Due to the success of the Crisis Resilient Social Protection (CRISP) program and the improved delivery capabilities of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP), the government has requested further investments in and utilization of the adaptive system through an additional financing of $250 million, says the World Bank.
The Bank released a brief on “Crisis Resilient Social Protection- Additional Financing (CRISP) addendum to Environmental and Social Systems Assessment” which noted that additional financing is the appropriate instrument given that the government has proposed important system improvements that continue the reforms contemplated under the original CRISP project.
The boundaries of the broader government’s program and the program supported through CRISP will be retained with no additional funding to the Investment Project Financing (IPF) component.
Considering that the proposed AF would be directly tied to the existing activities with no changes in the scope and boundary of the program, an addendum has been prepared for assessing the impacts of the new Disbursement Linked Results (DLRs).
Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) proposed under the AF will cover some longer-term policy actions regarding the BISP programs and the National Socio-Economic Registry (NSER) while identifying and correcting coverage gaps. Under Result Area 1, the proposed results support;
- adoption of recertification protocols to ensure predictability in program exit and entry for BISP programs during future recertifications;
- institutionalization of an indexation mechanism for the base cash transfer program (Kafaalat) benefits to prevent erosion in purchasing power and to protect against the impacts of impending economic reforms;
- inclusion of all eligible beneficiaries under the current eligibility criteria by identifying and correcting gaps in NSER that have led to any unintended exclusion through the expansion of mobile Multi-Entry Localized Access (MELA) touchpoints;
- adoption of NSER as the agreed targeting mechanism nationwide and development of a technology-supported mechanism to facilitate its use by other programs;
- measures to correct the current overlap of federal and provincial Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs and to prevent future overlap, including gradual takeover by the provinces of Punjab and Sindh of the federal nutrition-focused CCT.
The parent program is performing ‘Satisfactorily’ on environmental and social aspects and is adequately staffed. BISP has made commendable efforts in social mobilization and outreach to vulnerable groups (including indigenous people), streamlining various components of the Grievance Redressal Mechanism (GRM), and developing a gender action plan.
There has also been progress in managing the environmental footprint of electronic waste (e-waste) generated by the program, including developing Standard Operating Procedures for the handling for the handling of waste and initiating training programs for staff.
