IDA to provide $50 million for poverty alleviation
FAISALABAD (July 04 2007): The International Development Association (IDA) will provide $50 million to support Pakistan Government in the development and implementation of a minimum assistance package targeted to poor households with the objective of increasing the effectiveness of social protection interventions in Pakistan.
In terms of both poverty alleviation and promotion of human capital accumulation. In an update project report, Carolina Sanchez, Senior Social Protection Economist of World Bank, said that the focus would be on improved targeting and strengthened management and monitoring of social protection interventions and, ultimately, on improved quality and impact of public expenditure.
The proposed package would include cash transfers and social care services. International evidence on the impact of CCT programs, together with the fact that demand side factors appear to be a real constraint for school enrolment in Pakistan, suggest that the potential impact of this type of program in Pakistan could be positive if adequately targeted and managed.
As a result, support for cash transfer under the project would build upon and strengthen the FSP and, especially, the CSP. Similarly, international and national experiences suggest that the use of innovative models for financing and provision of social care services can significantly improve their coverage and effectiveness. As a result, support for social care services under the project would assist the GoP in articulation of the existing programs under a common, comprehensive framework, while promoting experimentation regarding delivery models.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education and the Planning Commission have drafted a National Social Protection Strategy in which the objectives of poverty reduction and human capital development figure prominently. The strategy is currently under discussion in the Cabinet and is scheduled to be approved late February/early March.
The proposed project would support the GoP in the implementation of key actions within the National Social Protection Strategy. In doing this, the project would contribute to the financing of Pakistan's development priorities while supporting the GoP in increasing the impact and the quality of public social spending. The project is also directly aligned with the social protection priorities identified in the document 'Vision 2030', recently drafted by the Planning Commission, said official sources.
Carolina said that the project would draw on the World Bank's extensive international experience with conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs to extract lessons that are pertinent to Pakistan's needs. In addition, the project would also benefit from recent World Bank's work on social protection issues in Pakistan. This work includes (i) policy dialogue on pensions and safety nets and technical assistance to the Pakistan Bait-ul-Maal in the context of the PRSP discussions; (ii) analytical work on poverty, risk and safety nets (Pakistan Safety Net Report); and (iii) financing of social care service for persons with disabilities (Earthquake Disability Project and two associated JSDF grants).
Important lessons can also be drawn from recent WB experience with cash transfers in the earthquake-affected areas. Finally the project will draw from the World Bank's work on the social sectors, particularly the education sector. This includes (i) financing for co-ordinated supply and demand side interventions in Balochistan, and, (ii) analytical work on the Sindh Education Sector.
These experiences highlight the importance of (i) strong ownership and leadership capacity, (ii) accurate targeting of beneficiaries, (iii) complementary supply side intervention in health and education, and (iv) an effective monitoring and evaluation system.
Commenting over the Bank's comparative advantage, Carolina said that the World Bank was uniquely positioned to support the GoP in the strengthening of existing cash transfer programs and the development of a minimum package of social care services, given (i) its involvement with the MoSWSE and the PBM in recent years, (ii) its overall strategy for social protection in Pakistan and (iii) its experience with the development and implementation of stipend programs to promote school enrolment in Punjab.
She said that the proposed project strongly complements reforms efforts under the PRSC. In particular, the project would build upon the ongoing technical assistance given to the PBM by the WB and the DFID for the design, implementation and evaluation of the CSP pilot, and would support the GoP in the strengthening and expansion of this program.
Commenting over the Bank's strategy for social protection in Pakistan, she said that the project is a key element of the World Bank's strategy for social protection in Pakistan as stated in the CAS (ie, "The Bank's assistance for social protection will include support for safety nets that help the chronic poor cope with and, where possible, escape poverty, and help families and individuals cope with seasonal shocks and natural disasters.").
The proposed project will also build upon the experience and knowledge generated by this program regarding the implementation and potential impact of demand side interventions on education outcomes.
The WB expert stated that the broad objectives of the National Social Protection Strategy are to reduce poverty and inequality and promote human capital investments among poor families through the provision of direct monetary transfers and incentives for investing in human capital. World Bank assistance under the proposed project would aim to contribute to these ultimate objectives of poverty reduction and human capital development among poor families.
Within that broader context, the objective of the proposed APL is to strengthen the ability of the FSP and CSP programs to play an effective role in the country's strategy to reduce poverty and inequality and to foster investments in human capital, as well as to assist the GoP in the development of a minimum package of social care services for the poor structured around these programs.
Specifically, the WB expert mentioned that first phase of the APL would support the effective strengthening and implementation of the FSP and CSP programs and of a minimum package of social care services.
"Effectiveness" would be assessed in terms of: (i) the targeting, coverage, and adequacy of the benefits/services; (ii) efficacy of the CSP conditionalities (co-responsibilities) to foster investment by beneficiary families in human capital; and (iii) the capacities of involved institutions (including ministries, program staff, service providers, and beneficiary groups) to manage these programs efficiently, to monitor results, and to (begin to) evaluate impacts.
Second Phase of the APL would consolidate and deepen the reforms, further perfecting the design of the programs based on experience under phase-1. Such "second generation reforms" might include measures to enable scaling up/down depending on country conditions, further strengthening of M&E, additional administrative efficiency gains, possible development of complementary social protection instruments/services for poor people who are highly vulnerable but do not have children (and thus are not eligible for the co-responsibility requirements of the CSP); and development of mechanisms to enhance prospects for self-sufficiency ("graduation") of poor families.
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