local laws, regulations, and procedures; as wel l as the capacity of the Program’s institutions to implement and operate laws, regulations and procedures efficiently. 5 The World Bank Improving ECD outcomes in rural Morocco (P173073) 17. The results of the ESSA will inform program design and key measures to improve E&S risk management will be included in the Program Action Plan and/or in the results framework. The development of the ESSA will additionally provide a platform to engage program stakeholders in consultations regarding E&S aspects. National consultations will be organized in early 2021, and the final version of the ESSA document will be made public before appraisal with key actions included in the Program Action Plan. . 6