Attachments
Country and Institutional Context, and Project Interventions
The combined effects of conflict, economic crisis, climate shocks and poor harvests are significantly affecting people’s access to food. According to findings of the WFP’s Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment (CFSVA), over 15 million people (34 percent of the population) are currently food insecure. The CFSVA further indicates that this figure may increase to more than 18 million people (39 percent of the population) by end-September 2022. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is causing further spikes in global food prices, in particular cereal prices. With around 54 percent of total wheat imported into Sudan coming from the Black Sea region, Sudan has a high dependency on the Black Sea region for wheat imports. Prices of agricultural commodities have gone up significantly in Sudan. The increasing fuel and fertilizer prices are also likely to impact the upcoming crop-planting season, which could lead to poorer quality and quantity of crop yield during the next harvest season.
The humanitarian situation in Sudan deteriorated significantly in 2021 and into 2022, as inter- communal violence intensified the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) increased to 3.2 million. Around 442,000 internal displacements were reported during 2021, more than five times the figure for 2020 and the highest since 2014. Violence across the country, and mainly in Darfur, stems mostly from inter-communal disputes over land, grazing routes and other resources. Clashes between nomads, farmers, herders and other groups date back many years, particularly during the harvest season. Disasters, COVID-19, a severe economic crisis and worsening food insecurity intensified competition for resources in 2021 and contributed to the steep rise in violence and displacement.
The proposed Sudan Emergency Safety Nets Project (SESNP) will have two components: 1) Safety Net Transfers, and 2) Delivery Systems, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Learning and Project Management. The project will be guided by the following principles: (i) simplicity in design; (ii) strong communication; (iii) close collaboration with partners for strengthened humanitarian-development-peace nexus; (iv) use of technology to speed up delivery of the operation; (v) gender focus; (vi) people-centric approach; and (vii) conflict sensitivity (including community participatory approaches during targeting and implementation to strengthen community voice). The project will be implemented under third-party implementation arrangements by WFP.
Component 1: Safety Net Transfers (US$76.4 million) will have two subcomponents providing: (i) unconditional cash transfers and (ii) unconditional food transfers. Subcomponent 1.1. Unconditional Cash Transfers (US$72.6 million). This sub-component will finance unconditional cash transfers to the most vulnerable households facing food insecurity, to smoothen consumption needs. The sub-component will also finance fees for payment of service providers and Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) partners supporting cash transfer implementation. According to the food insecurity assessment findings, cash transfers will be provided to food insecure households in localities with functioning food markets. The project will provide cash transfers of US$7 per person per month in the targeted households for a total of four months. According to the WFP estimates, the US$7 per individual provides an equivalent of half a ration of the calorific requirements per day (that is 1,000 kilocalories). There will be no limitation on the household size. This sub-component will benefit about 1,900,000 beneficiaries (320,000 households). About 50 percent of the primary grant recipients (the household members receiving the benefits on behalf of the household) will be women. Additional details on the implementation of cash-based transfers will be provided in the Project Operations manual (POM).
Subcomponent 1.2. Unconditional Food Transfers (US$3.8 million). This sub-component will finance unconditional food transfers to the most vulnerable households facing food insecurity to smoothen consumption. The sub-component will also finance food-transfer related costs. For this sub-component, the project has received the approval of the World Bank to allow for food expenditures to be eligible for financing under the proposed project. Food transfers will be provided in localities with poorly functioning food markets. Each individual in the beneficiary households will receive food equivalent to US$7 in monthly transfers for four months. In practical terms, this will include 240 grams of sorghum, 30 grams of pulses, 15 grams of vegetable oil and 5 grams of salt per person per day. There will be no limitation on the household size. This sub- component will benefit at least 100,000 beneficiaries (17,000 households). About 50 percent of the primary food recipients will be females.
Component 2: Delivery Systems, Monitoring and Evaluation and Learning, and Project Management (US$23.6 million). This component will have three subcomponents providing: (i) delivery systems; (ii) monitoring, evaluation and learning; and (iii) project management. Sub- component 2.1: Delivery systems (US$10.2 million). This sub-component would finance costs associated with project delivery systems including outreach and communication, targeting, enrolment, payments, management information system (MIS), M&E, Grievance redress, and social accountability.
Sub-component 2.2: Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (US$2.6 million). The M&E design of the project is based on the theory of change (Figure 3) that describes the logical linkages between components, activities, outputs and outcomes. The objective will be to: (a) inform the operational plan for project rollout, (b) improve efficiency and effectiveness of the project, and (c) undertake process evaluation and beneficiary satisfaction surveys to learn future lessons. The surveys can contain questions to allow beneficiaries to report any challenges/problems they face (including reasons for their level of satisfaction/dissatisfaction) and to ask for feedback on how to improve the delivery of cash/food transfers.