The World Bank Support for Social Recovery Needs of Vulnerable Groups in Beirut (P176622) Appraisal Environmental and Social Review Summary Appraisal Stage (ESRS Appraisal Stage) Public Disclosure Date Prepared/Updated: 09/29/2021 | Report No: ESRSA01583 Sep 29, 2021 Page 1 of 10 The World Bank Support for Social Recovery Needs of Vulnerable Groups in Beirut (P176622) BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Project Data Country Region Project ID Parent Project ID (if any) Lebanon MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH P176622 AFRICA Project Name Support for Social Recovery Needs of Vulnerable Groups in Beirut Practice Area (Lead) Financing Instrument Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Social Sustainability and Investment Project 9/20/2021 10/7/2021 Inclusion Financing Borrower(s) Implementing Agency(ies) International Rescue International Rescue Committee Committee Lebanon Proposed Development Objective Public Disclosure To support the immediate social recovery needs of vulnerable groups who remain impacted by the port of Beirut explosion. This will be done by supporting non-government stakeholders that are engaged and have a track record in social recovery services by improving their capacity to participate in the broader social recovery and reconstruction processes. Financing (in USD Million) Amount Total Project Cost 7.80 B. Is the project being prepared in a Situation of Urgent Need of Assistance or Capacity Constraints, as per Bank IPF Policy, para. 12? No C. Summary Description of Proposed Project [including overview of Country, Sectoral & Institutional Contexts and Relationship to CPF] Component 1 (RE). This component will provide grant financing directly to a select number of NGOs, specifically, to provide social services to vulnerable groups affected by the crises in the immediate to short term. Beneficiaries under this component will include: (i) survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV); (ii) those suffering from deteriorated psycho-social wellbeing; (iii) and PWDs and OPs facing limitations related to their disabled or elderly Sep 29, 2021 Page 2 of 10 The World Bank Support for Social Recovery Needs of Vulnerable Groups in Beirut (P176622) status. Given the cross-cutting nature of their vulnerability, refugees and migrant domestic workers will be targeted across these beneficiary groups. The implementation of the activity streams, above, will be undertaken with NGOs, including those working with migrants and refugees. Component 2 (RE). Capacity building and project management. The objective of this component is to build and strengthen the capacity of local NGOs, grass roots organizations and local NGO forums linked to those organizations supported under component 1, to support the continuity of their socio-economic recovery and development efforts and help bridge the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. One of the complexities of working with local NGOs and FBOs is that the majority lack the capacity and expertise required to adhere to WB fiduciary standards. To overcome this barrier, an Intermediary Implementing Agency (IIA) with fiduciary capacity, project management and sectoral expertise that meets World Bank standards was competitively selected as a Grant recipient to serve as Project Management Unit to make grants to and procure services from local NGOs. The selected IIA is the International Rescue Committee. D. Environmental and Social Overview D.1. Detailed project location(s) and salient physical characteristics relevant to the E&S assessment [geographic, environmental, social] The project aims to support the immediate social recovery needs of vulnerable groups who remain impacted by the port of Beirut explosion of August 2020. Vulnerable groups specifically supported by the project include women and children survivors and at risk of GBV, people with mental health challenges, people with disabilities and the elderly. Included are also migrants and refugees working as domestic workers in Beirut. The project targets beneficiaries Public Disclosure mainly situated in the Beirut and Greater Beirut Areas which is geographically situated along the Mediterranean coastline and flanked by the Lebanon Mountains. The project area, which is the capital and largest city of populated, is densely populated and has been reeling from multiple crises even before the Beirut explosion, namely: (i) spillovers from the conflict in Syria since 2011, which led Lebanon to host the largest refugee per capita population in the world; (ii) a financial and economic crisis that has induced systemic macro-financial failures, including, impairment of the banking sector and a balance of payment crisis; an exchange rate collapse; default on sovereign debt; triple-digit inflation rates; and severe economic contraction; (iii) impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic due to consequent lockdowns that further exacerbated economic and financial stresses; (iv) social crises coupled with increasing poverty rates that have led to social unrest and an ongoing political crisis. D. 2. Borrower’s Institutional Capacity International Rescue Committee (IRC) is the Intermediary Implementing Agency (IIA) and will serve as Project Management Unit to implement activities. The use of an IIA was necessitated by the complexities of working with local NGOs since the majority lack the capacity and expertise required to adhere to WB fiduciary standards. The IRC shall subsequently make grants and procure services from specialized local NGOs and CSOs. It will also provide technical assistance and support for institutional strengthening measures to local NGOs, as well as design and implement communications strategies, undertake citizen engagement initiatives and set up a grievance mechanism. This is the IRC's first project under the ESF although the IRC does have experience in addressing environmental and social related risks in their past operations such as social inclusion, grievance redress mechanism, sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment (SEA/SH), road safety, and occupational health and safety (OHS). The IRC has assigned a dedicated Environmental and Social Specialist who will be supporting in the preparation, implementation, and monitoring of E&S instruments throughout the duration of the project life-cycle. The IRC will also ensure that all Sep 29, 2021 Page 3 of 10 The World Bank Support for Social Recovery Needs of Vulnerable Groups in Beirut (P176622) local NGOs and CSOs from which it will procure services adhere to the World Bank's ESF requirements and will undertake capacity-building activities as needed to improve ESF implementation and document those accordingly. II. SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL (ES) RISKS AND IMPACTS A. Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Moderate Environmental Risk Rating Moderate Overall, the project will have positive impacts in supporting immediate social recovery needs of vulnerable groups impacted by the port of Beirut explosion of August 2020 by: (a) Addressing the needs of individuals and households with survivors of GBV; (b) Improving the psycho-social wellbeing of affected individuals and households, and (c) Supporting the elderly and people with disabilities (PWDs). The project will also benefit migrants and refugees working as domestic workers in Beirut. However, the environmental risk is determined as Moderate. Although there are no civil works interventions, for the support of Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) and NGO-run Primary Healthcare Centers (PHCs) in their outreach teams to PWDs (under Component 1.3), there are risks associated with the handling of the medical waste. Even though mitigations measures may already exist, a medical waste management plan is needed prior to the starting of the MMUs and PHCs' activities to ensure this waste is properly handled. The medical waste management plan will also propose mitigation measures for other risks/impacts, although considered as limited, including on the health and safety hazards related to community exposure including on infectious diseases. Mitigation measures to address potential road safety issues related to the moving MMUs will also need to be recommended. All these risks and impacts are predictable and could be mitigated and reversed with available Public Disclosure means while following the WHO and National Guidelines, WBG EHS guidelines and good international industry practices. Social Risk Rating Moderate This project is rated as having 'moderate' social risks. The overall project interventions are expected to have predominantly positive social impacts as they aim to provide support to survivors of GBV through (i) emergency shelter; (ii) case management; (iii) psycho-social support; (iv) life skills; (v) referrals for tailored services, including medical services and psychosocial and legal assistance, and (vi) provision of education for children in shelters. It will also provide enhanced support to people with psychosocial, and mental health problems including youth, persons who have lost livelihoods, people with disabilities, and migrants in Lebanon. In addition, it will provide enhanced support to people with disabilities and older persons by improving access to quality healthcare for these vulnerable groups through outreach, at-home health, physiotherapy services, and other interventions. The project interventions are aimed to support all identified vulnerable groups regardless of their nationalities. However, project interventions may involve the following social risks: 1) potential risk of exclusion of intended beneficiary vulnerable groups in the project service delivery design and implementation thus resulting in rising social tensions; 2) exclusion of some intended beneficiaries due to weak outreach or communication plans; 3) weak grievance mechanism which is not able to capture and address concerns in a timely manner resulting in potential reputational risk to the project; 4) the risk for SEA/SH due among others to the risk of beneficiary women groups being subjected to unwelcome sexual advances and requests for sexual favors in return for the services provided through this project. B. Environment and Social Standards (ESSs) that Apply to the Activities Being Considered Sep 29, 2021 Page 4 of 10 The World Bank Support for Social Recovery Needs of Vulnerable Groups in Beirut (P176622) B.1. General Assessment ESS1 Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts Overview of the relevance of the Standard for the Project: This standard is relevant. While the project is expected to have overall social benefits by providing enhanced support to persons with disabilities and older persons, psychosocial support, and GBV services to survivors, the project design would benefit from a good understanding of the needs and demands, and socioeconomic profiles of the intended beneficiaries. This information will help in the targeted design of the social services to be provided to meet the needs of the project's intended beneficiaries. It is worth noting that the project interventions do not include beneficiary targeting, screening, and selection as the project is inclusive of all those persons with disabilities, the elderly, and those who are seeking GBV support and psycho-social well-being. The project interventions will therefore help enhance and further strengthen these existing services through the selected NGOs/CSOs to provide the relevant support to the project beneficiary groups. Under ESS1, the intermediary implementing agency (IIA), the IRC, has prepared a Socio-economic Assessment report to get a better understanding of the profiles of the vulnerable groups being targeted under this project, and the challenges they face, which will potentially be beneficial for the proposed project as the findings can inform project design. Amongst the social risks and impacts identified in the socio-economic assessment, the risk of exclusion of intended beneficiaries, the perception of inadequate prioritization or delays in addressing stakeholders’ needs leading to potential alienation on the part of targeted populations, and the potential for SEA/SH related risks were highlighted. The socio-economic assessment proposes mitigation measures to help alleviate the identified social risks and impacts. These interventions to address social issues and risks and their respective mitigation measures, which are also addressed in part in the Labor-Management Procedures (LMP) under ESS2 and the Stakeholder Engagement Public Disclosure Plan (SEP) under ESS10, will be mainstreamed through the project design. The socio-economic report will be finalized by the IIA, cleared by the Bank, and disclosed by project appraisal. ESS10 Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure The borrower needs to clearly communicate the project activities to all affected parties, including i) project-affected parties (PAPs) who might be positively and adversely affected by the project, ii) other interested parties, and vulnerable groups, through meaningful and inclusive consultation sessions during project preparation as well as active stakeholder engagements throughout the project implementation. PAPs and vulnerable populations who will be positively affected include among others vulnerable refugee populations residing currently in Lebanon including women, children, and boys who are GBV survivors, persons with disabilities, persons who need psychosocial support, and the elderly. Other interested parties may include relevant local or international NGOs representative of these vulnerable groups, and those providing humanitarian aid including medical supplies, psychosocial support and GBV services. Academic institutions, also categorized as other interested parties, may also be interested in the interventions of the project activities. Persons who may be negatively affected may include those intended beneficiaries who may be excluded from the project benefits. Active and inclusive engagement with all stakeholders throughout the project life-cycle will be essential to minimize to the extent possible potential social tensions and misperceptions of exclusion. Sep 29, 2021 Page 5 of 10 The World Bank Support for Social Recovery Needs of Vulnerable Groups in Beirut (P176622) Stakeholder engagement activities will serve as a platform for all affected persons and other interested parties to engage in discussions about the project preparation and implementation activities. Due to current nationwide general mobility restrictions, virtual inclusive consultations could be another acceptable modality to be adopted by the LRC as per the guidelines of the WB technical note in this regard. Stakeholder engagement requirements have been documented in the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), which will be finalized by Project appraisal. As documented in the SEP, during the months of June and July, the IRC identified a list of experts and stakeholders. 18 organizations have been targeted in the experts' consultations including local and international NGOs (Himaya, Abaad, RDFL, Mission de Vie, Nabad, Kafa, Fe-male, ProAbled, Embrace, LUPD, Beit El Baraka, Arc en Ciel, HelpAge, INARA, Makhzoumi Foundation, IOCC), the Ministry of Social Affairs and UNF PA. The questions which were raised evolved around the three different components of the project to collect information on the current priorities in each sector, the specified actors’ existing campaigns and strategies, shelters, existing systems and mechanisms, the most relevant actors to consider for this project and their own budget estimation for the accomplishment of some key outcomes. Most of the experts expressed interest in the project activities confirming that it tackles major needs in Lebanon. The budget and details of activities were tweaked based on their feedback. Some of them also recommended local actors to whom they refer for service provision. Through these consultations, the IRC was able to learn more about the main actors under GBV, Persons with Disabilities, Elderly and Mental Health, their activities, expertise, ongoing initiatives, coordination, and uncovered needs. The outcomes of the consultation fed into the completion of the budget, stakeholders’ identification, activities, target and expected results of the project. Public Disclosure As part of the SEP, the IIA also needs to introduce a feedback mechanism through the development of a functional and robust grievance mechanism (GM) that should be accessible to all. The dedicated staff of the client IIA will need to monitor closely and address all grievances including anonymous complaints. This project GM will help close the feedback loop on all citizens' and beneficiaries' concerns and questions about the project activities and will allow for transparency. It is recommended that the client IIA ensures that the dedicated E&S specialist follows up closely on this aspect throughout project implementation and to document accordingly. The GM will also include referral pathways in the event of any sexual exploitation and abuse and sexual harassment (SEA/SH) related complaints with the adoption of the principles of confidentiality and anonymity. As per the SEP, a formal national feedback and response mechanism (FARM) and a formal policy was established at the IRC Lebanon and rolled out in September 2019 to capture grievances and concerns from beneficiaries on all its projects. Three Feedback and Complaints Officers for IRC based in Bekaa, Akkar, and Tripoli are responsible for managing the hotlines, feedback boxes, help desks, and face-to-face channels. IRC’s hotline numbers are 81666914 for Tripoli, 76064550 for Akkar, and 76350050 for Bekaa, Beirut, and Mount Lebanon. IRC’s email address is feedback.lb@rescue.org. Focal points for every partner as well as hotline numbers and/or e-mail addresses and/or websites will be identified once partners are selected. The feedback and complaints are registered on a database and referred to the relevant focal points for handling. For this project and depending on the capacity assessment of the partners and their existing structures, either the partners already have existing dedicated accountability teams to receive public grievances, or the IRC will work with the partners to recruit/assign and train dedicated focal points Sep 29, 2021 Page 6 of 10 The World Bank Support for Social Recovery Needs of Vulnerable Groups in Beirut (P176622) sitting in the partners’ organizations to receive public grievances. The IRC will work with the partners to develop a contextualized database for the partners to log, monitor, refer, and handle feedback and complaints. According to the IRC’s policy, each case based on its priority (low, medium, high, critical) has a timeframe to be handled and resolved. Low priority cases are not timebound, they are registered on the database and directly closed where the Feedback and Complaint Officers answer the beneficiaries’ questions and close the case accordingly. Medium priority cases are usually related to requests for assistance and these need five working days to be resolved after referring to the relevant focal point for handling. High priority cases (such as trends on dissatisfaction with the quality of services, sexual exploitation, and harassment, fraud, breach of code of conduct, etc) are referred to the relevant focal point (if related to dissatisfaction with the quality of services) or Human Resources (if related to breach of Code of Conduct). HR and the Ethics and Compliance Unit are responsible for investigating cases. If the case was deemed not appropriate to investigate due to lack of needed information or other matters, then the IRC provides an explanation to the complainant on the reasons behind this decision and acknowledging the closure of the case, or whether additional information is needed to complete the investigation process. When SEA/SH reports are received, IRC Lebanon proceeds through the following steps: - Country Director is informed unless this presents a conflict of interest. In that case, Regional Vice President (RVP) is informed. Information and reports about the case, if on-paper, are kept in a sealed envelope in the main Finance Department safe in the Beirut office. Electronic safeguarding complaints are stored on the JIRA database that is restricted to specific staff members. IRC Accountability team might also receive emails from clients on Safeguarding Public Disclosure violations through the feedback email that is managed by the Accountability Manager. - As soon as consent is received from the client, or when a report is received if it involves a child, the report is immediately made to IRC’s Ethics and Compliance Unit (ECU) to initiate an investigation. - Support services are immediately offered to the survivor and their family members. These can also be provided to any third parties involved. Case management is done by qualified staff members so that IRC does not do harm to the individuals. - The Safety and Security Focal Point will be involved if there are safety concerns raised unless this would involve a conflict of interest. In that case, the Regional Safety and Security Advisor would be contacted. - No action is taken against or with the perpetrator until ECU can advise on the best path forward. B.2. Specific Risks and Impacts A brief description of the potential environmental and social risks and impacts relevant to the Project. ESS2 Labor and Working Conditions This standard is relevant. The project will involve direct workers and contracted workers. The direct workers will be the project management unit (PMU), staff at the IRC and or consultants who could be hired. Contracted workers will include those specialized CSOs and NGOs who may be contracted by the IRC to provide expertise support for the realization of the project objectives such as for procurement of services that would be available to women in the safe houses including life skills, and the GBV Information Management System (GBVIMS). The project workers may be Sep 29, 2021 Page 7 of 10 The World Bank Support for Social Recovery Needs of Vulnerable Groups in Beirut (P176622) exposed to some occupational health and safety risks due to the direct exposure to COVID19 contagion and improper handling of medical wastes. Labor-Management Procedures (LMP) has been prepared by the IRC IIA to align with ESS2 requirements on OHS requirements, health, non-discrimination, prevention of child labor, SEA/H, and GM. The LMP will be cleared by the bank and disclosed by project appraisal. The LMP, which is a living document, can be updated throughout project implementation as needed. On occupational health and safety (OHS), IRC will ensure to prepare, adopt, and implement an OHS action plan that includes measures specified in the LMP in line with ESS2. The OHS action plan will be in effect and implemented by the NGOs receiving financing. It will include general workplace OHS, COVID-19-related, and OHS due to waste handling and other services. ESS3 Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management This standard is considered relevant. Although there are no civil work interventions, the support to Mobile Medical Unit (MMUs) and their outreach teams to people with disabilities (PWDs) under Component 1.3 and NGO-run Primary Healthcare Centres (PHCs) presents risks in the handling of medical waste. A medical waste management plan will be prepared before appraisal to address potential risks associated with medical waste and disposal and will recommend accordingly relevant mitigation measures. IRC will undertake assessments of the MMUs and PHCs to be Public Disclosure supported under the project to document the status of implementation of medical waste management measures as per the national guidelines and requirements of the ESS3. IRC will identify and develop plans at the MMUs and PHCs level to be implemented and monitored throughout the project life-cycle. ESS4 Community Health and Safety This standard is relevant. The SEA/SH risk assessment showed a moderate-risk rating, hence the project will prepare a SEA/SH Prevention and Response Plan and will adopt mitigation measures including the signing of codes of conduct by all project actors, awareness-raising, and a GM sensitive to SEA/SH complaints with referral pathways and the principles of confidentiality and anonymity which are already in place at the IRC as outlined in the SEP. Other risks, even though limited, include the community exposure to the transmission of COVID-19, road safety issues and solid waste. However, IRC has aquired experience in managing these risks including developing policy, guidelines and plans to address these aspects. Moreover, these risks and impacts are predictable and could be mitigated and reversed with available means, while implementing the WHO and National Guidelines, WBG EHS guidelines and good international industry practices. ESS5 Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement Sep 29, 2021 Page 8 of 10 The World Bank Support for Social Recovery Needs of Vulnerable Groups in Beirut (P176622) This standard is not relevant. No investments will be supported that require the involuntary taking of land resulting in temporary or permanent resettlement impacts. ESS6 Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Resources This standard is not relevant. The Project is not expected to support any greenfield construction works or other activities that might jeopardize the integrity of biodiversity or living natural resources. ESS7 Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Local Communities ESS7 is not currently relevant as there are no traditional communities meeting the criteria of this standard. ESS8 Cultural Heritage ESS8 is not relevant. The project is not expected to support any construction or rehabilitation activities outside of the current footprint of existing facilities that could have an impact on tangible or intangible cultural heritage. ESS9 Financial Intermediaries ESS9 is not currently relevant. There are no financial intermediaries involved in the project. Public Disclosure C. Legal Operational Policies that Apply OP 7.50 Projects on International Waterways No OP 7.60 Projects in Disputed Areas No B.3. Reliance on Borrower’s policy, legal and institutional framework, relevant to the Project risks and impacts Is this project being prepared for use of Borrower Framework? No Areas where “Use of Borrower Framework” is being considered: Borrower Framework will not be considered. IV. CONTACT POINTS World Bank Contact: Stavros George Stavrou Title: Senior Social Development Specialist Sep 29, 2021 Page 9 of 10 The World Bank Support for Social Recovery Needs of Vulnerable Groups in Beirut (P176622) Telephone No: +1-202-473-4100 Email: sstavrou@worldbank.org Contact: Marcelo Jorge Fabre Title: Senior Social Development Specialist Telephone No: 5220+2545 / 63-2-4652545 Email: mfabre@worldbank.org Borrower/Client/Recipient Borrower: International Rescue Committee Implementing Agency(ies) Implementing Agency: International Rescue Committee Lebanon V. 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 VI. APPROVAL Public Disclosure Task Team Leader(s): Marcelo Jorge Fabre, Stavros George Stavrou Practice Manager (ENR/Social) Lia Carol Sieghart Cleared on 03-Sep-2021 at 07:53:22 GMT-04:00 Sep 29, 2021 Page 10 of 10