Guinea-Bissau Human Capital Project

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The project is framed around four components, tailored to children (0-10 years) and their mothers (i.e. pregnant adolescent girls and women), to address obstacles to human capital formulation during the most critical stages of a child's development. Using a multi-sectoral approach, the project proposes to strengthen and expand the delivery of an integrated package of essential social services at the community level, whilst simultaneously strengthening human resource capacity and introducing a results-based financing approach to improve the accessibility and quality of social services delivered in health facilities and schools. The project design adopts several principles: (1) Two-pronged service delivery approach: The project supports the delivery of social services through two service delivery platforms (community-based and public structures, i.e. schools and health facilities) to ensure that beneficiaries effectively access essential health, nutrition, education and safety-net services, despite the persisting institutional weaknesses and fragility. Simultaneously, it supports the strengthening of service delivery through public schools and health facilities, which deliver specific critical services that cannot be provided at the community level (e.g. caesarean sections, effective teaching of students, etc.).(2) Geographic targeting. The integrated package of essential social services (health, nutrition, education and safety-nets) will be deployed in the two regions (Oio and Bafata) with the greatest concentration of poor households, lowest human capital outcomes and increased vulnerability to climate shocks. (3) Poverty targeting. To further optimize economic efficiency and improve coverage of services to the poorest households, based on accurate poverty status of households, the project will support the establishment and scale-up of a social registry. Aside from facilitating the provision of cash transfers to the poorest households, to facilitate their investment in social services and increase their resilience, including from food and climate shocks (e.g. flooding), this registry will also be used by other social sectors to efficiently provide free services (e.g. free healthcare) to the poorest and most vulnerable populations.(4) Results-based financing approach: The project adopts a PBF approach to strengthen accountability, incentivize performance and quality of service delivery, and promote data-based decision making that will include overlay of meteorological data to reach climate vulnerable communities and regions. The PBF approach in health will be piloted in the two priority regions (Oio and Bafata).The project includes the following components:Component 1: Investing in women and children (US$6.74 MILLION): This component aims to increase investments in women and young children, especially from poor and climate vulnerable households, to facilitate and promote utilization of essential social services, with the objective to build early childhood human capital. More specifically, this component aims to use community-based service delivery platforms to provide poor and vulnerable families, including those impacted by climate shocks, with cash transfers and an integrated package of essential social services of quality. The proposed interventions are expected to promote greater investments in human capital for children from conception to age 10 years, and lead to improved health, nutrition, early learning, and enhanced child development. To enhance the resilience of these families to climate-related shocks, the component will also support adaptation and mitigation measures under each sub-component. The activities under component 1 will be implemented in Oio and Bafata and aim to build on synergies across sectors and maximize the effectiveness of the interventions. Component 2: IMPROVED SERVICE DELIVERY (US$ 5.65 Million)This component focuses on the introduction of PBF and technology across the health and education sectors to enhance the provision of quality social services. In order to improve performance of the social sectors, innovative approaches, focused more on results and accountability and less on inputs, are required. Despite significant investments from various donors, including the collection of basic statistics, the expected outcomes are often not achieved due to poor motivation and a lack of incentives within different Ministries and institutions. The project intends to introduce PBF and digital tools to strengthen accountability and service delivery by promoting a focus on actions necessary to improve performance and human capital outcomes. Component 3: Enhanced Human Resources (US$ 4.77 MILLION)This component supports interventions to increase the quality of HR in the social sectors, and develop and strengthen accountability mechanisms for health professionals, teachers, and social workers. Component 4: Institutional strengthening, M&E, and project management (US$2.84 Million). This component supports interventions to (1) strengthen each implementing entities capacity to plan, implement, and evaluate the project interventions, and institutional coordination at various levels from the national to the village level; (2) costs related to the planning, coordination and implementation of the M&E functions of the project, and support the new Project Coordination Unit (PCU) to support the coordination of the project. Component 5: Contingent Emergency Response Component (CERC). This component will facilitate access to rapid financing through reallocation of uncommitted project funds in the event of an eligible crisis or emergency, either by a formal declaration of a national emergency or upon a formal request from the government. Following a natural or man-made disaster or crisis that has caused—or is likely to cause—an imminent major adverse economic or social impact, the government may request that the World Bank reallocate project funds to support emergency response. A CERC Manual, which details the simplified FM, procurement, guarantees, and other implementation arrangements, and an Emergency Action Plan acceptable to the WB will be prepared and constitute a disbursement condition for this component.