Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Trust Fund - STARS Annual Report 2021 Prepared by Sudan Country Office WITH SUPPORT FROM COPYRIGHT © 2022 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / The World Bank 1818 H Street NW Washington DC 20433 Telephone: 202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or currency of the data included in this work and does not assume responsibility for any errors, omissions, or discrepancies in the information, or liability with respect to the use of or failure to use the information, methods, processes, or conclusions set forth. 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Any queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to World Bank Publications, The World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2625; e-mail: pubrights@worldbank.org. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements iv Foreword v Acronyms and Abbreviations vi Executive Summary 1 Achievements 1 Challenges 2 Lessons Learned 2 1. Introduction 3 Governance and Trust Fund Operations 5 Context 5 2. STARS Program Overview and Status 9 STARS Financial Status Overview 11 3. STARS Programmatic Pillars 13 Social Protection 14 Economic Revival and Better Governance 19 Peacebuilding, Resilience, and Basic Services 21 Crisis Response 23 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities 25 Social Protection 26 Sudan Family Support Program 26 Social Protection Diagnostics and Technical Assistance to the SFSP 29 Sudan SSNP (P148349) 29 Economic Revival and Better Governance 30 Sudan Household Budget and Poverty Survey (P176302) 31 Sudan Poverty Monitoring and Analytics (P174168) 32 Financial Sector Capacity Building (P151261 and P171371) 33 iii STARS Annual Report 2021 Sudan Energy Sector Recovery Technical Assistance (P171810) 35 Strengthening Sub-National Fiscal Policy Management (P156750) 36 Supporting Private Sector Development Agenda in Sudan for Youth Employment (P164340) 38 Peacebuilding, Resilience, and Basic Services 40 SLDP: Phase 2 (P158066) 41 Supporting Dialogue on Responses to Forced Displacement and Citizen Engagement (P173359) 43 Sudan Education Development ASA (P172292) 44 Crisis Response 44 Sudan COVID-19 Emergency Support Response Project (P174352) 44 Overall Lessons Learned 47 Way Forward 48 References 49 Appendix A. Results Framework 51 Appendix B. Results Monitoring Plan 55 Phased Approach to Monitoring Results 55 Integrated Framework for Assessing Results 55 Project-Level Monitoring 56 Appendix C. Financial Performance as of December 31, 2021 61 Contributions 61 Allocations, Disbursements, and Available Balances 61 Appendix D. Allocations, Disbursements, and Available Balances for Active Grants, December 31, 2021 62 Appendix E. Sudan Family Support Project Updates 63 Detailed Progress and Proposed Actions 65 Progress toward Achievement of the Project Development Objective 65 Assessment of Implementation Progress According to Component 66 Safeguards and Fiduciary Aspects of the program 71 The Road Ahead 72 iv Acknowledgements Under the leadership of Ms. Milena Petrova Osman Ibrahim Osman (Health Specialist), Stefanova (Sudan Country Manager), Chrissie Sashana Whyte (Economist), Suleiman Namara Kamwendo (Sudan Transition and Recovery (Lead Social Protection Specialist), Surat F. Nsour Support MDTF Program Manager) and Limya (Senior Social Protection Specialist), Uloaku Abdelaziz Mohamed Ibrahim (Operation Analyst), Oyewole (Financial Sector Specialist), Vicente A. with support from Norman Mukwakwami (Short Garcia Moreno (Senior Economist), and Zelalem Term Consultant), prepared the 2021 Annual Yilma Debebe (Senior Health Economist). Report of the Sudan Transition and Recovery The team is also grateful to Aimnn Mohamed Support Trust Fund (STARS). The team is grateful Hassan (Program Assistant) and Mazin Elkamil to the World Bank staff who provided inputs and (Team Assistant) for administrative support. comments: Alvin Etang Ndip (Senior Economist), Asta Bareisaite (Senior Private Sector Specialist), We thank the STARS Development Partners for Jorge Luis Alva-Luperdi (Senior Counsel), Kene the financial support, and project-related tech- Ezemenari (Senior Economist), Kenta Usui nical inputs. We are grateful in particular for the (Senior Energy Specialist), Maria Gabriela funding received from Canada, the European Farfan Betran (Senior Economist), Mohamed Union, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Hamid (Operations Officer), Mohamed Khidir the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, Abdel-Razig (ET Consultant), Moustafa Abdalla Norway, Spain, State and Peace Building Trust (Senior Health Specialist), Murat Onur (Social Fund, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The Development Specialist), Rafika Chaouali (Lead team also appreciates the oversite and guidance Financial Management Specialist), Salah Eldin received from the Partnership Council members. v STARS Annual Report 2021 Foreword Sudan experienced a major political transition Unfortunately, the October 25 events have in 2019, precipitated by a popular revolution impacted Sudan’s transformational journey that led to the establishment of a transitional leading to a pause of Bank’s support to the government jointly comprised of military and Government of Sudan, including support from civilian elements. Sudan had a small window STARS. Nevertheless, important progress was to seize a once-in-a-generation opportunity made, and the STARS 2021 Annual Report to put itself on a path of economic and social highlights the critical contributions made to renewal. The international community had come Sudan's transition and recovery agenda, the key together in an unprecedented effort to support challenges encountered during the implementa- the Government’s efforts to carry out sweeping tion, as well as lessons learned to inform future reforms to reverse decades of economic, social, engagement and sustain positive gains. Going and political decline and re-engage with the forward, STARS will remain a tool for partner’s international community. dialogue, collaboration, and a financing vehicle for Sudan’s emergent needs and priorities. The The Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Bank and partners will continue to monitor and (STARS) Multi-Umbrella Trust Fund was designed assess the situation to determine the best course to provide the Bank and its donors with a platform possible for STARS adaptation to support the for coordination and policy dialogue with the Sudanese people in times of crisis. government on critical reforms. In less than a year, STARS was able to galvanize close to US$ We thank our development and implementing 505 million in funding form fourteen donors. This partners for their strategic engagement, fruitful support was made possible thanks to the gen- collaboration, and utmost dedication to a shared erous contributions from the European Union, mission and vision. We look forward to working United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, the together in the critical months and years ahead. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Italy, Finland, Spain, Ireland, and the State and Peacebuilding Fund. STARS served as the primary financing vehicle for a large social impact mitigation program in support of critical macro-economic reforms which paved the way to Sudan’s arrears clearance to IDA and the reach- Ousmane Dione, Country Director ing of the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and South Sudan decision point (HIPC) decision point in June 2021. Such efforts helped unlock access to US$2 billion in IDA grants for poverty reduction and sustainable economic recovery. STARS also financed other high priority analytical activities in the macro-fis- cal, governance, private and financial sectors, as well as COVID 19 emergency response. vi Acronyms and Abbreviations Acronyms and Abbreviations ASA Advisory Services and Analytics CBOS Central Bank of Sudan CBS Central Bureau of Statistics CERP Covid-19 Emergency Support Response Project FMoH Federal Ministry of Health GRM Grievance Redress Mechanism ICT Information and Communication Technology IDA International Development Association IDP Internally Displaced Person IFC International Finance Corporation IMF International Monetary Fund IPSDA Investment and Private Sector Development Authority M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MIS Management Information System MoFEP Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning MoI Ministry of Interior MoSD Ministry of Social Development MoU Memorandum of Understanding NCR National Civil Registry NRA National Risk Assessment OP Operational Policy PCU Project Coordinating Unit PEFA Public Expenditure Financial Assessment PFM Public Financial Management PIU Project Implementation Unit PMU Project Management Unit PPD Public-Private Dialogue vii STARS Annual Report 2021 PSN Productive Safety Net PSP Payment Service Provider SFSP Sudan Family Support Program SLDP Sustainable Livelihoods for Displaced and Vulnerable Communities in Eastern Sudan Project SMP Staff Monitored Program SMPF Sudan Multi-Partner Fund SSIA Social Security Investment Authority SSNP Social Safety Net Project STARS Sudan Transition and Recovery Support TBD To Be Determined WFP World Food Program viii Acronyms and Abbreviations 1 STARS Annual Report 2021 Executive Summary The Sudan Transition and Recovery Support United Kingdom (the second-largest contributor). Trust Fund (STARS) was established in April 2020 The European Union and United Kingdom have after the restructuring of the Sudan Multi-Partner made contributions of US$216.1 million and Fund (SMPF). STARS is an umbrella coordination US$112.1 million, respectively. Norway and the platform for World Bank engagement in Sudan, United Kingdom also contributed to the SMPF, supporting the government’s economic and one of the three trustee accounts of STARS, peacebuilding transition. STARS partners include which closed on June 30, 2021. In addition, the Canada, the European Union (the largest con- United Kingdom also contributed to the SMPF– tributor), Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Parallel Trust Fund, which is scheduled to close the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, on June 30, 2022. Norway, Spain, the State and Peace-Building STARS has four pillars under which projects are Trust Fund of the World Bank, Sweden, and the being implemented (figure ES1). Figure ES1  The Four Pillars of the Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Multi-Donor Trust Fund Economic revival Peacebuilding, Social protection and better resilience, and Crisis response governance basic services Four grants valued at Eight grants valued at Three grants with an Two grants valued at about US$358 million. about US$8.4 million. estimated value of about US$16.2 million. The pillar is helping The pillar supports US$4.5 million. The The primary objective establish the building critical analytical work, key focus of this pillar of this pillar is to enable blocks for a permanent technical assistance, is to address the Sudan to respond to social safety net system and policy dialogue long-standing division emergencies with a and design and the on macroeconomic between the center and development response implementation of reforms and the periphery, with a that is complementary Sudan's Family institutional changes. focus on extending to humanitarian Support Program to support to con ict- assistance. complement critical a ected states. subsidy reforms. Achievements decision point. Implementation of STARS has also provided an opportunity for the government STARS program financed an effective social to sustain reform implementation. Such reforms impact mitigation intervention that support mac- include reducing the fuel subsidy and unifying the roeconomic reforms, analytics, and technical exchange rate in February 2021, which paved the assistance in the macro fiscal, governance, and way to arrears clearance in March 2021; signing basic service delivery sectors; the STARS pro- the Development Policy Operation; reengaging gram supported the reform efforts jointly with the with the International Development Association Sudan Family Support Program (SFSP) as a pack- (IDA), the African Development Bank, and the age that facilitated arrears clearance and helped International Monetary Fund (IMF) ; preparing the reach the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper; and sustaining 2 Executive Summary the IMF Staff-Monitored Program’s (SMP) track together 14 donors to support key priority record. Sustaining the Staff-Monitored Program’s areas during Sudan’s economic transition. It track record was vital to remaining on the transi- has increased funding predictability for the tion path and reaching the Heavily Indebted Poor government of Sudan within a robust fiduciary Country Initiative decision point, which Sudan and monitoring framework and provided the reached on June 29, 2021, becoming the 38th Bank and its donors with a platform for coor- country eligible to receive debt relief under this dination and policy dialogue with the govern- initiative, which the World Bank and IMF jointly ment on critical reforms. The monthly techni- launched in 1996 to ensure that no developing cal briefings have played a key role in keeping country faces a debt burden it cannot manage. everyone informed on progress, discussing Such achievements have resulted in access to successes and challenges, and collectively US$2 billion in IDA grants for poverty reduction discussing ways to improve portfolio benefits and sustainable economic recovery, including for all beneficiaries. programmatic series of economic stability and • Flexibility is necessary in design and imple- governance development policy financing. mentation arrangements for programs and In October 2021, the World Bank triggered projects to adapt quickly to a dynamic and vol- Operational Policy 7.30, a framework governing atile environment. For example, introduction of the Bank’s response to the emergence of a de the COVID-19 vaccine faced unprecedented facto government after a military takeover on logistical challenges, which required a quick October 25, 2021. The bank paused all new change of delivery and communication strat- disbursements and stopped preparation of new egies to facilitate timely delivery of vaccines. projects. Because of the pause, the country In addition, SFSP was designed in phases to management unit decided to extend the report- accommodate the delayed signing and trans- ing period for STARS progress to the end of fer of pledged commitments. December 2021. • It is vital to have in-country team members for face-to-face follow-up with public and private Challenges sector counterparts to ensure momentum, quick problem solving, coordination, and STARS program implementation has faced many hands-on capacity building. The most exten- challenges, including systemic and structural sive program, the SFSP, had a slow start-up challenges. For example, lack of credible data to because of systems- and capacity-related inform the planning process, human and insti- challenges, although frequent interactions and tutional capacity limitations, weak systems, and mentoring from an experienced team leader in underdeveloped infrastructure have affected pro- the country helped build capacity and speed gram planning. Coupled with political instability implementation. and the COVID-19 pandemic, this has affected • Financing analytical work and just-in-time program delivery. technical assistance to underpin the World Bank’s dialogue and active engagement in Lessons Learned Sudan is crucial to ensure relevance, influence policy reforms, and strengthen institutional • STARS has been providing a vehicle for pooled capacities. Diagnostics have been critical in funding for developing partners through informing project preparation and reform pro- the umbrella instrument in Sudan, bringing cesses in Sudan. 3 STARS Annual Report 2021 1. Introduction 1 Introduction 4 1. Introduction This annual report provides an update on prog- Social protection. The objective of this pillar is ress made in implementing the Sudan Transition to establish the building blocks of a permanent and Recovery Support (STARS) Multi- Donor Trust social safety net system and to design and imple- Fund, which was established in April 2020. The ment the Sudan Family Support Program (SFSP) to report highlights not only the results, but also the complement critical economic reforms, including challenges and risks that have been faced and providing cash transfers to beneficiaries, develop- how to move forward in implementing STARS. ing a social registry of potential beneficiaries, max- imizing the use of digital payment mechanisms or STARS is an umbrella coordination platform for other physical touchpoints, and supporting imple- World Bank engagement in Sudan, supporting the mentation of the SFSP. government of Sudan’s economic and peacebuild- ing transition. STARS partners include Canada, the Economic revival and better governance. The European Union (the largest contributor), Finland, objective of this pillar is to build and strengthen France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Kingdom of economic systems, including building Sudan's pro- Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Norway, Saudi curement, financial, management, and implemen- Arabia, Spain, the State- and Peace-Building Trust tation capacity; increasing social accountability; Fund of the World Bank, Sweden, and the United and supporting financial and private sector reforms. Kingdom (the second-largest contributor). STARS Peacebuilding, resilience, and basic services. was established as a result of the restructuring of The purpose of this pillar is to improve equitable the Sudan Multi-Partnership Fund (SMPF). The service delivery, including implementing basic World Bank’s move toward an umbrella approach service delivery and community-driven develop- and the need to respond to the political changes ment programs, promoting inclusion of marginal- in Sudan, which encouraged donors to provide ized groups such as women and youth as agents resources to support the transitional government, of change on a local level, and supporting peace- necessitated the restructuring. There was also building and resilience initiatives. a need to broaden objectives, update pillars and strengthen the pipeline of activities to be financed, Crisis response. This pillar supports contingency adjust the results framework, revise the gover- activities to respond to crisis or emergencies nance arrangements, increase the funding enve- (including major natural disasters, public health lope, extend the closing date, and rebrand the fund. emergencies, and epidemics), including provid- ing emergency supplies, restoring basic physical STARS was established to finance some of assets, and building resilience for recovery. the activities envisioned under the Country Engagement Note for Sudan. The rationale for There are also two cross-cutting themes: inte- establishing STARS was that it would be a vehi- grating a fragility and conflict lens into analytics cle for supporting reengagement of the World and investments to ensure that activities “do no Bank through a large social impact mitigation pro- harm” and help address key risk factors and driv- gram and a range of key technical assistance and ers of conflict and fragility and ensuring that pro- analytic efforts in economic governance, energy grams promote gender equality and target youth, reform, poverty, social protection, and private women, and the most vulnerable populations. sector activities to inform future investments. The results framework and monitoring plan ensure STARS has four intertwined pillars: social protec- consistent monitoring, measurement, and report- tion; economic revival and better governance; ing of fund- and project-level results (appendix A). peacebuilding, resilience, and basic services; and Figure 1 presents a schematic results framework for crisis response. Each STARS financed interven- the STARS program depicting the expected impact, tion incorporates gender equality, fragility, and outcomes, and intermediate results and projects conflict concerns. that are contributing to the expected results. 5 STARS Annual Report 2021 Figure 1  STARS Schematic Results Framework Impacts Enhanced economic, peace, service delivery & crisis response systems supporting transition in Sudan Outcomes Improved Social Improved Fiduciary & Improved Access to Basic Strengthened Crisis Protection Services Governance Systems & Services & Strengthened Response Management and Access.. Institutions Resilience Increased access to social Strengthened policies, & programs Increased access to Increased access to emergency protection services by & increased number of reforms basic services by communities/ response intervention Intermediate Outcomes families/individuals supporting macroeconomic revival households Strengthened targeting & payment systems FIGURE 1 Improved access to nancial services Increased number of activities supporting peacebuilding & Strengthened crisis management & communication mechanisms resilience Increased poverty related Enhanced transparency & Increased access to employment Strengthened crisis response expenditures accountability in public opportunities systems & institutions institutions Increased number of states Increased national data Improved livelihoods for women Increased restoration to basic implementing the SFSP & other privacy promoted & youths physical assets social protection programs Projects / Tasks 1- Family Support Program 1- Macroeconomic & Fiscal Support 1- Sudan Education Development 1- Sudan COVID-19 Emergency 2- Social Safety Net Project 2- Energy Sector Recovery 2- SLDP2 AF Youth Employment Response Project 3- Technical support & 3- Financial Sector Development for PSD, Peacebuilding & Social 2- Sudan COVID-19 Emergency Diagnostics for SFSP and Resilience Cohesion Response Diagnostics 4- Supporting Private Sector 3- Forced Displacement and Citizen Development Agenda Engagement 5- Financial Sector Capacity 6- Programmatic Poverty Assessment 7- Household Survey 8- TA to Sudan Social Security Investment Authority Governance and Trust December 2021. It was called ad hoc because of the absence of the government to cochair the Fund Operations meeting, given the military takeover, which led to The STARS Partnership Council provides strategic a pause in operations and the triggering of the guidance on STARS objectives and oversight and World Bank Operational Policy (OP) 7.30: Dealing advisory functions regarding STARS activities. with De Facto Governments. Membership of the Partnership Council includes the Minister of Finance and Planning, who acts as a cochair; the World Bank country director, who Context also serves as a cochair; a representative of each The transitional government before the military contributing donor; and the Minister of Labor and takeover on October 25, 2021, faced one of the Social Development. The Partnership Council most challenging environments in the world. In meets biannually and makes decisions on a con- 2018 and 2019, a popular uprising brought to sensus basis. The STARS Technical Secretariat power a civilian government with the mandate performs core trust fund management functions. to stabilize the economy, reallocate resources Between its inception in April 2020 and June 30, away from commodity subsidies and toward 2021, the Partnership Council met twice—in social spending, liberalize the exchange rate, and December 2020 and June 2021. In addition, an reintegrate Sudan into the world economy, but ad hoc Partnership Council meeting was held in 6 1. Introduction large arrears on foreign debt and Sudan’s inclu- Estimates based on the latest household survey sion on the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism List from 2014, suggest that poverty rates may now restricted its access to urgently needed finance exceed 21 percent at US$ 1.90/day Purchasing from international financial institutions and Power Parity (PPP) corrected, and 60 percent at markets. The country faced a macroeconomic US$ 3.20/day PPP. This can be compared to 13.5 crisis: rampant inflation, massive currency deval- and 46.1 percent, respectively, in 2014 (Sudan: uation, rapidly increasing arrears on international Poverty Assessment Update, World Bank 2019). debt, and exclusion from the dollar-based inter- The overall national poverty rate masks wide dis- national financial system. Modest economic parities across Sudan’s 18 states. When poverty growth persisted, but the country was marked was measured against the World Bank’s interna- by deep poverty and inequality. Social indicators tional poverty line for lower-income countries, remained low and varied markedly according to 46.1 percent of the population was considered state, gender, and poverty level. Service delivery to be poor. Rising inflation particularly affects the disfunction, including low public expenditures, poor, given the high share of food in consump- personnel shortages, and decaying infrastruc- tion and their limited means to prevent erosion ture, exacerbate social indicators. of the value of their savings. Data from the recent high-frequency COVID-19 survey support these Sudan has moved from lower-middle-income estimates (World Bank 2021a). Overall, 26 per- status to low-income status since 2020. Its popu- cent of the men and 10 percent of the women lation of 42.8 million people is growing rapidly (2.4 who lost their jobs at the onset of the pandemic percent), with approximately 65 percent living in remained unemployed in April 2021. rural areas. Sudan had a per capita gross national income (based on the Atlas method) of US$650 Sudan, like the rest of the world, has been in 2020 (according to World Bank Indicators experiencing the unprecedented social and online). Multiple conflicts and forms of violence economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. have affected Sudan in recent years. There are an Gross domestic product growth contracted by estimated 3.1 million internally displaced persons 3.6 percent in 2020 because of lockdowns and (IDPs) in Sudan.1 The conflict in Darfur alone trade disruptions, limiting domestic supply and resulted in about 2.5 million IDPs (UNHCR 2015), increasing prices of basic foods. Lockdowns, and the conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile restrictions on movement, and trade disruption states led to roughly 222,000 and 176,000 IDPs, have also contributed to rising unemployment, respectively. Spillover from conflict in the region soaring commodity prices, and falling exports. continues to affect Sudan. The country hosts one The October 2021 military takeover has exacer- of the largest populations of refugees in the world, bated these trends. Growth is now estimated to with more than 1.1 million refugees and asylum have contracted again in 2021, and the recovery seekers from South Sudan (798,000), Eritrea will be slower than what was projected before (126,000), Syria (93,000), Ethiopia (72,000), Central the military takeover. African Republic (28,000), and other countries.2 During the period under review (May 2020 to December, 2021), the transition government registered remarkable progress in implementing reforms to reverse decades of economic, social, 1   ee Sudan Situation Report, United Nations Office S for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and political decline and took steps to resolve New York (accessed 21 January 2021), https:// long-standing internal conflicts, unwind eco- reports.unocha.org/en/country/sudan. nomic distortions, renew the social contract, and 2  S  ee Sudan: Population Dashboard – Overview of Refugees and Asylum-seekers in Sudan (as of 30 November 2021), reengage with the international community. It United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian also agreed on a rigorous International Monetary Affairs, New York (accessed March 2022), https://reliefweb. int/report/sudan/sudan-population-dashboard-overview- Fund (IMF) Staff-Monitored Program to underpin refugees-and-asylum-seekers-sudan-30-november-2021. 7 STARS Annual Report 2021 its economic reforms. By early October 2021, assessments to determine whether to continue before the military takeover, the U.S. government disbursements under existing operations and had removed Sudan from the list of state sponsors process new operations once a political settle- of terrorism, and Sudan had reached the Highly ment has been reached. Indebted Poor Country Initiative decision point Regarding the SFSP, the largest operation under and cleared its arrears with three international implementation cofinanced by STARS and IDA, all financial institutions (African Development Bank, activities were halted, including delivery of cash IMF, World Bank), resulting in reengagement. to beneficiaries, until further notice, although Such achievements resulted in access to close limited payments were authorized to ensure that to US$2 billion in IDA grants for poverty reduction obligations made before October 25, 2021, were and sustainable economic recovery during the fulfilled and that critical Project Implementation 19th replenishment of the IDA. Unit (PIU) capacity was maintained. The World Nevertheless, recent developments, including Bank immediately advised the PIU to halt use of the military takeover on October 25, 2021, have funds in the project’s designated account, includ- limited World Bank operations in Sudan. Soon ing any payments under memorandums of under- after the takeover, the World Bank triggered OP standing (MoUs) and delivery of benefits to bene- 7.30, a framework on “Dealing with De Facto ficiaries, until further notice. The World Bank also Governments.” The president of the World Bank, requested that the PIU produce detailed financial David R. Malpass, issued a statement on October and project reports up to October 25, 2021. The 27, 2021, that paused all new disbursements World Bank team is exploring options regarding and stopped preparation of new projects. The how the SFSP program could be implemented World Bank in Sudan is adhering to three prin- in the future, depending on developments in ciples stipulated under the OP 7.30 framework: the country. The World Bank will discuss these pause disbursements under existing operations, options with all stakeholders. See the detailed pause processing of new projects, and conduct report on SFSP in appendix B. 8 1. Introduction 9 STARS Annual Report 2021 2. STARS Program Overview and Status 2 STARS Program Overview and Status 10 2. STARS Program Overview and Status STARS has supported the execution of the eco- details. Fourteen Development Partners contrib- nomic and peacebuilding changes required to uted to STARS, with the European Union contrib- stabilize Sudan. On inception, STARS focused on uting the largest share, amounting to 41 percent delivering the SFSP. Consequently, it adopted a of the total contribution (see Table C1 for details flexible and practical design to enable adapta- on financial contributions), attached as annex 1 tions to the changing context. The STARS’ four of this report. Distribution of the funds among the thematic areas are interlinked and purposefully three Trustee accounts is as follows: (i) Sudan broad to capture the range of potential program- Transition and Recovery Support Multi-Donor ming under STARS depending on available financ- Trust Fund (TF073498) – received US$ 505.0 ing, the evolution of Government priorities, and million of the US$ 527.0 million signed, (ii) Sudan the socio-economic needs of Sudan’s people. Multi-Partner Fund (TF072301) closed on June 30, 2021 – received US$ 10.2 million of the US$ Since its inception, the STARS program, which 10.7 million contributed by the United Kingdom had three Trustee accounts (Sudan Transition and Norway; and (iii) Sudan Multi-Partner Fund- and Recovery Support, Sudan Multi-Partner Fund Parallel Fund (TF073219) - US$ 8.9 million solely and Sudan Multi-Partner Fund- Parallel), received contributed by the United Kingdom. See pie chart US$ 524.0 million of the US$ 547.0 pledged con- below on contributions per Trustee account. tributions. Please include see appendix C for Figure 2  Trustee Account Summary $505.00 $10.20 $8.90 Distribution of Funds STARS - TF073498 per Trustee SMPF - Parallel - TF073219 Account SMPF - TF072301 Source: World Bank. 2022 Note: SMPF = Sudan Multi-Partner Fund. 11 STARS Annual Report 2021 The STARS trustee has financed seven grants STARS Financial Status (four recipient executed and three World Bank executed) amounting to US$372.2 million since Overview its inception, focusing on social protection, eco- As of December 31, 2021, the STARS program nomic management and better governance, and has two trustee accounts. STARS (TF073498) and crisis management. Before restructuring, the SMPF (TF073219). STARS has signed agreements SMPF trust fund had financed 24 activities (5 amounting to US$527.0 million, of which contri- recipient executed and 19 World Bank executed), butions amounting to approximately US$ 505.0 which have been incorporated into the STARS million have been received, US$372.2 million program. Fourteen of those activities have com- allocated to seven grants, and US$109.8 million pleted implementation and closed. At the time of disbursed (figure 3). The STARS trustee is financ- restructuring, four activities had already been legally ing projects in three of its four pillars (except the closed, so they do not contribute to the results of peacebuilding, resilience, and essential services the STARS program. In addition, two of the active pillar): social protection, economic management, projects—the Education Development Advisory and better governance and crisis. Hence, projects Services and Analytics (ASA) and the Programmatic that the SMPF–Parallel trustee account funds con- Poverty Assessment—closed during the year under tribute achievement of the objective of the peace review. In total, 18 activities, including an adminis- building, resilience, and essential services pillar. tration grant, are under implementation. See table D.1 (appendix D) for the list of activities. Kindly note similar codes for activities have been counted as one to avoid double counting. Figure 3  Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Trust Fund Financial Summary, December 31, 2021 STARS Trustee Account Summary December 31, 2021 $ 505.0 m Amount US$ $ 372.2 m $ 109.8 m Expenditure Category Total Contribution Grant Allocation Disbursements Source: World Bank https://sapepp.worldbank.org/irj/portal/mytf 12 2. STARS Program Overview and Status SMPF (TF073219) has donor contributions and governance strengthening (focusing on amounting to US$8.9 million, of which US$8.7 financial sector resilience, poverty, distributional million has been committed and US$5.7 million analysis, energy, tax policy, tax administration, disbursed (figure 4). Eleven activities financed public expenditure review, and procurement); under SMPF trustee support three of the four pil- and peacebuilding, resilience, and basic services lars of STARS: social protection (which included (mainly youth and peacebuilding activities focus- design of a social impact mitigation program ing on youth employment and private sector and additional financing for the existing social development, through the additional financing to safety net project (SSNP)); economic revival the existing livelihood and displacement project). Figure 4  Sudan Multi-Partner Fund Parallel Trustee Account Financial Summary, December 31, 2021 10,000,000 $ 8.9 m $ 8.7 m 9,000,000 8,000,000 7,000,000 Amount US$ 6,000,000 $ 5.7 m 5,000,000 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 Category Contributions Commitment Disbursements Source: World Bank. “My TF_Summary.” https://sapepp.worldbank.org/irj/portal/mytf In 2020, at the time of restructuring, SMPF had nets, financial inclusion, fiscal management, agri- two trustee accounts: TF072301, which closed business, youth, and peacebuilding. Ten grants on June 30, 2021, and TF073219, amounting to financed under TF073219 are still active and are US$19 million financed by the UK Department for expected to close by June 2022. As part of the International Development and Norway (US$17.7 restructuring, the results framework for SMPF million from the UK and US$1.3 million from was revised to align with the objective of the Norway). The two trustee accounts funded 24 STARS program, and all activities were consoli- grants between 2014 and 2021 in social safety dated into one results framework. 13 STARS Annual Report 2021 3. STARS Programmatic Pillars 3 STARS Programmatic Pillars 14 3. STARS Programmatic Pillars STARS contributes to Sudan’s reengagement establishment of local grievance and complaint through complementary social impact mitigation, mechanisms staffed by social workers from the renewal of the social contract, support for mac- Ministry of Social Development (MoLSD), and roeconomic reforms, and building systems and intensive use of technology. laying the groundwork for medium-term support The second-largest contributor to results under and a country partnership framework program. social protection is the Sudan SSNP (P148349), STARS has also helped the country meet HIPC approved on February 12, 2016, under the SMPF. benchmarks by implementing various interven- SSNP received US$5 million in financing from tions that STARS has funded through its pillars. two grants and has spent all of one of the grants This section highlights some of the significant (US$3.5 million) and committed 100 percent outcomes attributed to implementation of activ- of the second grant of US$1.5 million. SSNP ities that STARS has financed. The discussion is aimed to increase the capacity of the MoLSD, organized according to the four programmatic previously known as the Ministry of Welfare and pillars: social protection; economic revival and Social Security, to implement cash transfer pro- better governance; peacebuilding, resilience, grams transparently and effectively and to pilot and basic services; and crisis response. a productive safety net (PSN) approach for poor households. The project closed on December 31, 2021. Social Protection The primary project outcomes included greater Although implementation of the SFSP, the most cash transfer effectiveness, particularly in significant initiative contributing to this pillar, measuring poverty, targeting, retargeting, and started late (March 2021) because of problems recertifying. Specifically, an independent evalu- including exchange rate challenges, execution ation reported the effectiveness of selecting and was advancing rapidly before the pause. The targeting using the proxy means test method, SFSP intended to provide cash mitigation sup- which covered 664,250 households in the target port for 80 percent of households (32 million area. Approximately 97 percent of beneficiaries people) in Sudan using a phased approach. were newly targeted households, suggesting SFSP currently includes two phases with total that the SSNP significantly minimized inclusion funding of US$820 million targeting 24.7 million and exclusion errors that characterized the social beneficiaries. initiative programs. Achievements under this pillar include opening Social Protection Emerging Results of 352 enrollment centers to support registration Cohesion and trust among key stakeholders of beneficiaries, and the registration of 2.7 mil- strengthened, including among local and lion families, approximately 9.3 million people, central government structures. The govern- by October 2021, against a planned target of 6.5 ment of Sudan, through government ministries, million families. In addition, the program has paid including the Ministry of Social Development about 30.6 billion Sudanese pounds (approxi- and Ministry of Finance, partnered with various mately US$80.2 million) to 1.4 million families, stakeholders, including communities and the approximately 4.7 million people, of whom 36 private sector, especially banks and payment ser- percent are women (figure 5). In addition to pro- vice providers (PSPs), in implementing the SFSP. viding much-needed cash to families, the SFSP STARS provided essential support to establish promoted innovative, effective reforms, including critical partnerships among the central govern- expansion of financial sector services as a cata- ment, local governments, and other essential lyst for expansion of national identity card issu- stakeholders for improved service delivery. For ance services, inclusion of youth as local ambas- example, in most places, such as the Sharg Elniel sadors and enumerators for program registration, 15 area in Khartoum state, introduction of the SFSP the situation. Although the interim constitution reactivated local community and governance (amended in 2017) grants equality before the structures such as locality and administrative law for all persons (article 31), includes equal pay committees. Similarly, implementation of SFSP provisions (article 32), and obliges the state to reactivated all national systems and creating combat harmful customs and protect the rights cohesion from the grassroots to the ministerial of children (article 32), the national legislative level. The STARS grant is helping bring the par- framework omits basic protections for women. ties together and strengthen confidence and The SFSP target was that half of beneficiaries trust building. be female. The SFSP considered the challenges Enhanced inclusion of women and youth in SFSP. of women's participation in Sudan and designed Sudan has one of the world's lowest rankings for the program to promote gender parity, reduce gender equality (168 out of 189 countries and ter- risk, and promote women's empowerment (where ritories) and remains in the low human develop- possible) by removing barriers. To further support ment category. When disaggregated according gender parity, a behavioral lens was applied to to sex, the Gender Development Index of Sudan identify the critical elements of the environment in is 0.837, placing it in group 5, denoting countries which women operate that create roadblocks to furthest from achieving gender parity (UNDP achieving optimal outcomes when coupled with 2019). Factors contributing to this gender equality natural human tendencies related to decision in Sudan include low levels of women's political making and follow-through on specific behaviors. participation, unequal participation in the labor These roadblocks could hinder women from par- market (reported at 24.5 percent, compared with ticipating in the program and using cash transfers male participation of 70.3 percent (UNDP 2019)), for the household. Context-specific designs were and unequal educational attainment between continuously created to address such barriers and women and men. Only 15.3 percent of women promote women's empowerment. had attained at least a secondary school educa- The community engagement process has been tion, compared with 19.6 percent of men. A weak operationalized, with preliminary discussions normative and legislative framework on gender under way with crucial implementing partners equality and gender-based violence aggravates such as Save the Children to pilot activities and 16 3. STARS Programmatic Pillars leverage their existing connection with com- gender mainstreaming specialists had reached munities. In addition, management information the contract issuing stage when the project was systems (MISs) and registration portals have paused. The government also assigned a gender been revised to include disaggregation data. specialist to help monitor and report progress on Stakeholder orientation on gender in SFSP was implementing the gender guidelines. ongoing before the pause, and selection of Figure 5  Percentage of Female-Headed Families Paid Out of the Total Families Paid Payment Statistics October 25, 2021 Percentage of female HH paid, by state, 2021 North Kordufan Blue Nile River Nile South Darfur West Kordufan South Kordufan Sinnar West Darfur 36% primary grant Khartoum White Nile recipients are females paid Central Darfur Kassala West Darfur Red Sea National Northren Al Jazeerah North Darfur Al Qadarif East Darfur 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Source: Sudan Family Support Program - Thamrat Enrollment/Payment Report Financial inclusion promoted by strength- Through the SFSP, the government has also ening payment systems. The SFSP has made been working with different players to strengthen considerable effort to coordinate closely with systems to accelerate payments. Table 1 high- Sudan's PSPs, banks, and telecommunication lights the systems being used for payments. companies. To speed up payments, the World Efforts included dialogue with the central bank to Food Program (WFP), the implementer of the license MTN to have its own operating platform SFSP pilot, contracted MTN Sudan as the mobile for mobile money, offering a license for mobile money operator for the SFSP pilot. MTN’s flexibil- money to Zain, paying 2 percent grant transfer ity enabled quick cash transfers without requir- fees to banks making payments to beneficiaries, ing MTN SIM card ownership. Beneficiaries with and strengthening payment operational proce- MTN SIM cards received transfers into a mobile dures including accelerating validation of pay- money wallet with multiple transaction options, ment data by PSPs. The PIU has also developed including point-to-point, cash-out, cash-in, and agreed with PSPs on service delivery stan- merchant payment, general medical services dards, which will be reviewed periodically. Such payments, and bill payments. Beneficiaries with efforts have helped expand financial inclusion a Zain or Sudatel SIM card received a mobile and financial literacy. money voucher from MTN in their mobile phone. 17 STARS Annual Report 2021 Table 1  Percentage of Families Paid and Funds Transferred per Payment System Payment type Paid families (%) Funds transferred (%) Bank 11 14 Mobile money 60 43 Cash card 29 42 Source: Government of Sudan, 2022. Safety net delivery systems strengthened. The workers, and enumerators progressed well at the SFSP strengthened social protection systems and local level. Mobilization of community volunteers provided a solid foundation for implementation of has also begun at the local level. Tools for data safety nets. This includes strengthening the MIS, collection for routine monitoring and evaluation the grievance redress mechanism (GRM), and have been prepared, including a baseline survey, the enrollment and administrative systems at the project evaluation strategy, quarterly report, and national and state levels. Implementation of the annual work plan and budget. GRM was built on the WFP pilot. The scaled-up The SSNP supported the development and oper- GRM was launched in September 2021 with ationalization of the Social Protection Information strong support from the WFP. The complaint and System to manage the cash transfer program. feedback mechanism provided easy access to The system informs strategic planning, making the primary point of contact for inquiries about it possible to demonstrate impact to decision the SFSP. GRM’s three components—informa- makers, development partners, and civil society; tion provision, communication channel, and a enhances global knowledge about cash trans- verification tool—have increased understanding fers; and gradually builds up the existing plat- of the challenges that families receiving benefits form, linking it to complementary social safety face. In addition, the call center has been playing net programs in the country during creation of a critical role in the verification process. As of second-generation social safety nets. October 24, 2021, the call center had verified more than 30,000 individuals and facilitated resolution SSNP helped improve targeting and recertifica- of more than 5,000 cases. Most cases involved tion in six states—Blue Nile, North Kordofan, Red delayed payments and registration and enrollment Sea, River Nile, Sinnar, and White Nile—using processes. In addition, a grievance redress system the proxy means test and community-based was created under SSNP, and 124 of 146 reported targeting approaches, covering 413,914 house- cases were resolved. holds eligible for cash transfer out of 500,000 households included in the beneficiary registry. Upon completion of the SFSP program, SFSP Lessons learned will inform design and imple- was expected to be transitioned into a targeted mentation of future safety nets. permanent social safety net. This national safety net will support the most vulnerable and provide Community asset stock increased. The PSN the foundations for a modern, adaptive social under the SSNP helped establish public works protection system built on a comprehensive programs that focused on livelihood activities, social registry and digital payment infrastructure. which were assessed, designed, and imple- mented, resulting in improved agricultural An inter-ministerial committee and a technical livelihoods in the selected communities. PSN committee have been meeting regularly to beneficiaries have used cash transfers to invest oversee the program at the national level, and in microenterprise, such as food products and the hiring and training of focal points, social 18 3. STARS Programmatic Pillars transport, to enable traders to buy commodities Figure 6 shows that around 50 percent of the in larger markets and transport them to other PSN beneficiaries in Bara, 34 percent in Alrahad, communities for sale. Qualitative measures and 32 percent in Sheikan have some form showed that support from PSN programs in of investment that increased their household North Kordofan increased household investment assets, although many failed to increase their for asset creation. assets, because increases in living costs eroded the value of PSN funds. The control groups (non The primary function of the PSN was to upgrade beneficiaries) created fewer assets—25 percent social status and reduce poverty among PSN in AlRahad, 29 percent in Sheikan—hence had beneficiaries. Nonconditional cash transfer less or no income to obtain, in turn, household methods that the MoLSD implemented also assets. Seventy percent of PSN beneficiaries and contributed to the results. Many respondents 65 percent of control households own land for to the impact process survey preferred to use agricultural activities (figure 7). the support to increase their household assets. Figure 6  Investment Creation through Access to Social Safety Net Program Resources Not able to create HH assets Able to create assets 100.0% 120% 100% 75.0% 70.2% 67.8% 66.0% 80% 50.0% 50.0% 60% 34.0% 32.2% 29.8% 25.0% 40% 20% 0.0% 0% Alrahad Bara Sheikan Alrahad Bara Sheikan Bene ciaries Non Bene ciaries Source: Leen 2021b. 19 STARS Annual Report 2021 Figure 7  Access to Land Access No Access 120% 100% 29.6% 80% 35.5% 60% 40% 70.4% 64.5% 20% 0% Bene ciary Non Bene ciary Source: Leen. 2021b. Economic Revival and identifies sector potential and private investment opportunities. The report has been finalized, but Better Governance because of the military takeover, it has not been STARS has financed eight grants under this validated with the government partners. In par- pillar that contribute to adoption of context-sen- allel, work has commenced to launch the Sudan sitive institutional policies, foster innovative Informal Sector Survey and Enterprise Survey. approaches and instruments, and generate (The previous survey was completed in 2014.) evidence-based knowledge to address Sudan’s STARS financing has also supported several social and economic challenges. At the project interventions to build and strengthen legal, preparation stage, STARS has informed new regulatory, and institutional frameworks for operations through diagnostic and analytical private sector development in Sudan, including support, local capacity building and dialogue, capacity-building activities for the Public-Private and knowledge dissemination. Partnership unit of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP), technical input to Analytics and Diagnostics the public-private partnership and investment STARS financing has helped to build capacity of laws, review of the Company Act 2015, and various institutions and individuals in multiple assistance in laying the foundations for stron- ways, including increasing the capacity of the ger public-private dialogue (PPD). Interventions government to undertake sector reforms. have helped streamline the institutional set-up processes and strengthened the legal and reg- Facilitated critical reforms for private sector ulatory environment to enact critical laws for development. Preparation of the Sudan Private private sector investments. For example, the Sector Diagnostic helped to create a strong ana- public-private partnership and investment laws lytical basis to shape policy dialogue and guide were passed in April 2021. The project also con- reforms for transformational private investment ducted a comprehensive review of the business for sustainable, inclusive growth and job cre- registration process in Sudan, identifying priority ation. The diagnostic provides an overview of areas for reforms. the state of the private sector in Sudan, identifies key constraints on private sector growth, and 20 3. STARS Programmatic Pillars Energy sector performance enhancement a well-founded, clear, transparent, enforceable through tariff reform. Sudan Energy Sector legal basis for the national payment system and Recovery ASA implementation supported devel- support for the drafting of a new mobile money opment of a roadmap for electricity tariff reform regulation (approved on January 6, 2021), which and conducted of a household energy consump- essentially opened the mobile market to other tion survey, which resulted in adjustment of players, expanding the outreach of financial electricity tariffs. It also supported reform imple- services. The mobile money assessment con- mentation through least-cost analysis of power ducted within this technical assistance program generation and barrier analysis for independent informed this critical change in Sudan's mobile renewable energy power producers. In addition, money business model. the analytical work helped reduce the energy The project supported amendments to the subsidy and fed into the design of the US$300 Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS) Act to increase the million Sudan Energy Transition and Access independence of the CBOS and reduce conflicts Project, an IDA-financed project whose prepara- of interest. It also supported amendments to the tion has been paused as part of OP 7.30. Banking Regulations Act to ensure reflection of Sudan financial sector capacity strength- CBOS capacity to manage crises and helped ened. The Sudan Financial Sector Capacity the banking sector manage and respond to the Development 2 project delivered comprehensive COVID-19 pandemic. diagnostic studies that provide the evidence Domestic revenue mobilization enhanced. base for developing a national financial inclusion A study was conducted to analyze the gov- strategy. These studies included diagnostic ernment’s fiscal revenues and identify policy studies on the supply side of financial services, changes that would increase revenue and reduce agricultural finance, insurance, and the payment the compliance burden. In particular, the study aspects of financial inclusion (which consoli- assessed the legal and institutional framework dates information from separate assessments governing tax policy, analyzed tax policies, and on mobile money, remittances, government provided reform options for the government to payments, and legal and regulatory aspects of consider in its efforts to enhance domestic rev- payment systems). The government of Sudan enue mobilization and reduce the compliance used some of the recommendations from burden on taxpayers. The study revealed deep these studies to inform key reforms (e.g., in the structural weakness in Sudan’s tax system that mobile money space). This project also served keep government revenue among the lowest in as the platform for financial sector engagement Sub-Saharan Africa. Some of the recommenda- in Sudan, helped build robust client dialogue, tions to address the constraints included align- and provided a solid base upon which to create ing the excise duty on domestic production and future operational work, namely, preparation of additional taxes on imports with the coverage the US$100 million Sudan Women and Youth and rate structure, introducing excise taxes on Entrepreneurship Project, which is on pause. selected services such as telecommunication The project also supported development of an and banking services, and increasing the val- agency banking regulation intended to extend ue-added tax registration threshold. the outreach of financial services to the under- Sustainable development and improved ser- served and unbanked in line with the financial vice delivery foundation supported. The World inclusion priorities of the government. Additional Bank helped the government of Sudan under- technical support was provided in the context of take a public expenditure financial assessment the payment system assessment, which included (PEFA) to measure current and recent perfor- help with drafting the Payment Systems Law mance of Sudan’s public financial management (pending approval and enactment) to provide (PFM) systems using an objective, internationally 21 STARS Annual Report 2021 recognized standard. Currently, a fragmented, and medium enterprises. It uses rapid-response out dated legal and regulatory framework gov- phone surveys to monitor the COVID-19 crisis and erns the PFM system in Sudan. The Financial and its impacts to inform mitigation measures. The Accounting Procedure Law 2007 and regulations team is implementing this activity in partnership passed in 2011 do not reflect updated PFM prac- with the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), and tices because they are more than a decade old. a local consultancy firm was hired to assist with The assessment identified critical weaknesses data collection via mobile phones. The MoFEP in PFM and their underlying causes and tracked (research unit) also provided inputs during the performance of the PFM system against the design of survey questionnaires. The data have previous PEFA assessment, in line with the PEFA been analyzed, and reports (household and small secretariat’s guidance. The main objective of and medium enterprise) have been prepared and PEFA and PFM reform is to support sustainable shared with key stakeholders. development and service delivery outcomes that meet citizen needs and priorities. Progress is measured through the assessment of the contri- Peacebuilding, Resilience, bution of PFM systems. The government used the and Basic Services 2020 PEFA assessment to inform a PFM reform STARS is financing two activities to address the strategy and roadmap, which is currently in draft long-standing division between the center and form. PEFA also helped the government identify the locations far from the centre by extending reforms, milestones, and deadlines. support to conflict-affected states. Ongoing activ- The assessment provided a basis for prioritization ities include the Sudan Education Development of reforms by the MoFEP and dialogue within the Project and Supporting Dialogue on Responses government on PFM reform priorities. Together to Forced Displacement and Citizen Engagement. with the government-designed roadmap and IMF An additional financing grant was provided Staff-Monitored Program, the review will allow to the Sustainable Livelihoods for Displaced development partners to plan and harmonize and Vulnerable Communities in Eastern Sudan their technical support. The astute PEFA assess- (SLDP) Phase 2, which closed in January 2021. ment has provided government officials with an Emerging results in this area include greater opportunity to assess existing PFM systems and capacity of government to undertake education increased the importance of integrated systems. sector reforms, greater resilience and participa- tion of women and youth in development activi- Reengagement process and future operational ties, and community asset creation. Even if small designs enhanced. Poverty analytics played a in monetary value, such SLDP phase 2 interven- critical role in supporting Sudan’s reengagement tions have provided an important signal to people process, including poverty analytical work that in conflict-affected areas and provided ways to fed into the Country Engagement Note, Poverty move forward with development interventions Reduction Strategy Paper, development policy regarding basic service delivery, livelihoods, and operations series, and the overall reengagement social inclusion, making use where possible of process. In addition, poverty analytics have community-driven development. Following are informed the design of new operations, given data some of the notable results of this pillar. limitations in Sudan. For example, the analytics directly informed the design of the SFSP. Capacity to undertake education transforma- tive reforms enhanced. The Sudan Education The World Bank has been using the Sudan High- Development ASA activities constituted the first Frequency Monitoring Survey on COVID-19 to concrete steps toward supporting the transitional collect information on households and small government of Sudan in its efforts to undertake 22 3. STARS Programmatic Pillars education reforms. The World Bank, UNICEF, Delta. The second phase expanded the pro- the European Union, and the Sudanese Ministry gram to 10 communities in these areas. STARS of Education jointly organized a conference provided additional financing of US$500,000 in focused on education development. The ASA December 2019 to expand project support to resulted in two outcomes: capacity building and youth entrepreneurs in Khartoum and Kassala identification of education reform through the states, bringing the total number of beneficiaries Sudan International Education Conference and to approximately 47,000. evidence-based policy recommendations for the Implementation of the SLDP increased resilience education sector based on a set of policy notes. and participation of women through access to Implementation of the project built the capacity technical and vocational training for 1,048 youth, of education leaders at the federal and state of whom 70 percent were female, and increased levels to implement transformative reforms in the access to equipment and materials for 1,595 education sector and supported development of beneficiaries and to agricultural-related training policy priorities across education subsectors. and tools for 1,390 female beneficiaries. The Based on the priority areas for reform identi- SLDP recognized the rural poor's reliance on fied during the 3-day International Education the environment to sustain their livelihoods and Conference of January 25-27, 2020, the ASA responded directly to the priorities that local resulted in the prepared six evidence-based stakeholders and beneficiaries outlined. At its policy notes that provided short- and medi- conclusion, the project exceeded the beneficiary um-term policy recommendations for the educa- target by 11 percent, reaching 45,521 people, of tion sector to the government. The notes covered whom 40 percent were female. At the commu- curriculum and learning assessment, teachers nity level, establishment of the revolving fund and school leaders, school construction, infor- mechanism enabled support of new initiatives mation and communication technology (ICT) in and expanded minor projects to benefit more education, institutional reforms of the Federal segments of the population. The Community Ministry of Education, and higher education. The Development Committee manages the revolving government has already taken some recommen- fund, which remains available to finance addi- dations from the notes into consideration in its tional beneficiaries because money that existing reform efforts. fund beneficiaries have used is repaid in install- ments. For instance, by the end of the project, the Economic opportunities for vulnerable groups 10 communities had repaid 417,000 Sudanese created in times of crisis. The SLDP, which the pounds to support an additional 51 households. government of Sudan and the World Bank State- The SLDP experience helped generate essential and Peace-Building Trust Fund cofinanced, lessons and best practices for operating in chal- increased the capacity of local stakeholders, lenging, fragile contexts that are informing the including state authorities, IDPs, and vulnerable design and implementation of future communi- host communities, to plan and implement liveli- ty-level development programs in Sudan. hood and natural resources management inter- ventions. The project also introduced communi- Foundations laid for addressing IDPs and lack ty-led interventions that strengthened people's of citizen engagement. Implementation of the resilience. With a budget of US$7.135 million, it Supporting Dialogue on Responses to Forced consisted of two phases over 8 years, beginning Displacement and Citizen Engagement estab- in 2013 and ending in 2021. lished the foundation for addressing IDPs and lack of citizen engagement by broadening coor- The first phase targeted six IDP host communi- dination of key players, for example, the Ministry ties in rural Kassala, rural Atbara, and Northern of Youth, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth, and 23 STARS Annual Report 2021 Development Office on broader country engage- of 13,128 patients at 38 COVID-19 isolation cen- ment issues, and several civil society organiza- ters. The project also supported rehabilitation of tions. A paper was also prepared to inform pro- national public health laboratories and provided cesses to help IDPs in Sudan. The grant provided lab consumables and reagents, polymerase the basis for World Bank engagement with civil chain reaction testing equipment, personal pro- society organizations, and a series of workshops tective equipment, and biomedical equipment was held on citizen engagement and the Bank’s through an MoU with UNICEF. For example, it support to civil society organizations. The Forced supported expansion of isolation capacity in Displaced paper lays the groundwork for IDA Khartoum state (Omdurman Teaching Hospital). programming to address displaced population The project also supported expansion of disease needs and Sudan’s access to the Window for surveillance systems (mainly of sentinel sites) by Host Communities and Refugees under IDA. providing ICT equipment and reporting tools and building capacity. Lives saved through support of COVID vac- Crisis Response cine rollout. STARS funding to CERP supported introduction of the first phase of vaccines, which STARS has financed two grants with a total included supporting risk communication and budget of US$16.2 million under this pillar. The community engagement activities and printing primary objective is to enable Sudan to respond vaccination cards, registration forms, sample to emergencies with a development response testing forms, vaccine distribution forms, vac- that is complementary to humanitarian assis- cine safety forms, and promotional materials. tance. The main project under this window is the ICT solutions were also used, including tablets Sudan COVID-19 Emergency Support Response to support digital registration. During the first Project (CERP). During the year under review, phase, 816,799 people were vaccinated (633,311 CERP helped strengthen Sudan’s health system received the first dose, and 183,488 people were by providing life-saving medications for optimal fully vaccinated). Deployment activities targeted care of people with COVID-19 and supporting 20 percent of the Sudanese population. vaccine deployment; expanded the isolation capacity in Khartoum state (Omdurman Teaching Additional resources leveraged. CERP’s Hospital) and other affected areas; and strength- successful implementation has resulted in ened a national surveillance system for points additional financing of US$100 million from of entry by updating, printing, and distributing IDA. The project was approved in June 2021 guidelines and tools. Following are some of the and was supporting introduction of the second emerging outcomes under this pillar. phase of the COVID-19 vaccine, whose uptake has increased because a vigorous campaign to Sudan health systems strengthened. The proj- promote vaccine acceptance was implemented. ect is strengthening Sudan’s health systems by Figure 8 presents some of the results of the providing life-saving medications to provide opti- second round of vaccine administration. mum care to people with COVID-19. Medicines provided include intravenous fluids, anesthetics, respiratory inhalants, and other emergency medications. This contributed to the treatment 24 3. STARS Programmatic Pillars Figure 8  Comparison of COVID-19 Vaccines Distributed and Administered Doses, by September 28, 2021 Comparison b/w COVID-19 Vaccines Distributed vs. Administered Doses up to September 28th 1,000,000 900,000 800,000 724,100 700,000 600,000 576,000 500,000 445,711 400,000 300,000 194,515 147,000 200,000 100,000 32,983 0 J&J AZ Sino # Doses Received Vaccinated Source: Government of Sudan, 2021. Note: J&J = Johnson & Johnson vaccine; AZ = Oxford, AstraZeneca vaccine; Sino = Sinopharm. 25 25 STARS Annual Report 2021 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities 4 Highlights of Selected STARS Activities 26 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities Social Protection Sudan Family Support Program Detailed status of the SFSP is provided in Appendix E of this report Table 2  Sudan Family Support Program (SFSP) BASIC FACTS Targeting 80% of the Sudan population i.e., 32 million beneficiaries Quasi Universal-Basic Income Program. SFSP’s project development objective is to deliver cash transfers and improve safety net systems Transfers US$ 5 per person per household per month for 6 months Financing: Supported by World Bank & Development Partners: (i) Phase 1 - US$ 400 million; (ii) Phase 2 - US$ 420 million. Total of US$ 820 million. Actual financing that was signed for Phase 2 is US$ 360 million The program is phased both geographically and in the duration of transfers It’s a short-term program to transit to a targeted Sustainable SSNP 3 components : (i) transfers; (ii) systems and (iii) project management Implementation led by Government and using government systems Gender target - 50% of the primary grant recipients to be women The SFSP was designed to provide fiscal space 410M was committed from IDA and US$ 350M for reforms that were critical for Sudan’s arrears from Sudan Transition and Recovery Support clearance and debt relief process and mitigate Multi-Donor Trust Fund (STARS). The difference the impact of reforms. The project was to provide of US$60M between the approved and commit- direct cash transfers of US$5 per person (at the ted amounts (US$820M-$US760M) is because prevailing exchange rate in Sudanese pounds) to STARS had not received enough money from the 80% of households across the country, with 50% pledged contributions to commit the required of primary grant recipients being women. The amount (US$410). A total of 148M Euros (at the transfers were initially for six months and could time US$181.4M equivalent) had been disbursed potentially be scaled up to 12 months, subject to to the GoS’s Designated Account for the SFSP, of the availability of additional resources. which 82M Euros was from IDA, and 66M Euros was from STARS. Table 3 summarizes the results A total of US$760M has been committed from the achieved as of December 31, 2021. Table 3 pro- World Bank to the Government of Sudan to imple- vides an update on results achieved against the ment the SFSP. Of this total commitment, US$ planned targets. 27 STARS Annual Report 2021 Table 3  Results Update for Sudan Family Support Program Indicator Baseline End Target Actual (as of December 31, 2021) PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME INDICATORS Number of families 0 4,400,000 1,484,474 receiving cash or income support Number of SFSP 0 24,700,000 8,667,741 beneficiaries Percentage female 0 50 34.6 beneficiaries Direct beneficiaries who benefited from the SFSP disaggregated according to gender. As of October 25, 2021, 864,793 female- headed households were enrolled, as reported in the previous indicator. The Project Implementation Unit has not yet captured the percentage of individual female beneficiaries. National registry platform National National Memorandum of understanding signed with Ministry of Interior to that functions across the platform is registry upgrade NCR systems. country is strengthened functioning platform is Responsibility of NCR is to increase the number of Sudanese with a but has low covering 80% of national identification number by a minimum of 5 million individuals coverage the population over the course of the SFSP program. and needs in the regions efficiency that the project Work plan and budget developed to provide NCR with necessary improvements. covers. equipment; mobile registration units established. INTERMEDIATE RESULTS INDICATORS ACCORDING TO COMPONENT Component 1: Provision of cash transfers Average number of 30 15 45 days for funds to reach beneficiary accountsa Number of beneficiaries 0 3,600,000 0 enrolled in basic bank Data not available accounts Days between generation 8 5 8 of payroll and fund transfer to payment service providers Number of beneficiaries 0 2,350,000 Data not available because not disaggregated according to enrolled in mobile moneyb payment option. Of all digital payment mechanisms, program encourages use of mobile money to foster financial inclusion. Indicator compares number of families enrolled in mobile money with number using basic bank account or cash cards. Component 2: Establish delivery systems and build institutional capacity SFSP MIS has been No Yes The SFSP MIS design has commenced, but the system not in place. developed and deployed? SFSP MIS has registration, enrollment, payment, case management, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting and data analytics modules, along with technical documentation and user manuals. MIS has data-sharing platform and required linkages with NCR and administrative data sources. MIS has linkages set up with payment providers for digital payments. National data protection No Yes National data protection and privacy law is submitted to governing and privacy law submitted council. to governing council? Status: SFSP data protection and privacy framework developed. 28 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities Indicator Baseline End Target Actual (as of December 31, 2021) Number of states covered 0 14 14 by SFSP program SFSP branded as a No Yes Brand for program has been developed (Thamarat). national, well-defined, Brand is name, term, design, logo, tagline, content, and other quasiuniversal program? features used in mainstreaming SFSP as a national, well-defined, quasiuniversal program. Brand works as a program identity and will help in marketing SFSP objectives, which are designed to mitigate the effects of ongoing economic hardship and improve Sudanese living conditions. Branding includes a series of processes for planning, producing, testing, and publicizing communication and community outreach material. Communication No Yes Outreach campaign implemented in eight states (Kassala, White campaigns launched? Nile, South Darfur, West Darfur, North Kurdofan, East Darfur, Red Sea, Khartoum). Messages on registration and payment disseminated via four national radio and television channels to reach all who access radio and television broadcasts in Sudan. Hybrid system for tracking No Yes 2,650 of 4,977 cases have been resolved. enquiries, complaints, All operators were dedicated to handling incoming calls, which and grievances (GRM) increased the number of complaints received as number of established? complaints spiked from 978 cases in July to 2,817cases in August 2021. Percentage of complaints 0 80 86 resolved in 15 days or less through GRM Gender-focused No Yes Yes behavioral science integrated into community strategy for SFSP in areas where women are not designated primary beneficiaries? Component 3: Project Management, monitoring and evaluation, and learning Impact evaluation baseline No Yes No and follow-up survey conducted? Lessons drawn from No Yes No Sudan’s experience in evaluative report? Source: World Bank 2021. Note: GRM = grievance redress mechanism; MIS = management information system; NCR = national civil registry. a. The indicator measures how long it takes for funds transferred from the central account to reach the digital accounts of beneficiaries. The program has the objective of delivering benefits from the central account of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to beneficiaries in 15 days. b. Of all digital payment mechanisms, the program encourages the use of mobile money to foster financial inclusion. The indicator compares the number of families enrolled in mobile money with the number that use a basic bank account or cash cards. 29 STARS Annual Report 2021 The project achieved some unintended positive approved in June 2021, but implementation is yet outcomes—expanding financial inclusion and to commence. financial literacy and increasing public confi- dence in the transitional government. Sudan SSNP (P148349) The main challenges that the SFSP faces are that: The objective of the project is to increase the capacity of the MoLSD, previously known as • Weak outreach has hampered implementation the Ministry of Welfare and Social Security, to progress. The PIU has developed a plan to implement the Cash Transfer Program transpar- improve outreach. ently and effectively and to pilot a PSN approach • The weakness of the financial infrastructure for poor households. The project closed on has hindered seamless payment; took an December 31, 2021. According to an indepen- average of 30 days for beneficiaries to receive dent evaluation that assessed the extent to which payments. SSNP increased the capacity of the MoLSD to • The human and physical capacity of gov- implement the national cash transfer program ernment is limited, as epitomized by the transparently and effectively and to pilot a PSN Civil Registry, which has a limited ability to approach for poor households, the achievements produce national identification cards for all documented in table 4 were reported. Progress beneficiaries. made toward achievement of the development objective is assessed as satisfactory. The project • Lack of an integrated MIS is a source of incon- has achieved 60 percent of objective develop- sistency and delays accessing transfers. The ment indicators and 80 percent of intermediate project had a funding gap of US$300 million outcome indicators. In some instances the proj- for phase 3, which is required to cover the ect exceeded the target, for example, by reaching remaining states of Northern, River Nile, Al more beneficiaries than planned. Gedarif, and Al-Gezira, and US$1.2 billion for phase 4 to implement the original plan of pro- Challenges viding transfers for 12 months. The SSNP faced several challenges, includ- ing political changes, the COVID-19 outbreak, Social Protection Diagnostics and and operational and financial management Technical Assistance to the SFSP challenges. The COVID-19 outbreak limited The technical assistance is a US$3.5 million implementation support, especially physical activity whose development objective is to pro- supervision, because of restrictions on travel vide analytical underpinning for social protection and all types of logistics and operations within as a growth pillar for the recovery and develop- the country as the team was collecting data and ment process and to support implementation validating the project. There was a lockdown in and coordination of the SFSP. Social protection Sudan in November 2020, some staff members was incorporated in government programs in fell ill, and there were numerous other effects. Sudan as part of the government’s economic Political changes reform agenda and the national recovery and The military takeover that took place on October growth framework. The SFSP will ultimately tran- 25, 2021, and political changes led the World sition to a more targeted program in the medium Bank to trigger OP 7.30, and the remaining term. This technical assistance is producing activities for which a plan was developed during the analytical underpinnings of the permanent previous missions could not be achieved before safety net program and providing technical sup- the closing date of December 2021. port to strengthen Sudan’s safety net systems and increase local capacity to support better service delivery outcomes. The activity was 30 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities Table 4  Sudan Social Safety Net Project Results Update Indicator Baseline End Target Actual (as of December 31, 2021) PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME INDICATORS Percentage of recertified households included in cash 0 100 132.8 transfer beneficiary registry MIS developed and operational No Yes Yes Percentage of complaints resolved using automated case 0 60 91.8 management Financial management system provided (timely) regular No Yes Yes monitoring of cash transfers at the national and state level PSN pilot launched (with beneficiaries receiving transfers) in No Yes Yes at least one state INTERMEDIATE RESULTS INDICATORS Recertification methodology including proxy means test No Yes Yes developed and adopted by MoLSD Number of recertified cash transfer beneficiaries submitted 0 375,000 664,242 and endorsed by MoLSD Annual payment calendar developed and endorsed by No Yes Yes MoLSD MIS developed No Yes Yes Percentage of staff trained at the state and national levels 0 80 139.6 working on cash transfers MoLSD communication and outreach campaign launched No Yes Yes Number of household heads who benefited from the PSN 0 1,000 1,000 Number of employment days generated from subprojects 0 114,000 114,000 implemented under the PSN Percentage of target PSN beneficiaries who received 0 60 99.3 training in targeted states Increase in PSN-targeted households’ accessibility to No Yes Yes livelihood activities. Source: World Bank 2021. Note: MIS = management information system; MoLSD = Ministry of Labor and Social Development; PSN = productive safety net. Financial management challenges Economic Revival and Better The triggering of OP 7.30, which paused all trans- actions, caused project funds not to be disbursed Governance fully before closure. Only 26.4 percent of funds This pillar prioritizes critical analytical work, were disbursed under the additional financing technical assistance, and policy dialogue on grant, TF0B2691, but all funds were committed. macroeconomic reforms and institutional The SSNP has existing obligations and commit- transformation. Activities implemented under ments of US$437,566 for purchases and services this pillar includes poverty and distributional delivered before the closing date. impact analysis of economic reforms, support for domestic resource mobilization, financial sector 31 STARS Annual Report 2021 development, and private sector development. major statistical operation since 2015, leaving the The pillar also supported analysis and imple- country with serious data gaps across multiple mentation of financial and real sector reforms. sectors. The latest population census was con- In addition, activities under this pillar focused ducted in 2008, after which Sudan experienced on building the government’s procurement, several significant political and social changes, financial, management, and implementation including the secession of South Sudan in 2011. capacity. Support will also be provided to good For example, the Multiple Indicator Cluster governance through a series of sectoral public Survey and the Labor Force Survey, which collect expenditure reviews to assess the efficiency, information on essential social and economic effectiveness, and equity of public expenditures indicators, have not been conducted since 2014 and their adequacy and sustainability relative to and 2011, respectively. There has not been an Sudan’s priority sectors (e.g., education, health, agricultural survey or census in more than 20 transport, security sector). There are two grants years, and the latest Industrial Establishments under this pillar. Survey was fielded in 2003. The government of Sudan is trying to secure funding for the next Sudan Household Budget Population and Housing Census and Agriculture and Poverty Survey (P176302) Census. The aim is to implement these by 2023. The Sudan Household Budget and Poverty Survey According to the World Bank Statistical Capacity project is financed by a US$2.2 million recipi- Indicator, Sudan scored 54.44 out of 100 on sta- ent-executed grant and is being implemented by tistical capacity in 2019, just below the regional the CBS3 with oversight from the MoFEP. STARS average of 57.14 (World Bank 2019). The indi- and SMPF are financing the project. The grant cator assesses the capacity of the country’s was approved on March 16, 2021 and became national statistical system in three dimensions: effective on June 22, 2021. statistical methodology, source data, and peri- odicity. Lack of up-to-date data limits the ability This survey will fill a major data gap in the country to assess the effect of the economic crisis on because Sudan does not have reliable, up-to-date the most vulnerable individuals and to design information on socioeconomic conditions of the targeted, evidence-based policies. Sudan has population to inform policy making. The survey had a high prevalence of poverty and inequality, will be representative at the national and state with marked geographic disparities. According levels and will be implemented in three rounds, to the National Household Budget and Poverty in line with the main seasons in Sudan. Field Survey 2014/15 (CBS 2015), the most recent work was originally scheduled to start in August survey available, 36.1 percent of Sudanese res- 2021, but significant delays in establishing the idents (approximately 11.15 million) were living administrative process and the advisory bodies in poverty. At the state level, South Kordofan and will require that the timeline be updated. West and Central Darfur had the highest inci- Sudan needs to update various socioeconomic dence of poverty. Sudan has experienced severe surveys and censuses. There has not been a economic and social problems since 2014/15, including the pandemic, that have most probably decreased the living standards of the popula- tion. The escalating food prices that Sudan has 3  Established under the Statistics Act of 2003, the CBS,  a semi-autonomous institution under the MoFEP with been experiencing since 2018 have contributed branch offices in all 18 states in Sudan, is responsible to shortages of food and fuel. Early in 2021, the for producing national statistics; coordinating statistical work across government agencies; and implementing country was experiencing large increases in major statistical operations in the country, including health and transport prices. It is likely that all of censuses and large-scale household surveys. Specialized sectoral surveys, such as of health or industrial this has affected people differently depending establishments, are usually designed and administered on region and socioeconomic status. Lack of in collaboration with the respective ministries. 32 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities recent data limits the government’s ability to and inadequate infrastructure. Recurrent connec- direct resources to those most in need. The new tivity challenges coupled with slow administrative household survey data will not only benefit the and bureaucratic processes have hindered prog- Sudanese government, but also provide relevant ress significantly, which the limited experience of up-to-date information to guide World Bank CBS staff with World Bank procedures magnifies. engagement with the government. A concerted effort by the CBS to prioritize this activity allowed the project to be approved in The development objective of the project record time, but progress stalled after project is to help the government of Sudan collect approval. Competing priorities diluted the atten- good-quality data on key socioeconomic indi- tion and time dedicated to this activity, which cators and produce provisional national-level strong concentration of decision making in the poverty estimates to inform policy planning and office of the director general further hampered. monitoring. The project will produce the first round of the Household Budget and Poverty Successful implementation of the survey will Survey, which can be used to estimate socio- require reprioritizing this activity so that CBS staff economic indicators and provide national-level allocate sufficient time to perform the prepara- poverty estimates. A new Household Budget tory work, a more streamlined decision-making and Poverty Survey will not only help design process with greater authority on the part of the and implement better policies but will also be project coordinator and staffing the PIU with addi- crucial to monitoring Sudan’s poverty reduc- tional qualified personnel to support survey man- tion strategy and the World Bank Group’s twin agement. Similarly, the World Bank strengthened goals of reducing poverty and boosting shared in-country support by hiring an additional local prosperity. Intermediate results indicators to consultant to support the day-to-day work and show that the Household Budget and Poverty an international survey manager who travelled to Survey is progressing towards achieving the Sudan at critical stages of survey administration. goal include the development of questionnaires, a computer-assisted personal interview applica- Sudan Poverty Monitoring and tion, a dashboard for field-monitoring indicators, Analytics (P174168) and data anonymization protocols. Through a combination of analytical activities Steering and technical committees and the PIU and new data collection efforts, this activity sup- have been established, two technical consultants ported numerous outputs that have enhanced have been hired, and the designated account evidence-based policy making and policy dia- has been opened. The steering committee was logue in Sudan. This program helped in meeting established in a decree that the MoFEP and the critical milestones in Sudan’s reengagement Council of Ministries approved. The director gen- process, such as the government’s Poverty eral of the CBS heads the technical committee. Reduction Strategy Paper, the Joint Staff Advisory Several technical discussions regarding survey Note, and the arrears-clearing development design and questionnaires have taken place. policy operation. The team also produced new The sampling frame has been finalized, and draft evidence to assess the poverty and distributional questionnaires are well advanced. Through the impact of some economic policies and reforms Sudan Poverty Analytics ASA (P174168), survey as the country weathers the current economic experts have been hired to support various crisis, including the sharp rise in fuel prices and aspects of the project now on pause. the mitigating effect of the SFSP. Challenges As the world faced the unprecedented chal- Multiple challenges must be addressed to deliver lenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, this program on this activity. The institutional capacity of the financed implementation of a high-frequency CBS is inadequate, with limited human resources phone survey that allowed the impact of the 33 STARS Annual Report 2021 crises on Sudanese households to be monitored backup. The project lost interviewers throughout and helped inform the response. This was done the rounds, and the need to train new enumera- by collecting six rounds of data on households tors slowed implementation. It is recommended and two rounds on firms, covering wide-ranging that questionnaires be back-translated from topics such as employment, education, health, Arabic to English to ensure accuracy. This was access to services, and COVID-19. This exercise done for the fifth and sixth rounds, and it helped is unprecedented in the context of Sudan, and refine the Arabic version. Finally, providing it helped increase in-country capacity for imple- access to raw data alone is insufficient. For the mentation of phone surveys. Because of capacity data to be used and knowledge to be generated, constraints, the survey was implemented through workshops should be run on how these data can a firm, but the CBS was involved throughout the be used and what sort of analysis can be done. process. The activity financed technical assis- tance to the CBS for preparation of the new Financial Sector Capacity Building Household Budget and Poverty Survey. Results (P151261 and P171371) achieved in this area include a quality review The project essentially serves as the platform for assessment of the draft questionnaires that the financial sector engagement in Sudan. As World CBS produced, design of a nonstandard unit Bank–client engagement has evolved over the survey to improve consumption measurement, years, the work performed under this project new drafts of survey questionnaires, documenta- has helped build strong client dialogue and pro- tion of the sampling frame update, and proposed vided a solid analytical base upon which to build sampling and field design. future operational work, including preparation The challenges faced throughout implementa- of a planned project—Sudan Women and Youth tion of this program vary according to activity. Entrepreneurship. Within a challenging operat- Lack of reliable, up-to-date information on the ing environment (e.g., political unrest, constant socioeconomic conditions of the Sudanese pop- reshuffling of CBOS management), the project ulation limited the scope and depth of most ana- maintained a healthy policy dialogue with the lytical outputs. Identification of policy priorities CBOS, the MoFEP, and other key stakeholders. and estimation of the potential poverty impact of Project activities are designed to provide tech- current policies and programs had to rely on data nical assistance to the government to increase from 2014/15. Implementation of the high-fre- financial sector stability and provide financial quency surveys through phone interviews posed intermediation in two main areas: financial sta- some challenges. Sample selection was limited bility and financial inclusion. In response to a to individuals with telephones, which excluded request from the government, the project added an important segment of the population. an activity to increase the institutional capac- Nonresponse and refusal increased substantially ity and improve the governance of the Social after movement restrictions were eased and Security Investment Authority (SSIA). respondents were back to normal life and work routines, and the increase in telecommunication The program’s activities on financial stabil- fees and rising inflation made the incentives pro- ity made steady progress, albeit slower than vided in phone minutes less attractive. Finally, expected. Informed by key recommendations frequent power cuts and connectivity problems from the Financial Sector Assessment Program, slowed data collection significantly. strengthening the legal and regulatory framework and enhancing CBOS’s institutional capacity are Implementation of the high-frequency phone priority areas of reform. Efforts to strengthen the survey offered a few lessons. It is essential to legal and regulatory framework advanced satis- account for dropout of enumerators and there- factorily, with reviews of proposed amendments fore train a large pool of people who can serve as 34 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities to the CBOS Act and the Banking Business Act. there will be further delays given the suspension The World Bank is working in close collaboration of the engagement. Once the data are received, with the IMF. The amendments to the CBOS Act they can be analyzed and an accompanying were intended to increase the independence report prepared and fed into development of the of the CBOS and address conflicts of inter- National Financial Inclusion Strategy.5 Technical est, whereas the amendments to the Banking support also continued to be provided in the Business Act would ensure that the CBOS has context of payment systems development, par- the necessary powers and tools to manage ticularly the mobile money assessment, which crisis situations. Asset quality reviews funded was part of the payment systems diagnostics. by the European Union provided the most accu- This output has been vital in supporting devel- rate reflection of banking sector vulnerability, opment of reforms in the mobile money space including asset quality and levels of insolvency. in recent months, particularly in changing the The results of this exercise should inform any mobile money business model, including the further targeted support from the World Bank recently approved supporting regulation. This is on crisis management and resolution strategies, expected to unlock the potential of mobile money although implementation of proposed interven- to expand the outreach of financial services. tions and decisions for the banks following the In response to the request from the government asset quality reviews has been delayed, given to provide technical assistance to the SSIA, the current political events. Within this program, World Bank conducted an institutional, gover- the team is helping the authorities provide the nance, operational, and capacity assessment that methodology to conduct a national risk assess- identified areas for improvement and provided ment (NRA).4 The team has been supporting guidance for SSIA management on prioritizing the NRA coordinator and eight technical groups areas to be addressed. The Social Insurance formed to focus on specific areas and modules; Diagnostic was completed and provided key rec- the NRA methodology was presented, and Anti- ommendations regarding institutional and opera- Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of tional structure, internal governance, and current Terrorism stakeholders were trained in the use of fund and investment management practices. the NRA tool at two virtual workshops in April and After the findings were presented to the authori- June 2021. The technical groups were collecting ties in April 2021, phase two of the engagement, data to prepare the NRA report. The World Bank which focuses on technical assistance to support is ready to review the data and report and to implementation of identified priority actions, was support dissemination of the NRA findings once initiated. A training curriculum was developed in World Bank engagement resumes. coordination with the SSIA, and initial support Regarding activities promoting financial inclu- was provided to identify and prepare terms of ref- sion, various diagnostic studies providing the erence for key SSIA staff functions. Support was evidence base for developing the National also given in designing an investment strategy Financial Inclusion Strategy have been finalized. template, although introduction of the training The national representative demand-side survey curriculum has been delayed given current polit- (fieldwork) was completed in July 2021, with the ical events. support and ownership of the CBOS and CBS. Data processing was under way before October 2021 when implementation was paused, Hence, 5  F  inalization of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy will require robust stakeholder consultations 4  T  he NRA will identify threats and vulnerabilities and and engagement with the authorities, which prioritize activities for enhancing the Anti-Money cannot be done under the current environment and Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism regime. given the World Bank’s triggering of OP 7.30. 35 STARS Annual Report 2021 Challenges in recent months punctuated by infrequent and The key challenges faced in delivering the pro- large price increases. The government has not gram activities include the following: begun reforming price subsidies for other fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas and heavy fuel • Political unrest that began in December 2018 oil. Under the ongoing technical assistance, the and continued through August 2019 resulted World Bank has provided just-in-time advice and in pausing of the engagement and caused made presentations on international good prac- unanticipated delays in completing planned tice, particularly in response to queries about activities. The more recent political develop- managing oil price volatility. Once the Bank can ment in October 2021 will affect delivery of fully reengage the government, it will offer tech- activities under the program. nical assistance to help the government manage • Constant changes in CBOS management subsidy phaseout more systematically. required that priorities be frequently recon- firmed with new management. Electricity sector reform. The technical assis- tance has been supporting the government’s • The clients were slow to respond on some reform of its electricity tariff, which has been one activities, such as the financial inclusion demand survey (delay in the CBOS disbursing of the lowest in the world and recovered approx- resources committed to support this effort). imately 10 percent of sector operational costs. The technical assistance program provided a • Financial sector data were sometimes unavail- series of just-in-time advisories on designing the able, and when they were available, there were tariff reform and a sector’s cost-of-service study, significant delays in sharing these data and which the government can use as the basis for documents. formalizing a medium-term tariff reform roadmap • More than 200 CBOS officials were dismissed and associated methodologies. Based on the in 2021, which decreased institutional capac- policy dialogue, the government implemented a ity at the CBOS. significant increase in electricity tariffs between • COVID-19 restrictions prevented the World January - December 2021. It is estimated that the Bank team from conducting missions to sector is now recovering approximately half of its Khartoum. The team leveraged audio and operational costs. The World Bank will continue video connections where possible, but this the policy dialogue on this subject once engage- workaround was not as seamless as expected, ment is resumed. and there are challenges in sustaining the attention and engagement of the authorities To support government communication on on pending matters. broader economic reform, public opinion research was conducted in July 2021. The Sudan Energy Sector Recovery results of this analysis, as well as further recom- Technical Assistance (P171810) mendations, were shared with the government The objective of the activity is to help the gov- at a workshop in August 2021. Meanwhile, the ernment of Sudan design and implement a team has engaged an additional communication comprehensive policy package for energy sector consultant based in Sudan to coordinate with recovery. The key goal of the recovery is reform the government and team members. The team of fuel and electricity subsides. of communication consultants began developing a communication strategy for electricity sector Fuel subsidy reform. The government annou- actors. After the October 2021 military takeover, nced elimination of price subsidies for gasoline strategic communication activities were paused and diesel in June 2021, but prices have not until further notice. moved in line with international oil price move- ments, possibly resulting in under-recoveries 36 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities The technical assistance has informed prepa- piloted states (Red Sea, River Nile, Sinnar, North ration of the proposed Sudan Energy Transition Kordofan). The project was approved on August and Access Project with a US$300 million grant 23, 2016; became effective on June 5, 2017; and from the IDA to increase availability of electric- closed on September 30, 2020. It was financed ity supply and access to electricity. It has also through two grants totaling US$5 million. informed policy actions under the upcoming The critical result of the project was that it Developing Financing Operation and the HIPC, achieved some capacity development in the both on pause. MoFEP and other areas of the government. The changes in the government, which also led to Strengthening Sub-National Fiscal changes in the project management structure, Policy Management (P156750) affected the project implementation. It was The project's development objective is to determined that the project design was too broad increase the efficiency and effectiveness of state- and that the project would have benefited from level fiscal policy management and financial more-targeted objectives. The project achieved accountability processes, including increasing 15 percent of the objective development indica- credibility and transparency in use of public funds tors and 33 percent of the intermediate outcome and reducing opportunities for corruption in indicators (table 5). Table 5  Strengthening Sub-National Fiscal Policy Management, Results Update Actual (as of October Indicator (Project Indicator) Baseline End Target 11, 2019) PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME INDICATORS Public access to complete, reliable, timely procurement 0 100 132.8 information available (PI-19-iii) Scrutiny by state-level assemblies of annual budget No Yes Yes increased and external audit report improved (PI-27-28) Public access to key fiscal information available (PI-10) 0 60 91.8 Dependency on federal resource reduced by increasing No Yes Yes state’s own revenue mobilization (% own revenue) Definition of pro-poor public spending agreed upon and No Yes Yes applied to track budget allocation and performance of sectors and programs that reduce poverty Medium-term perspective in pro-poor expenditure 0 375,000 664,242 budget (PI-12) Aggregate and composition of pro-poor compared to the No Yes Yes out-turn compared to original approval budget (p1-1p1-2) Horizontal allocation of transfer from state government No Yes Yes to localities determined transparently using formula base transfer system State government develops and uses public investment 0 80 139.6 manual to improve selection and implementation of public investment is developed and used by state government (PI-PIM) 37 STARS Annual Report 2021 Table 5 (CONT)  Strengthening Sub-National Fiscal Policy Management, Results Update Actual (as of October Indicator (Project Indicator) Baseline End Target 11, 2019) Effectiveness of internal audit improved (coverage of No Yes Yes internal audit function, implementation and distribution of audit report and extent of management finding) (P26, 27, and 28) Effectiveness of external audit (scope of audit, timeliness 0 1,000 1,000 and, evidence of fellow-up on audit recommendation addressed) (P1-26) Percentage of staff that applied new skills for more 0 60 99.3 effective use of resources to enhance budget accountability INTERMEDIATE RESULTS INDICATORS Number of Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning 0 1,500 1,000 budget units in line ministries, State Ministry of Finance, and localities staff receiving training to improve pro-poor policy-based budgeting, budget techniques, and budget analysis system processes (PI-19-iii) Database system for indicators and criteria used to apply No Yes Yes formula-base allocation developed Number of staff trained on project cycle and 0 1,500 500 implementation of projects, internal audit planning, and quality assurance Source: World Bank 2021. Challenges The project faced the following challenges: • Weak responses from certain stakeholders, which required follow-up action, delayed • Frequent changes of PIU coordinator and task implementation of planned project activities, team leaders disrupted implementation. for example, training programs under the • On April 11, 2019, the World Bank paused National Audit Chamber component. activities in Sudan in accordance with World To address shortcomings in implementation of the Bank policy and procedures, OP/BP 7.30, project, the World Bank team remained engaged which lasted 5 months. The dissolution of with the PIU throughout implementation and was state government organs that directly bene- able to assess difficulties that arose, anticipate fited from project activities (state legislative problems, and provide means for resolution that councils and other bodies) that collaborated enabled progress toward the project develop- with the project to facilitate implementation of ment objective, although a 6-month pausing of project subcomponents (Fiscal and Financial the project due to the revolution in April 2019 and Allocation and Monitoring Commission). the COVID-19 pandemic handicapped the World • The COVID-19 outbreak delayed project implementation and caused the cancellation Bank team. of several trainings planned for 2020. 38 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities Supporting Private Sector fiscal year 2021. The diagnostics provided a Development Agenda in Sudan for synthesis of economic sectors in Sudan, pri- Youth Employment (P164340) vate sector constraints, sector potential, and investment opportunities. This project, launched in fiscal year 2020, builds on the previous Sudan Developing Agribusiness • In-time technical assistance was provided Small and Medium Enterprises and Integrated to support formulation of private sector devel- Agri-Parks activity, which was delivered in fiscal opment priorities in key strategic documents, year 2019. The development objective is to sup- including Staff-Monitored Program strategies port private sector growth to create sustainable, and the poverty reduction strategy. inclusive jobs for youth by strengthening the • Laying the foundation to establish func- economy wide and sector-specific business tioning PPD mechanisms: As the govern- enabling environment. The project has a grant ment moves forward with important reforms to amount of US$750,000 from the SMPF. improve the business environment in Sudan, it will be vital to communicate with the private This joint World Bank–International Finance sector and take its views into account to help Corporation (IFC) ASA, which is designed to pro- shape policy reforms. The project has engaged vide strategic technical assistance and analytical with the Sudan Business Federation to pre- support to resolve key cross-cutting and sec- pare a roadmap for establishing a functioning tor-specific constraints on private sector growth PPD mechanism to inform policy dialogue. in Sudan to encourage economic recovery and Specifically, priority steps were outlined in job creation, has five components: private sector initial consultations, which included mapping diagnostics and PPD; technical assistance to policy-making processes during the transition improve the investment climate and support period, determining the most suitable PPD the public-private partnership agenda; technical structural design, identifying private and public assistance to development of entrepreneurship PPD champions, establishing a PPD secretar- and micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises; iat, and forming sector working groups. While sector-specific technical assistance to support contribution to the goals of the transitional economic diversification and youth job creation; period and its constant evolution, the project and capacity building for public and private supports gradual formation of the PPD. institutions responsible for the private sector diagnostic agenda. • The Sudan Enterprise Survey was launched to collect primary data on formal and informal Project activities over the past year have cen- enterprises in Sudan to help understand tered on two areas: informing the government’s the structure of and key constraints on pri- reform priorities for private sector-led growth vate sector activity. The joint Development and supporting business environment reforms Economics—Finance, Competitiveness, and to create an environment conducive to domestic Innovation Global Practice survey is being investment and foreign direct investment. implemented in three states in collaboration with the National Statistical Bureau and will Informing the government’s reform priorities for private sector-led growth cover small and medium enterprises in the industrial and service sectors. Analysis of the • The Sudan Private Sector Diagnostic was survey results will also support formation of launched to help provide a common analytical the necessary reform agenda. The vendor was basis to shape policy dialogue and guide trans- selected in May 2021, and work is under way. formational private investment for sustainable, inclusive growth and job creation. The private sector diagnostic study was completed in 39 STARS Annual Report 2021 Supporting business environment reforms to The project has been supporting efforts to stream- create an environment conducive to domes- line the institutional set-up and thereby streamline tic investment and foreign direct investment private sector development reforms in Sudan. In Technical assistance is used to strengthen the October 2020, the World Bank received a formal legal and regulatory environment. The World Bank request to help increase the operational and tech- team is working with its counterparts (various nical capacity of the newly created Investment and government ministry officials and development Private Sector Development Authority (IPSDA). partners) to support enactment of critical laws to The IDA mission confirmed government priorities strengthen the legal and regulatory environment to increase capacity at the newly created Ministry for private sector investments. of Investment and IPSDA. • Public-Private Partnership Law. The World The project has also achieved some unintended Bank team has reviewed and provided tech- outcomes: nical feedback and support to strengthen the • The project has informed the proposed IDA draft law, which was enacted in April 2021. operations, including the Sudan Women and • The Investment Law. The World Bank team Youth Entrepreneurship Project which is on reviewed the draft law in May and September pause. 2020. The law was enacted in April 2021. • The project facilitated coordination and dia- • The Company Act. The team received a request logue between government entities and the from the Ministry of Justice to assist in reviewing private sector. the Sudan Company Act of 2015 and provide an • There are strong links with other World Bank initial business registry mapping of the Sudan activities, including development policy oper- Company Registrar. The team is reviewing the ations, IFC projects, and sector-specific work act, and the mapping process is under way. (agriculture, energy, digital). The World Bank • The Trade Law and the Industrial Law. The Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation World Bank completed a review of the Trade Global Practice and the IFC have jointly imple- Law and the Industrial Law in early 2021, is mented the project in close collaboration with following up on the status of these two laws various teams across the World Bank, includ- and is ready to review the latest versions of the ing Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation; draft laws when they are available. Agriculture; Energy; and Poverty, and IFC advi- sory and investment teams. • The government’s efforts to strengthen Sudan’s public-private partnership pro- Challenges gram. The government has requested World The following challenges have been faced in Bank support in strengthening the institu- implementing the project. tional, legal, and regulatory framework for the identification, selection, and implemen- • Difficulty establishing a counterpart relationship tation of public-private projects in Sudan. A amid political and institutional changes has legal consultant is onboard to support the delayed some project implementation activities. Public-Private Partnership Unit to develop the At the start of the project in February 2020, the regulations and provide hands-on technical newly created IPSDA was confirmed to be an assistance to unit staff. In addition, the team essential counterpart for this ASA in collaboration secured Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory and coordination with other public and private Facility funding to augment capacity-building stakeholders, given its mandate as the single point assistance to the Public-Private Partnership of contact for investment and private sector devel- Unit and other relevant government entities. opment initiatives, but after the civilians formed 40 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities government, there was for some time a lack of audio and video connections with Khartoum clarity on the institutional mandates, with no clear and has deployed a full-time consultant in counterparts or champions for the private sector Khartoum to help maintain momentum on development and business environment agenda, implementation activities. thus slowing some project implementation Lessons learned activities. The team engaged with the Ministry of Investment as the essential counterpart for The following key lessons were learned from this ASA and worked closely with the Ministry of implementing the project. Justice to review the Company Act of 2015 and • Although the political, institutional, and eco- the business registration process. IPSDA is still nomic situation in Sudan continues to evolve, not in operation, with no civil servants in place. a pragmatic approach to project implementa- • Institutional capacity is limited at the technical tion called for flexibility to allow adjustments level at the MoFEP, Ministry of Investment, in consultation with government counterparts and relevant line ministries. Furthermore, key and development partners. senior counterparts are severely overstretched • Priority activities under the project have been because they have many competing priorities. identified and adjusted in close coordination As a result, the World Bank team has recog- with government counterparts to respond to nized the importance of capacity-building evolving country needs, changing political technical assistance and the need to sequence environment, and capacity at key institutions. and prioritize interventions under the project. • It is critical to have team members on the • The institutional set-up for implementing eco- ground for face-to-face follow-up with public nomic reforms is complex and multilayered. and private sector counterparts to ensure Several economic sector committees and a momentum, quick problem solving, and coor- technical economic committee are in place. dination, especially in the context of COVID-19. Although it is important to engage the public and private sectors, the reform efforts must be • It is also critical to coordinate with other devel- jointly undertaken with the PPD interventions opment partners to avoid overlap and build on to support a structured, sustainable mecha- each other’s work. It would be helpful to set up nism for future economywide and sector-re- a donor coordination group focused on private lated reforms. Furthermore, the cross-cutting sector development. nature of many of the private sector develop- ment challenges increases the complexity of coordination and a need for clear champions. Peacebuilding, Resilience, • Data on the private sector are generally dated and Basic Services or unavailable in Sudan. The project supported The key focus of this pillar is to address the efforts to resolve this dearth of information, long-standing division between the center (cities especially through the new enterprise survey, and towns and the periphery (rural states), with but much more must be done. a focus on extending support to conflict-affected • Because the missions were suspended states. Even if small in value, such interventions because of COVID-19 restrictions, the team are an important signal to people in conflict-af- was unable to provide on-the-ground capaci- fected areas and could provide ways to move ty-building and training activities and conduct forward with development interventions in basic face-to-face meetings with counterparts and service delivery, livelihoods, and social inclusion, World Bank technical experts. To overcome making use where possible of community-driven these challenges, the team has leveraged development. The goal of these interventions is 41 STARS Annual Report 2021 to mitigate community-level drivers of conflict and host communities, to improve their livelihoods and move from a humanitarian approach to a develop- natural resource management practices. mental and national systems-building approach. The project, which was approved on July 19, 2016, Activities include building human capital, basic received financing of US$4.43 million and was service delivery, agricultural and natural resource closed on January 31, 2021. The following results management, reintegration of ex-combatants, and have been achieved to date under this project. socioeconomic inclusion of displaced popula- tions. Promoting inclusion of marginalized groups • In Kassala and Khartoum 2,847 youth entrepre- such as women and youth as agents of change on neurs received support from the US$500,000 a local level is a priority. additional financing provided to the project. Although STARS has not financed any activities • Eight hundred twenty-nine youth beneficia- in this pillar, ongoing activities financed under the ries (77 percent female) received skills and SMPF continue to contribute to achievement of entrepreneurship training in various areas, STARS objective. These include the SLDP: Phase including small machine and air conditioning 2 (P158066), Supporting Dialogue on Responses maintenance, tailoring and sewing, laboratory to Forced Displacement and Citizen Engagement assistantship, basic ICT, home cultivation, and (P173359), and Education Development Technical stabilized solid block (construction blocks) Assistance (P172292). production. • Two thousand fifty-five starter packs, including SLDP: Phase 2 (P158066) 1,390 home cultivation seeds and equipment, were provided to youth beneficiaries (84 per- Phase two of the SLDP builds on the first phase, cent female). which was implemented in Kassala State. Phase one piloted a community-driven development • Partnerships were established with various approach of organizing communities and helping technical and financial partners to expand the them plan and deliver livelihood opportunities impact of the additional financing. through intensive community mobilization, facili- Progress made toward achievement of the tated entrepreneurial and vocational training, and development objective was rated as satisfactory. in-kind grants to beneficiaries. Outcomes are presented in table 6, which shows The development objective of phase two was that the project achieved 71 percent of its develop- to increase the capacity of local stakeholders, ment objective outcome indicators and 72 percent including state authorities, IDPs, and vulnerable of its intermediate results indicators. 42 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities Table 6  Sustainable Livelihoods for Displaced and Vulnerable Communities Project Eastern Sudan: Phase 2, Results Update Indicator Baseline End Target Actual PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OUTCOME INDICATORS Number of direct project beneficiaries 0 41,000 57,081 Percentage of female beneficiaries 0 50 41 Percentage of targeted staff in local agencies with greater 0 60 83 understanding of and capacity for development planning and implementation targeting IDP, host, and vulnerable communities Percentage of beneficiaries in IDP and host communities 0 50 80 reporting understanding of linkages between improved natural resource management practices and sustainable livelihoods Number of small projects IDPs and host communities 0 30 33 successfully implemented and managed Number of beneficiaries with increased access to 0 (0) 3,850 (50) 5,089 (50) livelihood opportunities (percentage female) INTERMEDIATE RESULTS INDICATORS Number of staff in local agencies trained in and obtained 0 280 304 additional skills through capacity-building initiatives that the project delivered Number of beneficiaries in IDP and host communities who 0 10,000 17,195 received training through capacity-building initiatives that the project delivered Number of analytical outputs and workshops produced 0 5 5 with programmatic relevance to project thematic areas Number of community environmental action plans and 0 40 47 operations manuals developed for small projects Number of communities making required cash and in-kind 0 10 10 contributions to small project implementation Number of beneficiaries in IDP and host communities who 0 (0) 10,000 (50) 16,705 (65) participated in community environmental action planning and small project implementation (percentage female or youth) Number of livelihood enhancement goods and tools 0 100 100 delivered to target beneficiaries through tripartite procurement mechanism Number of beneficiaries who received livelihood grants and 0 2,350 3,531 skills training Ratio of beneficiaries who received livelihood support 0 10.0 3.4 through benefits exceeded those who received in-kind livelihood grant Percentage of beneficiaries of livelihood support reporting 0 60 81.5 net increase in income Source: World Bank Group 2020. Note: IDP = internally displaced person. 43 STARS Annual Report 2021 In addition, the project had some unintended and identify areas that may be supported to positive outcomes. enhance citizen engagement. • The Sudan Forced Displacement Background • With the additional financing that STARS Paper was prepared as an internal document provided, the project exceeded its target for and with the World Bank country management female entrepreneurs, with more than 70 per- and Fragility, Conflict, and Violence teams. The cent female beneficiaries. paper reviews the situation of IDPs, refugees, • Despite the small size of grant financing, and host communities in Sudan to inform employment opportunities were explored and development of strategies and operations to created, including new areas of entrepreneur- support social and economic inclusion of IDP ship support, in partnership with financial and and host communities. technical partners. • Coordination on citizen engagement, including Implementation of the project faced multiple support to development of a citizen engage- challenges, including political instability, natural ment strategy concept note. A series of consul- disasters, diseases, the COVID-19 pandemic, tations were held with other World Bank task and the economic crisis. teams, external partners, and the government. Because of the challenging operating context, Lessons learned this task could not be fully implemented and Two key lessons have been learned. was canceled during implementation. 1. Using technical service providers with strong Challenges local knowledge increases the efficiency of The project faced several challenges implementation. The project used specialized service providers that increased the project • It was not possible to identify a citizen engage- coordinating unit’s capacity. ment focal point in the government to coor- 2. Increasing participation of women and youth dinate across the government and take the in project activities requires specific measures proposed activity forward. that go beyond creating space for participatory • Ministries were occupied with urgent matters platforms. and reforms. • There was no coherent approach in the gov- Supporting Dialogue on Responses ernment to developing and implementing a to Forced Displacement and Citizen citizen engagement strategy. Engagement (P173359) Lessons learned The project’s development objective was to help The following lessons were learned. strengthen the government’s response to dis- placement, livelihood, and citizen engagement • Availability, identification, and nurturing of a challenges. The project, which was completed citizen engagement champion or government on April 7, 2021, had a grant of US$200,000. team is key to ensuring government ownership and preparing an efficient approach. Such Results a national champion may set good practice The project achieved three key results: examples that their peers will follow, convene • Planning and mainstreaming of citizen engage- meetings easily with civil society and other ment in Sudan portfolio. The task team under- partners, and function as the national focal took an internal analysis of citizen engagement point to ensure sustained dialogue on citizen in the Sudan portfolio (December 2020 and engagement during preparation of a strategy. February 2021) to take stock of approaches • Citizen engagement is often seen as a com- plaint mechanism or communications tool, 44 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities and sensitization is required to communicate curriculum and learning assessment, teachers the constructive, positive aspects of citizen and school leaders, school construction, ICT in engagement (e.g., community engagement education, institutional reforms of the Federal and monitoring, consultations with various Ministry of Education, and higher education. stakeholders, participatory planning). The draft versions of the notes were shared • Quick wins that showcase the importance with the government of Sudan for feedback, but of citizen engagement and promote national because of the COVID-19 pandemic, formal con- buy-in should be identified at the outset of sultations could not be held. The government has similar activities. already taken some recommendations from the notes into consideration in its reform efforts. The Sudan Education Development project closed successfully on March 31, 2021. ASA (P172292) The purpose of the Education Development ASA was to support the transitional government of Crisis Response Sudan in addressing short- and medium-term education challenges. Specifically, the activities The primary objective of the crisis response are designed to build the capacity of education pillar is to enable Sudan to respond to crises leaders at the federal and state levels to enable with a development response complementary to them to undertake transformative reforms in the humanitarian assistance. These crises include education sector and to support development major natural disasters, public health emer- of policy priorities across education subsectors. gencies, and epidemics, and the responses are The ASA had two outcomes: designed to restore livelihoods and return to the country’s long-term development path. The • Capacity building and identification of educa- COVID-19 pandemic and the locust invasion in tion reform through the Sudan International East Africa are examples of such crises. Activities Education Conference under this pillar are primarily recipient executed. • Evidence-based policy recommendations for The pillar currently has two grants, both of which the education sector through preparation of a finance the Sudan CERP. set of policy notes Sudan COVID-19 Emergency The capacity-building and identification of Support Response Project education-reform initiative commenced with a (P174352) conference with Sudanese education leaders and stakeholders that included sessions in nine CERP was approved on September 30, 2020; thematic areas that cover key domains within became effective on December 7, 2020, with a the basic education sector. The experts also grant amount of US$22 million, of which US$15.5 facilitated thematic discussions with relevant million is a grant from STARS and US$6.5 Sudanese education stakeholders to discuss the million is a grant from the Health Emergency challenges in each of these areas. There was a Preparedness and Response Trust Fund; and will subsequent conference with education officials close on December 31, 2022. CERP is the main to highlight international experiences in higher instrument for crisis response and economic education and discuss key challenges and oppor- revival under STARS. The development objective tunities for Sudanese universities. Based on the is to prevent, detect, and respond to the threat priority areas for reform identified during the con- that COVID-19 poses and strengthen national ference, a set of six evidence-based policy notes systems for public health preparedness. were prepared to provide short- and medium-term Additional financing of US$100 million from an policy recommendations for the education sector IDA grant was provided to the CERP and supports to the government of Sudan. The notes covered 45 expansion of CERP activities, enabling afford- CERP has recipient- and bank-executed activi- able, equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines ties. The recipient-executed activities are imple- and strengthening preparedness and response mented across all 18 states in Sudan but with a activities in Sudan. A US$0.9 million grant from particular focus on South Darfur, North Kurdofan, the Energy Sector Management Assistance Al Gedarif, Al Gezira, and West Darfur. The Program Trust Fund to facilitate COVID-19 cold Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) is implement- chain development and solarization of cold ing the activities currently planned for 2 years. storage facilities will provide co-financing to the The recipient-executed activities are designed to US$100 million IDA grant. Provision of additional fill critical gaps in implementing evidence-based financing is an example of the success of the interventions such as point-of-entry interventions current phase of implementation. (activities at the border posts to prevent further COVID transmission and management). These The government has established a high-level interventions may include activities to promote emergency committee to oversee operations to leadership and coordination in COVID man- address the COVID-19 pandemic. According to agement, risk communication and community the Multihazard Emergency Health Preparedness engagement, national laboratories, infection Plan that the government prepared with guidance prevention and control, case management and from the World Health Organization, approx- gender-sensitive isolation, and operational sup- imately US$230 million is needed to address port and logistics. Filling gaps in these areas will COVID-19-related health care. The domestic immediately increase local capacity to respond private sector has pledged to contribute US$2 to and address current COVID-19 challenges in a million to help the government. The government timely manner while working within the country’s reallocated US$3 million, and the United Nations existing systems and providing technical assis- and other international partners are expected to tance as needed for local health institutions at contribute US$9 million. The U.S. government the federal and state levels. Table 7 highlights has announced a grant of US$8 million, and the progress made toward achievement of the proj- European Union announced a support package ect development objective indicators. of €70 million. The Islamic Development Bank is expected to contribute US$35 million to Sudan. 46 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities Table 7  Sudan COVID-19 Emergency Support Response Project Results Update Actual (As of December Project Development Objective Indicator Baseline End Target 31, 2021) Percentage of reported suspected cases of 0 80 100 COVID-19 investigated based on national guidelines Number of designated laboratories with COVID-19 0 6 6 diagnostic equipment, test kits, and reagents Percentage of designated health care facilities with 8 100 100 isolation capacity Percentage of priority population vaccinated based 5 60 6.1a on targets defined in national plan, disaggregated according to gender Number of health care workers trained in infection 0 1,000 94 (9.4%): 34 prevention and control male, 60 female Number of laboratory staff trained to diagnose 0 80 55 (68.7%): 30 COVID-19 male, 25 female Number of people reached with awareness 0 20,000,000 6,317,813 (31%) campaign messages on COVID-19 prevention and vaccination Number of people reached with awareness 0 90 89.9 campaign messages on COVID-19 prevention and vaccination Percentage of targeted health care facilities with 0 25 0 clinical capacity for COVID-19 patients Number of solar direct drive refrigerators No Yes Yes purchased and installed in health care facilities Microplans developed and costed for COVID-19 No Yes No vaccine deployment? Standard operating procedures or guidelines No Yes Partially updated for collection and disposal of medical waste for COVID-19? Measurement and evaluation system established 0 60 0 to monitor COVID-19 preparedness and response plan? Percentage of patients or their caretakers satisfied 0 60 0 with treatment received for COVID-19 Percentage of grievances addressed within time 0 10.0 3.4 specified in project implementation manual Source: Government of Sudan. 2021. a. The goal of the updated National Vaccines Deployment Plan move from prioritized targets (health care workers, individuals aged 45–60 with comorbidity, individuals aged 60 and older) to the general population is to achieve 20% by mid-2022 and 40% by end of 2022. The current reporting system does not provide detailed data on vaccination of each target group. The Project Implementation Unit is working with the expanded program on immunization to improve the quality of data and the monitoring and evaluation system to ensure quality and timely reporting. 47 STARS Annual Report 2021 Challenges • Provision of implementation support docu- The key challenges faced in implementation of ments (technical reports, financial documents) CERP fall into three categories: • Security and accessibility in selected areas 1. System-related challenges • Weak coordination within and between Overall Lessons Learned levels of the health system. • Lack of comprehensive oversight and moni- • It is crucial to have a strong commitment from toring of overall response activities. the client, and this commitment should be • High leadership turnover. manifested in prioritization of projects in day- to-day activities to ensure timely implementa- • Limited human resource capacity at differ- tion of projects. ent implementation levels. • There must be concrete deadlines and clear • Weak tracking and reporting system. milestones to maintain progress. At the same • Fragmented supply and distribution system. time, it is important to include some flexibil- • Weak financial management capacity at ity to account for delays, which are bound FMoH. to happen. 2. Contextual challenges • It is necessary to allocate substantial human and monetary resources to provide ongoing • Insufficient compliance of the public with hands-on support. COVID-19 safety and precautionary measures. • It is imperative to have local staff on the team • High inflation rate, power outages, fuel short- who can intervene in person to expedite pro- ages, limited Internet connectivity cesses and facilitate communications when a • COVID-19 pandemic language barrier is encountered. It is also crit- 3. Operational challenges ical to have team members on the ground for face-to-face follow-up with public and private • Filling vacant project management sector counterparts to maintain momentum unit positions and ensure quick problem solving and coordi- • Slow implementation of work plan activities nation, especially in the context of COVID-19. (e.g., soft activities: training, supervision) • Using technical service providers with strong • Unmotivated public staff: The significant local knowledge increases the efficiency of devaluation of the Sudanese pound relative implementation. to the U.S. dollar reduced salaries of public • In conducting surveys, it is essential to sector staff and increased the risk of a brain account for potential dropout of enumerators drain from the FMoH. To mitigate this risk and and therefore train a large pool of people who maintain staff morale, the MoFEP and FMoH can serve as backups. requested the World Bank’s extensive sup- port for institutional capacity building through • When conducting surveys and research, knowledge transfers from other countries it is recommended that questionnaires be and customized courses and certificate pro- back-translated from Arabic to English to grams for key staff to enhance their capacity ensure accuracy. and encourage better performance. In addi- • Providing stakeholders with access to raw data tion, a project monitoring visit conducted in from surveys is insufficient. For the data to be May 2021 in Gedaref State found low turnout used and knowledge to be generated, work- of health care staff for vaccination. shops should be run on how these data can • Shifting the focus to outcomes rather than be used and what sort of analysis can be done. inputs • Although the political, institutional, and eco- sustained dialogue on citizen engagement nomic situation in Sudan continues to evolve, a while preparing a strategy. Citizen engage- pragmatic approach to project implementation ment is often seen as a complaint-handling calls for flexibility to allow for adjustments in mechanism or communications tool, and sen- consultation with government counterparts sitization is required to communicate its con- and development partners. structive and positive aspects (e.g., community • It is also critical to coordinate with other devel- engagement and monitoring, consultations opment partners to avoid overlap and build on with stakeholders, participatory planning). each other’s work. It would be helpful to set up donor coordination platforms. • Increasing the participation of women and Way Forward youth in project activities requires specific All projects under the STARS Trust Fund are on measures that go beyond creating space for pause as the World Bank continues to monitor participatory platforms. Availability, identifi- the situation. The STARS secretariat is partici- cation and nurturing of citizen engagement pating in discussions on scenario planning and champions or government team is critical to alternative measures of providing direct support ensuring government ownership and continu- to the Sudanese people. Should the World Bank ity of activities. Such national champions may resume activities, the STARS secretariat will set good practice examples that their peers engage in strategic discussions with partners on will follow. They could convene meetings supporting catalytic analytical work in support of easily with civil society and other partners and HIPC completion point to support debt relief and function as the national focal point to ensure IDA operations. STARS Annual Report 2021 References CBS (Central Bureau of Statistics). 2015. Forced Displacement in 2016.” UNHCR, “National Household Budget and Poverty New York. https://www.unhcr.org/ Survey.” CBS, Khartoum, Sudan. statistics/unhcrstats/5943e8a34/glob- al-trends-forced-displacement-2016.html. Government of Sudan. 2021. “COVID-19 Emergency Response Project Progress UNDP (United Nations Development Program). Report.” 2020. “Human Development Report 2020, The Next Frontier: Human Development Leen. 2021. “SSNP Implementation Completion and the Anthropocene.” http://hdr.undp. Results Report.” World Bank, Washington, org/sites/all/themes/hdr_theme/coun- DC. try-notes/SDN.pdf. Leen. 2021. “Sudan Social Safety Net Project World Bank. 2019. “Poverty Assessment Process Evaluation Report and Beneficiary Update.” World Bank, Washington, DC. Assessment Report.” World Bank Group, Washington, DC. World Bank2019. “Statistical Capacity Indicator.” World Bank, Washington, DC. Leen. 2021b. “Independent Process Evaluation Report for Social Safety Net Project.” World World Bank.2020, “STARS Operations Manual.” Bank, Washington, DC. World Bank, Washington, DC. Sudan Government. 2020. “SFSP Results World Bank. 2022. “My TF Summary.” World Framework.” Sudan, Khartoum. Bank. https://sapepp.worldbank.org/irj/ portal/mytf. Sudan Family Support Program. 2021. “Thamarat Enrollment/Payment Report.” World Bank. 2021a. “Effects of COVID-19 Ministry of Social Development, Khartoum, on Sudanese Enterprises. Washington, Sudan. DC: World Bank Group. http:// documents.worldbank.org/curated/ UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner en/142641631309296971/Effects-of- for Refugees). 2015. Global Trends, COVID-19-on-Sudanese-Enterprises. 4. Highlights of Selected STARS Activities Table A1  Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Results Framework 51 SUDAN TRANSITION AND RECOVERY SUPPORT TRUST FUND Development objective: Support government of Sudan’s economic and peacebuilding transition and build country delivery systems, including for crisis response. Pillar 1: SOCIAL PROTECTION Describe outcome 1: Enhanced access to social protection Unit of measure Baseline End target Actual (as of December 31, 2021) Definition/Description OUTCOME 1 INDICATORS Indicator 1.1: Increased access Percentage 0 50 22 Number of individual beneficiaries covered by to social protection project social protection projects or other projects that services the World Bank supports. Projects are designed to provide assistance (in-kind or cash) to families or individuals, including those who need help to manage the consequences of the economic reforms or other shocks. Indicator 1.2: Increased access Number 0 2,000,000 1,484,474.00 Number of households receiving cash or income to receiving cash or income support from World Bank–financed projects support Indicator 1.3: Increased number Number 0 14 14 Number of states that SFSP or other projects that of states implementing social the World Bank supports cover protection programs Appendix A. Results Framework Indicator 1.4: Increased poverty- Yes/No No Yes Yes Improved expenditure management system, which related expenditures increases the opportunity to direct more spending STARS Annual Report 2021 to priority “poverty-reduction” sectors Indicator 1.5: Strengthened Yes/No No Yes Yes targeting and payment systems INTERMEDIATE RESULTS INDICATORS Indicator 1.6: Percentage of Percentage 0 2.4 34.6 Direct female beneficiaries who benefited from families headed by women the SFSP program receiving cash or income support Indicator 1.7: Functional Yes/No No Yes - Memorandum of understanding signed NCR platform that functions across the country national registry platform with Ministry of the Interior to upgrade receives support to expand coverage of SFSP 52 NCR systems - Responsibility of NCR is to increase number of Sudanese with national identi- fication number by at least 5 million over the course of SFSP Work plan and budget developed to provide NCR with necessary equipment to facilitate registration and mobile regis- tration units Indicator 1.8: Average number Days 0 15 45 How long it takes to transfer funds from central of days for funds to reach account to beneficiaries’ digital accounts. beneficiary accounts Indicator 1.9: Percentage of Percentage 0 100 132.8 Number of households selected and registered recertified households included as eligible for cash transfer support in cash transfer beneficiary registry Indicator 1.10: Increase in Yes/No No Yes Yes Impact of project’s technical assistance on ac- accessibility to livelihood cessibility of livelihood services, including other services livelihood support activities, to PSN beneficiaries (according to beneficiary perception survey) Pillar 2: ECONOMIC REVIVAL AND BETTER GOVERNANCE Describe outcome 2: Improved macroeconomic performance and enhanced transparency and accountability in government institutions Unit of measure Baseline End target Actual (as of December 31, 2021) Definition/Description OUTCOME 2 INDICATORS Indicator 2.1: Transparency Yes/No No Yes Informing stakeholders in a timely manner and accountability of public about the activities to be implemented and the institutions enhanced governance and feedback mechanisms. Indicator 2.2: Recommended Yes/No No Yes Implementing suggested best course of Appendix A. Results Framework policies, programs, and reforms actions and restructures to support renewal of to support macroeconomic microeconomic allocations and interactions revival adopted Indicator 2.3: Quality of laws Yes/No No Yes Improving value of laws in terms of contracts promoting access to financial ruling the financial procedures to serve its target services improved efficiently and more widely Indicator 2.4: Access to financial Yes/No No Yes Number of individuals and families who have services increased received trainings and linked to microfinance institutions Table A1 (CONT)  Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Results Framework 53 Pillar 2: ECONOMIC REVIVAL AND BETTER GOVERNANCE Describe outcome 2: Improved macroeconomic performance and enhanced transparency and accountability in government institutions Unit of measure Baseline End target Actual (as of December 31, 2021) Definition/Description INTERMEDIATE RESULTS INDICATORS Indicator 2.5: National data pro- Yes/No No Yes National data protection and privacy law tection and privacy law submitted to governing council Indicator 2.6: Legal, regulatory, Yes/No No Yes Final revision for framework needed before being and supervisory framework adopted reviewed Indicator 2.7: National financial Yes/No No Yes Strategy in its final form ready to be executed inclusion strategy finalized Pillar 3: PEACEBUILDING, RESILIENCE, AND BASIC SERVICES Describe outcome 3: Strengthened resilience and improved access to basic services Unit of measure Baseline End target Actual (as of December 31, 2021) Definition/Description OUTCOME 3 INDICATORS Indicator 3.1: Percentage of Percentage 0 TBD Cumulative percentage of people who benefited people with access to improved from improved basic services that have been basic services package constructed or provided under the projects Indicator 3.2: Access to employ- Number 0 1,000 Cumulative percentage of people who ment opportunities created by benefited from improved work environment and projects opportunities Indicator 3.3: Number of activ- Number 0 TBD Activities implemented by projects supporting STARS Annual Report 2021 ities supporting peacebuilding peacebuilding and resilience and resilience Indicator 3.4: Better livelihoods Yes/No 0 No Number of women who received livelihood for women support INTERMEDIATE RESULTS INDICATORS Indicator 3.5: Number of benefi- Number 0 850 1,278 Number of beneficiaries who have received ciaries who have received liveli- livelihood assets and skills training hood assets and skills training Indicator 3.6: Number of house- Number 0 TBD Households reached through different holds reached through basic mechanism of basic services service delivery mechanisms Indicator 3.7: Number of activ- Number 0 TBD Activities designed and implemented based on ities that incorporate risk and knowledge of risk and resilience resilience factors Pillar 4: CRISIS RESPONSE Describe outcome 4: Effective response emergencies in support to Sudanese development efforts 54 Unit of measure Baseline End target Actual (as of December 31, 2021) Definition/Description OUTCOME 4 INDICATORS Indicator 4.1: Increased access Percentage TBD TBD Availability of more procedures that can mitigate to emergency response impact of unexpected occurrences intervention Indicator 4:2: Strengthened Percentage TBD TBD Reinforcement of proper handling of information crisis management and collection and processing to address a crisis communication mechanisms situation Indicator 4:3: Increased access Percentage TBD TBD to emergency response intervention INTERMEDIATE RESULTS INDICATORS Indicator 4.4: Health staff Number 0 1,000 94 (9.4%): 34 male, 60 female Health staff receiving infection prevention trained in infection prevention and control training that follows World Health and control (disaggregated) Organization evidence-based practices and protocols, disaggregated according to gender Indicator 4.5: Beneficiaries Number 0 20,000,000 6,317,813 (31%) Number of beneficiaries approached by any reached through emergency emergency preparedness or management operations services Indicator 4.6: Crisis Yes/No No Yes Functional crisis plan and effective crisis management plan and communication communication strategy developed Indicator 4.7: Percentage of Percentage 8 100 100 Number of patients testing positive for COVID-19 targeted healthcare facilities or their care takers (if deceased) who are satisfied with clinical capacity for with the treatment received divided by number of COVID-19 patients patients testing positive for COVID-19 Appendix A. Results Framework Source: World Bank.2020 Note: MoFEP = Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning; NCR = National Civil Registry; PSN = productive safety net; SFSP = Sudan Family Support Program; TBD = to be determined. 55 STARS Annual Report 2021 Appendix B. Results Monitoring Plan The Sudan Transition and Recovery Support programmatic complementaries across the Trust Fund (STARS) results framework (figure B.1) portfolio, and inform dialogue between govern- serves as a tool for strategic portfolio manage- ment and development partners through regular ment, showing how projects contribute to STARS reporting on development results. This appendix or fund-level strategic objectives. The frame- describes how STARS results and performance work aims to enhance coordination, encourage are assessed and reported. Figure B1  Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Strategic Framework To support the government of Sudan’s economic and Objective peacebuilding transition and build country delivery systems, including for crisis response Strengthening the Mitigating the impact Strengthening service government’s institutional of economic reforms delivery and resilience capacity and accountability and COVID-19 Social Protection Economic Revival and Peacebuilding, Resilience, Crisis Response Better Governance and Basic Services Promote gender equality and target Address key risk factors and youth, women, and the most drivers of con ict and fragility vulnerable population Phased Approach to Integrated Framework for Monitoring Results Assessing Results This results framework is used to track proj- The STARS results framework is structured ects under STARS that contribute to achieve- around fund-level results. Results are measured ment of the objectives of the Sudan Country according to output and outcome indicators Engagement Note. It is continuously adapted to informed by project-level monitoring. This meet the needs of an evolving portfolio. STARS framework complement but not replace proj- activities focus on four thematic pillars and two ect-level monitoring frameworks. Projects within cross-cutting sectors (figure B.2). the portfolio are monitored and evaluated with Source: World Bank. the rigor and high standards applied to all World Bank projects.6 6  T  he monitoring framework provides an overview of World Bank measurement and evaluation procedures at the project level to inform government and donors of standard practices. 56 Appendix B. Results Monitoring Plan Figure B2  Theory of Change: Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Impacts Enhanced economic, peace, service delivery & crisis response systems supporting transition in Sudan Outcomes Improved Social Improved Fiduciary & Improved Access to Basic Strengthened Crisis Protection Services Governance Systems & Services & Strengthened Response Management and Access.. Institutions Resilience Increased access to social Strengthened policies, & programs Increased access to Increased access to emergency protection services by & increased number of reforms basic services by communities/ response intervention Intermediate Outcomes families/individuals supporting macroeconomic revival households Strengthened targeting & payment systems FIGURE 1 Improved access to nancial services Increased number of activities supporting peacebuilding & Strengthened crisis management & communication mechanisms resilience Increased poverty related Enhanced transparency & Increased access to employment Strengthened crisis response expenditures accountability in public opportunities systems & institutions institutions Increased number of states Increased national data Improved livelihoods for women Increased restoration to basic implementing the SFSP & other privacy promoted & youths physical assets social protection programs Projects / Tasks 1- Family Support Program 1- Macroeconomic & Fiscal Support 1- Sudan Education Development 1- Sudan COVID-19 Emergency 2- Social Safety Net Project 2- Energy Sector Recovery 2- SLDP2 AF Youth Employment Response Project 3- Technical support & 3- Financial Sector Development for PSD, Peacebuilding & Social 2- Sudan COVID-19 Emergency Diagnostics for SFSP and Resilience Cohesion Response Diagnostics 4- Supporting Private Sector 3- Forced Displacement and Citizen Development Agenda Engagement 5- Financial Sector Capacity 6- Programmatic Poverty Assessment 7- Household Survey 8- TA to Sudan Social Security Investment Authority Project-Level Monitoring objectives, aggregated according to sector. Selected indicators from each project’s results Each project is monitored by the project imple- framework are also reported in the STARS results mentation unit and the state implementation framework, which focuses on monitoring and units’ follow-up (table B.1). The monitoring and reporting. Data are collected at the level of outputs evaluation function is crucial for managing and (direct deliverables of the activities) and outcomes, reporting on the project performance by collect- which validates the data that have been collected ing, analyzing, assimilating, and providing conclu- through different means (field visits, states’ sive information for management efficiency and reports, mid-term evaluations, process evaluation, decision making. The monitoring and evaluation beneficiary assessment, impact evaluation). role also helps reporting on project performance and results to the financiers. The results at differ- Data collection tools are developed for each ent levels (impacts, outcomes, outputs, activities, project to deliver the information needed to track inputs) provide a reliable source of accountability the project’s progress and achievement. The and informed decision making. tools are standard for each project, and data are collected regularly. Data is collected according Project results frameworks track the progress of to the results framework to facilitate monitoring the key results indicators of project development of indicators. Table B1  Monitoring and Evaluation Protocol 57 Indicator Name Definition/Description Frequency Data source Methodology for Responsibility for Data Collection Data Collection PILLAR 1: SOCIAL PROTECTION Increased access to social Number of individual beneficiaries that SFSP or Annually SFSP database, MIS SFSP delivery system, MoFEP/Digital protection project other projects that the World Bank supports cover. reporting, PSP database, available data from Transformation Projects are designed to provide cash to families PSP reconciliation reports SFSP MIS, PSP Agency PMU or individuals, including those who need help databases addressing consequences of economic reforms or other shocks. The SFSP will reach 2,000,000 families in four states; the Social Safety Net Project has already reached 1,000 in phase one. The target is 50% of 5,000,000 families in 18 states. Increased access to cash or Number of households receiving cash or income Quarterly SFSP database, MIS SFSP delivery system, MoF/Digital income support support from SFSP reporting, PSP database, available data from Transformation PSP reconciliation reports SFSP MIS, PSP Agency PMU databases Increased number of Number of states covered by SFSP or other projects Quarterly SFSP database, MIS SFSP delivery system, MoF/Digital states implementing social that World Bank supports reporting, PSP database, available data from Transformation protection programs PSP reconciliation reports SFSP, PSP databases Agency PMU Increased poverty-related Improved expenditure management system, which Annually PCU, M&E reports, MoFEP Regular monitoring PCU of MoFEP expenditures provides an opportunity to direct more spending to reports, Poverty Reduction the highest-priority poverty-reduction sectors Strategy Paper Strengthened targeting and Recertify eligibility of all households included in the Annually PCU, M&E reports/proxy Regular monitoring PCU STARS Annual Report 2021 payment systems cash transfer 2010 registry (500,000 households) means test Percentage of female-headed Direct female beneficiaries who benefited from SFSP Quarterly SFSP database, MIS SFSP delivery system, MoF/Digital households receiving cash or reporting, PSP database, available data from Transformation income support PSP reconciliation reports SFSP MIS and PSP Agency PMU databases Functional national registry National registry platform that functions across the Twice during Regular M&E and registry Regular monitoring. PIU/DEA platform country and receives support to expand coverage of project life data SFSP Indicator Name Definition/Description Frequency Data source Methodology for Responsibility for Data Collection Data Collection 58 Average number of days for How long fund transfers take from central account SFSP delivery system, SFSP database, MIS funds to reach beneficiary to beneficiaries’ digital accounts. The program has available data from Program office at Quarterly reporting, PSP database, accounts the objective of delivering benefits from the central SFSP MIS, PSP MoFEP and PSPs PSP reconciliation reports account of MoFEP to beneficiaries within 15 days. databases Percentage of recertified Recertify eligibility of 15% of households included Annually PCU, M&E reports/proxy Regular monitoring PCU households included in cash in cash transfer 2010 registry (75,000 of 500,000 means test transfer beneficiary registry households). End target was revised after provision of additional finance to cover all 500,000 households included in cash transfer registry. Increase in productive safety Impact of project’s technical assistance on Annually PCU, M&E reports/proxy Regular monitoring PCU net–targeted household accessibility of livelihood services to productive means test accessibility to livelihood safety net beneficiaries, including financial services institutions and other livelihood support activities, using beneficiary perception survey PILLAR 2: ECONOMIC REVIVAL AND BETTER GOVERNANCE Enhanced transparency Timely inform stakeholders on the activities Annually Financial management, Regular monitoring Project team and accountability of public and governance arrangements and feedback MoFEP, World Bank, and institutions mechanisms. IMF reports Recommended policies, Review/design and implement policies and programs Annually Financial management, Regular monitoring Project team programs, and reforms to that support macroeconomic reforms. MoFEP, World Bank, and support macroeconomic IMF reports revival adopted Quality improvement of laws Comprehensive and updated laws on access to Annually Financial management, Regular monitoring Project team promoting access to financial financial services, including contracts, and financial MoFEP, World Bank, and services procedures to serve clients efficiently. IMF reports Increased access to financial Number of individuals and families that have Annually Financial management, Regular monitoring Project team services received training and are linked to microfinance MoFEP, World Bank, and institutions IMF reports Appendix B. Results Monitoring Plan National data protection and National data protection and privacy law submitted Program office at Annual Progress reports Regular monitoring privacy law to governing council MoFEP and PSPs Legal, regulatory, and Final revision needed for framework before being World Bank reports supervisory framework adopted Annual Regular monitoring World Bank team reviewed National financial inclusion Strategy in its final form ready to be executed World Bank reports Annual Regular monitoring World Bank team strategy finalized Table B1 (CONT)  Monitoring and Evaluation Protocol 59 Indicator Name Definition/Description Frequency Data source Methodology for Responsibility for Data Collection Data Collection PILLAR 3: PEACEBUILDING, RESILIENCE, AND BASIC SERVICES Percentage of people with Cumulative percentage of people who benefited Quarterly PIU and PCU reports Regular monitoring Project team access to improved basic from improved basic services that have been services package constructed or provided under the projects. It is expected that the baseline value for this indicator will be zero. Increased access to Cumulative percentage of people who benefited Quarterly PIU and PCU reports Regular monitoring Project team employment opportunities from improved work environment and opportunities that project has created Increased number of activities Quarterly PIU and PCU reports Regular monitoring Project team supporting peacebuilding and resilience Improved livelihood for Number of women receiving livelihood support Quarterly PIU and PCU reports Regular monitoring Project team women Access to assets for better Number of beneficiaries receiving assets to improve Quarterly PIU and PCU reports Regular monitoring Project team livelihood and skills training livelihood and skills training Number of households Number of men and women in households reached Quarterly PIU and PCU reports Regular monitoring Project team reached through basic service through basic service delivery mechanisms delivery mechanisms Activities that incorporate risk Activities designed based on knowledge of possible Semi-annually World Bank reports Regular monitoring Project team and resilience factors failures to meet obligations, and that incorporate flexibility to help beneficiaries cope with the adverse conditions States covered by SFSP Provide cash assistance to all eligible citizens of Semi-annually SFSP database, NCR SFSP delivery system, SFSP enrollment STARS Annual Report 2021 Sudan in all 18 states. Geographic distribution of database, Sudan CBS data, available data from centers, implementing registered citizens, along with data from NCR and MIS reporting, community NCR and CBS agency, community CBS would provide information about program surveys leaders, NCR, CBS coverage. The four states that will be covered in phase 1 are Khartoum, Red Sea, South Darfur, and Kassala. Indicator Name Definition/Description Frequency Data source Methodology for Responsibility for Data Collection Data Collection 60 PILLAR 4: CRISIS RESPONSE Strengthened crisis Semi-annually FMoH and PIU reports FMoH to aggregate FMoH, project team management and reports from state communication mechanisms progress reports Increased access to Number of beneficiaries with access to emergency Semi-annually FMoH and PIU reports FMoH to aggregate FMoH, project team emergency response preparedness or management services. reports from state intervention. progress reports Crisis management plan A functional crisis management plan and effective Semi-annually FMoH and PIU reports FMoH to aggregate FMoH, project team and communication strategy crisis response communication. reports from state developed progress reports Number of health staff trained Health staff receiving infection prevention Semi-annually FMoH and PIU reports FMoH to aggregate FMoH, project team in infection prevention and and control training that follows World Health reports from state control (disaggregated by Organization evidence-based practice protocols progress reports gender) Percentage of targeted Number of patients that test positive for COVID-19 6 months FMoH FMoH to aggregate FMoH health care facilities with or their care takers (if deceased) satisfied with reports from state clinical capacity for COVID-19 treatment received divided by number of patients progress reports patients that test positive for COVID-19 Percentage of targeted Number of patients that test positive for COVID-19 6 months FMoH FMoH to aggregate FMoH health care facilities with or their care takers (if deceased) satisfied with reports from States clinical capacity for COVID-19 treatment received divided by number of patients patients that test positive for COVID-19 Source: World Bank. STARS Operational Manual, 2021 Note: CBS = Central Bureau of Statistics; FMoH = Federal Ministry of Health; IMF = International Monetary Fund; M&E = monitoring and evaluation; MIS = management information system; MoFEP = Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning; NCR = national civil registry; PCU =project coordinating unit; PIU = Project Implementation Unit; PMU =Project Management Unit; PSP = payment service provider; SFSP = Sudan Family Support Program. Appendix B. Results Monitoring Plan 61 STARS Annual Report 2021 Appendix C. Financial Performance as of December 31, 2021 Contributions Since the inception of the Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Trust Fund (STARS) on December 31, 2021, a total of US$505.0 million (table C.1). Table C1  Donor Contributions to the Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Trust Fund STARS AND SFSP CONTRIBUTIONS AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2021 Name of Pledged Donor Pledges Agreements Contributions Pending Percentage the Donor contribution in Currency (US$) Signed (US$) received Contribution of Total own Currency (US$) (US$) Contribution Canada 10,000,000.0 CAD 7941821.4 7,941,821.4 7,941,821.4 0.00 1.5 EU 192,900,000.0 EUR 216094010.0 216,094,010.0 216,094,010.0 0.00 42.4 UK 81,688,000.0 GPB 112100833.6 112,100,833.6 112,100,833.6 0.00 27.3 Germany 60,000,000.0 EUR 71388200.0 71,388,200.0 71,388,200.0 0.00 7.8 France 42,000,000.0 EUR 48918900.0 48,918,900.0 28,626,600.0 20,292,300.00 9.3 Sweden 200,000,000.0 SEK 22707270.8 22,707,270.8 22,707,270.8 0.00 4.5 Norway 117,000,000.0 NOK 12999865.0 12,999,865.0 12,999,865.0 0.00 3.2 Italy 5,000,000.0 USD 5000000.0 5,000,000.0 5,000,000.0 0.00 0.5 Spain 1,000,000.0 USD 1300000.0 1,300,000.0 1,300,000.0 0.00 0.2 Netherlands 10,000,000.0 USD 10000000.0 10,000,000.0 8,000,000.0 2,000,000.00 2.0 Ireland 500,000.0 USD 500000.0 500,000.0 500,000.0 0.00 0.1 SPF - MDTF 7,000,000.0 USD 7000000.0 7,000,000.0 7,000,000.0 0.00 0.8 transfer Saudi Arabia 10,000,000.0 USD 10000000.0 10,000,000.0 10,000,000.0 0.00 1.9 Finland 1,000,000.0 EUR 1233100.0 1,233,100.0 1,233,100.0 0.00 0.2 TOTAL STARS 527184000.8 527,184,000.8 504,891,700.8 22,292,300.00 Total Donor 510,184,000.8 487,891,700.8 SFSP TOTAL IDA 410,000,000.00 410,000,000.0 SFSP STARS + IDA 920,184,001 897,891,701 Source: World Bank 2022 Note: International currency symbols are used for consistency with original documentation. CAD = Canadian dollar; EUR = euro; GBP = British pound; NOK = Norwegian kroner; SEK = Swedish kroner; USD = U.S. dollar. Allocations, Disbursements, and Available Balances Disbursements of US$109.8 million have been made under STARS, leaving a fund balance of US$346.7 million. STARS’ projects commitments value is of US$372 million. In addition, some Sudan Multi-Partner Fund activities remained active over the reporting period, and these have a total value of US$10.5 million. 62 Appendix D. Allocations, Disbursements, and Available Balances for Active Grants, December 31, 2021 Table D1  Satus of Grants Financed by STARS MDTF Grant Name Task leaders’ Project Execution Grant amount Disbursements name identification (US$) by June 30, 2021 (US$) SUDAN TRANSITION AND RECOVERY SUPPORT TRUST FUND Project Preparation Grant for Sudan Namara P173521 Recipient 475,000 375,305 Family Support Program Sudan Family Support Program Namara P173521 Recipient 350,000,000 80,764,200 Recipient-Executed Trust Fund Technical Support and Diagnostics for Namara P173521 Bank 3,500,000 0 Sudan Family Support Program Sudan Household Survey Farfan Bertran P176302 Recipient 1,730,000 0 Phase 2 Technical Assistance Oyewole P171371 Bank 320,000 8,426 for Sudan Technical Assistance Investment Authority COVID-19 Emergency Response Mohamed P174352 Recipient 15,485,000 13,393,806 Project Abdalla COVID-19 Emergency Response Mohamed P174352 Bank 700,000 93,176 Project Abdalla Total 372,210,000 SUDAN MULTI-PARTNER FUND Program Management—Sudan Multi- Kamwendo P146979 Bank 900,000 511,349 Partner Fund Sudan Social Safety Net Project Nsour P148349 Recipient 3,500,000 1,052,375 Sudan Social Safety Net Project Nsour P148349 Bank 299,268 4,813 Strengthening Sub-National Fiscal Whyte P156750 Recipient 3,499,000 Policy Management Financial Inclusion Survey Yoko Doi P151261 Bank 1,198,726 401 Energy Sector Technical Assistance Kenta Usui P171810 Bank 750,000 68,257 Agribusiness Small and Medium Haththotuwa P164347 Bank 689,873 187,545 Enterprises and Integrated Agri-Parks Programmatic Poverty Assessment Etang Ndip P164694 0 0 Sudan Governance Work Program Litwack P173360 Bank 318,387 133,686 Sudan Investment Climate Program Zake IFC-00601686 Bank 0 0 Sudan Poverty Monitoring and Etang Ndip P174168 Bank 650,000 107050 Analytics Education Development Wang P172292 Bank 500,000 0 Supporting Private Sector Onur P164347 Recipient 49,909 Development Agenda in Sudan for Youth Employment Forced Displacement and Citizen Onur P173359 Bank 162,819 Engagement Technical Assistance to the Social Oyewole P171371 Bank 113,089 240,488 Security And Investment Authority Total 10,498,423 Source: World Bank. 2022 63 STARS Annual Report 2021 Appendix E. Sudan Family Support Project Updates Sudan Family Support Project (P173521) Project Implementation Status as of October 30, 2021 Table E1  Summary Project Status Project Data Board approval date: October 8, 2020 Signing of agreement: October 23, 2021 Effectiveness date: December 7, 2020 Project closing date: June 30, 2023 Grant amount: IDA US$410M, STARS TF US$350M Implementation Implementation progress • PIU created, composed of hired and seconded technical team from ministries. • Implementation started in 14 of 18 states. A significant contribution for the remaining four states has been discussed with the U.S. Agency for International Development, and other development partners have made contributions for these additional states. In anticipation of the resources, the government piloted implementation in those four states. • The Sudan Family Support Program is more than a standard cash transfer program; it has provided cash transfers to families affected by the economic shocks and provided space to the government to implement key reforms, including removal of subsidies and unification of exchange rates. The program also established linkages with other core government services that go beyond the safety net objectives. The program was in the next stages of fully establishing a “one-stop shop” approach to using local registration centers, where enrollment and payments could be managed, and other social services could be hosted. Disbursement • As of October 25, 2021, US$100.64 million from IDA and US$$80.76 million from STARS has been disbursed to the project’s designated account. • Disbursement was paused on October 25, 2021 and use of funds in the project’s designated account was stopped. Number of families and beneficiaries supported • 2.7 million families (about 9.6 million beneficiaries) enrolled • 1.39 million families (about 4.8 million beneficiaries) received transfers. About 36% of primary grant recipients are women. Key issues Although the delay in exchange rate unification (alignment of parallel market and official exchange rates) slowed project launch, most obstacles—lack of technical capacity, weak institutions, immature systems, poor data, weak digital and financial infrastructure—were foreseen in the fragile context of Sudan. Nevertheless, the severity of some of these obstacles and specific challenges mostly arising out of 30 years of isolation (e.g., lack of or very limited exposure to innovation and technology, extremely weak human resource capacity, fragmented government and financial systems and institutions) required time to remedy, which has slowed implementation. Recent political events have further delayed implementation of the program as the World Bank triggered Operational Policy 7.30 on Dealing with De Facto Governments and paused disbursements. The World Bank has been providing frequent, sustained implementation support to the government, specifically the PIU, to build the systems and competencies needed for effective project implementation. This includes accelerating enrollments and payments, improving public communications campaigns, increasing public awareness and understanding of the program, and providing linkages to broader reform efforts. The innovative collaborative model with the World Food Program has been key in addressing some of the capacity and implementation challenges. Note: IDA, International Development Association; PIU = Program Implementation Unit; STARS = Sudan Transition and Recovery Support Trust Fund. 64 Appendix E. Sudan Family Support Project Updates This report on the status of the Sudan Family In view of the military takeover that let to project Support Project (SFSP) was prepared based on implementation pause, the World Bank team continuous on-the-ground monitoring and super- focused on taking stock of the SFSP’s imple- vision from a broad World Bank team7 from April mentation. A mission originally planned for to October 2021 and relies extensively on the November 1–18, 2021, was cancelled. There World Bank’s presence in Sudan and online con- was an earlier supervision mission in March ferencing. After the military takeover of October 2021, and the objective of this report is to pro- 25, 2021, the World Bank paused disbursements vide a record of project status as of October 25, in all its operations in Sudan and stopped pro- 2021, including implementation progress and cessing any withdrawal applications or direct the extent to which the project is on track to payment requests received on or after that meet the development objectives. In particular, date until further notice. This measure affected the report reviews project implementation in the the SFSP; in addition to the pause on new dis- states, implementation progress of each of the bursements, no further payments from project three project components, the fiduciary and safe- funds currently held in the program’s designated guard aspects of the project and monitoring and account(s), including any payments under the evaluation, communication activities, and the memorandums of understanding (MoUs), are extent to which the project is gender inclusive. allowed after October 25, 2021, and until fur- The report also reviews the project’s institutional ther notice, unless the World Bank approves, arrangements, including staffing of the PIU and although the project implementation unit (PIU) collaborative arrangements with the World Food has been requested to continue to comply with Program (WFP). all its fiduciary duties under the program, includ- Project overview. The goal of the SFSP is to ing submitting and reporting all required project cushion the effects of recent economic reforms financial documentation. by providing direct cash transfers of US$5 per person per months (at the prevailing exchange rate in Sudanese pounds) to 80 percent of house- holds across the country. The transfers were initially planned for 6 months, with a potential 7   he World Bank team is led by Mr. Suleiman Namara T (Lead Social Protection Economist and Task Team extension to 12 months, subject to availability of Leader) and includes Mr. Endeshaw Tadesse (Senior additional resources. Social Protection Specialist), Mr. Alvin Etang Ndip (Senior Economist), Ms. Maria Gabriela Farfan Betran (Senior Economist), Mr. William Sam (Management Information The World Bank Board of Executive Directors System Consultant), Mr. Amer Yusuf (Management approved the SFSP on October 8, 2020, and Information System Consultant), Mr. Nizar Abu Elzoul (Procurement Specialist), Ms. Fatima Hamid (Financial the financial agreement with the government Management Specialist), Mohamad Farid Eltayeb Idris of Sudan was signed on October 23, 2020. The (Operational Support Consultant), mr. Tariq Mohamed Osman Khalafallah (Operational Support Consultant), project was declared effective on December 7, Azza Hassoun (Operational Support Consultant), Nassir 2020. The SFSP was launched on February 24, Guma Mohammed (Social Development Specialist), Ms. 2021, in Khartoum, immediately after the govern- Chrissie Kamwendo (STARS Program Manager), Ms. Patience Bulage (Gender Consultant), Ms. Yalemzewud ment of Sudan unified the exchange rate. The Simachew Tiruneh (Social Development Specialist), Mr. SFSP/Thamarat is being implemented in three Adel Saleh (Senior Communications Consultant), Mr. Usman Javid (Senior Management Information System phases geographically. Program implementation Consultant), Ms. Dalia Zaki (Social Protection Consultant), under phases one and two were ongoing in 14 Mr. Binyam Mesfin Shiferaw (Payment Consultant), mr. Krishna Pidatala (Monitoring and Evaluation Consultant), of Sudan’s 18 states. Expansion into the remain- Kevwe Sylvester Pale (Young Professional), Mr. Paul ing four states was planned subject to receipt Kato Kamuchwezi (Senior Financial Management Specialist), Ms. Gibwa Kajubi (Senior Social Development of additional financing. As pledges were being Specialist), Ms. Mariam Denise Brain (Project Assistant), made to finance the project in the four states, and ms. Maisa Osman Mukhtar Nurein (Program Assistant). The team has been working closely and in piloting of the program in the four states had collaboration with the World Food Program team. 65 STARS Annual Report 2021 also begun. The first two phases are financed Upon completing the implementation of the by US$820 million in committed financing from planned SFSP activities, the SFSP program is to the International Development Association (IDA) be transitioned to a targeted permanent social and donor contributions via the Sudan Transition safety net that will support the most vulnerable and Recovery Support Trust Fund (STARS). Total populations and provide the foundation for a project financing includes additional financing modern, adaptive social protection system built approved in March 2021 (US$210 million IDA on a comprehensive social registry and digital grant, US$210 million STARS grant). As of October payment infrastructure. This effort to build a sus- 25, 2021, discussions with the U.S. Agency for tainable social safety net directly aligns with the International Development and several European HIPC trigger related to social protection. governments to cover the projected US$300 STARS commitments. Of US$820 million that it million required to finance phase three were well has approved for the project, the World Bank has underway. The goal of phase one was to reach committed US$760 million to the government of 11.3 million beneficiaries in Khartoum, Kassala, Sudan for implementation of the SFSP—US$410 Red Sea, and South Darfur. The goal of phase two million from IDA and US$350 million from STARS. was to reach approximately 13 million beneficia- The difference of US$60 million between the ries in Blue Nile, White Nile, Sinnar, Central Darfur, approved and committed amounts is because East Darfur, North Kordofan, South Kordofan, and STARS needed to receive pledged contributions West Kordofan. The WFP is covering an additional to execute the corresponding amendment to the two states: North Darfur and West Darfur. Phase financing agreement and, inter alia, commit the three is expected to cover the River Nile, Elgedaref, additional US$60 million. Donors had contributed Elgazira, and Northern states. sufficient funds as of August. Before the pause, The SFSP is more than a standard cash trans- World Bank staff had prepared a restructuring fer program. It is meant to provide space to the paper to bring the financing commitments up to transitional government to implement reforms, US$820 million. including removal of subsidies and unification of Disbursements. A total of €148 million (at the the exchange rate. The program also established time US$181 million equivalent) had been dis- linkages with other core government services that bursed to the government’s designated account go beyond the safety net objectives. The program for the SFSP: €82 million from IDA and €66 mil- has established a “one-stop shop” approach; the lion from STARS. An in-depth financial manage- SFSP has established local registration centers ment review of the SFSP was under way when where enrollment and payments are managed, and the events of October 25 occurred. According other social services are hosted. For example, the to the unreconciled data gathered during this local centers offer immediate registration for the review, as of November 30, 2021, the remaining national identification card through the National balance on the designated account was €67.5 Civil Registry (NCR); offer voluntary COVID-19 vac- million (approximately US$76.3 million equiva- cines provided by the Federal Ministry of Health; lent); US$105.5 million has been spent out of the host citizen complaint desks managed by social designated account for SFSP operation. workers from the Ministry of Labor and Social Development (MoLSD) to provide social and case management services; and create awareness Detailed Progress and Proposed for other services, hotlines, and grievances. This Actions approach had been piloted in Khartoum, and Progress toward Achievement of the Project an MoU with the World Bank–funded COVID-19 Development Objective Emergency Response Project had been prepared. Progress toward achievement of the project The model had been costed and was expected to development objective is rated satisfactory. By be fully implemented as part of phase three. October 30, 2021, about 2.7 million families had 66 Appendix E. Sudan Family Support Project Updates been registered in the program. Overall, 1.39 mil- As of October 30, 2021, the SFSP/Thamarat lion families have received payments (including had opened 352 enrollment centers to support families from the two states under WFP imple- beneficiary registration, and as noted earlier, the mentation). COVID-19 standard operating pro- program has registered more than 2.7 million cedures have been implemented as part of the of the targeted 6.5 million Sudanese families physical beneficiary registration exercise. Annex (approximately 9 million people). As of October E.1 (summary of project status) includes the key 25, 2021, the SFSP had delivered close to 30.6 performance indicators for the planned targets. billion Sudanese pounds (approximately US$80.2 million) in payments to beneficiaries. Payments Assessment of Implementation Progress were made using modalities including mobile According to Component money, cash cards, and bank accounts. Table Component 1: Cash Transfer Component E.2 shows the payment cycle for families. About 36 percent of primary grant recipients are female. Table E2  Payment Cycles, as of October 30, 2021 Payment cycle Number of Families Paid 0 1,318,406 1 375,005 2 274,823 3 348,558 4 173,888 5 162,264 6 58,598 7 3 Total (paid) 1,393,139 Exclusion criteria. As indicated in the project items that all households own, as well as assets design, the program considered exclusion filters that only the top 20 percent of the income distri- to exclude high-income individuals. The initial bution own. This analysis is based on the 2014/15 stage of implementation relied on a simple set of National Household Budget and Poverty Survey. exclusion criteria that included voluntary self-ex- clusion and holding a public service job with a Component 2: Establish Delivery Systems and high salary. The communications campaign for Build Institutional Capacity the SFSP emphasized that cash transfer benefits The delivery systems component of SFSP included are intended for families that shocks from eco- outreach and communication, enrollment, pay- nomic reforms have affected most, and wealth- ment systems, expanding national identification ier families were encouraged to refuse benefits systems, data privacy, grievance redress mech- voluntarily. This voluntary self-exclusion option anisms (GRMs), and management information was publicized in brochures and various means systems (MISs). Implementation of these activities of communication. From July to September is rated satisfactory. 2021, the enrollment team prepared more-evi- denced-based exclusion criterion, which were Outreach and communication. SFSP com- to be used in the subsequent quarter of project munications to vulnerable groups and its com- implementation. The criteria use proxies for munity outreach methodology are designed income such as asset ownership and housing to inform, educate, and communicate with characteristics. These proxies for income cover beneficiaries to generate well-informed citizens 67 STARS Annual Report 2021 who can contribute effectively in achieving pro- Payment systems. The SFSP has made con- gram objectives. From April to October 2021, siderable effort to coordinate closely with PSPs, communication activities included printing and banks, and telecommunication companies in distributing program mobilization materials and Sudan. The WFP contracted MTN Sudan as mobilizing community leaders, particularly at the the mobile money operator for the SFSP pilot. state level, to promote SFSP activities and hold all MTN’s flexibility allowed quick cash transfers partners accountable. During this period, com- without requiring ownership of an MTN SIM munication activities were expanded alongside card. Beneficiaries with MTN SIM cards receive implementation of the program in all 14 states. transfers into a mobile money wallet with multi- Communication activities included training and ple transaction options, including point-to-point, deploying youth volunteers as trainee trainers to withdrawals, deposits, merchant payments, increase beneficiary social mobilization, broad- Global Mobile System payments, and bill pay- casting radio programs focused on program ments. Beneficiaries with a Zain or Sudatel SIM processes and procedures, using social media card receive a mobile money voucher from MTN channels of communication, and preparing and on their SIM card. Lessons learned from the WFP launching the program website. These commu- pilot helped the SFSP expedite the process of nication activities were being expanded as the selecting an appropriate PSP. More than half of program expanded in the states. The main chal- the disbursements occurred in August 2021 as lenge in communication was weak communica- the program expanded. By far the most common tion skills within the PIU, which was addressed mechanism is mobile money payments. Barriers by complementing the capacity of the PIU com- to efficient, effective expansion of digital pay- munication team with additional staff and skills, ments include the following: using qualified community volunteers with strong • Agent and branch network. The success of any communication skills, appointmenting communi- digital payment depends on the ability of fami- cation focal persons at the state level, and pro- lies to use the benefits delivered in digital form viding technical assistance from the World Bank for direct purchases or withdrawals. Although and WFP. there are approximately 70,000 mobile banking Enrollment. During the period, the program agents in Sudan, they are concentrated in major worked on a unified registration portal that sup- cities (more than 60 percent in Khartoum), and ports enrollment across all units, ministries, and only 10 percent are active agents servicing states. All registration during the quarter was deposit and withdrawal points or performing conducted through a unified portal at the Ministry digital transactions with their clients. There of Finance and Economic Planning (MoFEP). are approximately 100 bank branches and 100 The SFSP has been working to design a digital microfinance institution branches. delivery platform and processes, accompanied • Liquidity. As the PSPs expand their network by MISs to support them. The digital delivery plat- coverage and mobile agent network, agents form includes MISs to enable digital enrollment must gain access to a source of liquidity. In and creation of beneficiary lists; digital logging theory, an agent should cover withdrawal and tracking of payments; payment processing, obligations through daily business inflows, but instructions, and reconciliation; and data analyt- this might not always be possible. Although ics and feedback from beneficiaries through the relevant statistics from SFSP phase one GRM. During the quarter, setup of the system implementation are unavailable, previous infrastructure was largely finalized, with some experience with the Sudan Social Safety Net components requiring further development and Project has shown that lack of liquidity is a adjustment for nationwide implementation. crucial barrier to families accessing benefits. Families’ lack of awareness that, instead of 68 Appendix E. Sudan Family Support Project Updates cashing out benefits, they could use mobile Expanding issuance of national identification payments to pay for products and services systems. The MoFEP and Ministry of the Interior they require exacerbates the situation. (MoI) signed an MoU to expand issuance of national identification cards, with particular • Network and infrastructure. Mobile network emphasis on women, in part to increase inclusion operators, banks, and other PSPs are not accus- of the most vulnerable groups. As of October 24, tomed to handling a large volume of transac- about 524,115 new national identification cards tions; doing so stretches their infrastructure had been issued in Khartoum. The MoI began and reveals the need for an update as the issuing national identification cards to all states program expands. Furthermore, most of their in Sudan. investment has centered around Khartoum, other major cities, and their surrounding areas, New data governance and data privacy policy. leaving most rural areas uncovered. Considerable work has gone into development of a new data governance and privacy legal • Regulatory. The Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS) framework for Sudan. The first draft of Sudan’s recently approved a regulation that allows new Data Governance and Privacy Framework mobile network operators to deploy their dig- was completed and submitted to the Ministry of ital payment platforms, whereas previously, Justice for endorsement. This is a major advance all mobile network operators had to use the in data governance for Sudan, bringing the coun- Gemalto system run by the Electronic Banking try in line with international good practice and Service. The first license was issued to MTN. giving citizens more control over how their data CBOS’s board has approved a similar regulation are used. that covers all digital payment modalities (not merely mobile money) that is awaiting cabinet Existing family data in various government data- approval. These regulations free PSPs to invest bases were validated against the NCR, which in better infrastructure (including software), is critical to avoid duplicates of payments and which enables them to provide better and differ- double dipping through use of unvalidated data entiated products and services and competitive from various databases. Existing data in various prices to the program beneficiaries. government databases were initially used to enroll beneficiaries in the program and deliver The government of Sudan could influence the payments. The first 80,000 families paid in March expansion of SFSP’s digital payment coverage 2021 had completed their final cycle of payment and catalyze financial inclusion through devel- by end of September 2021. opment of non-bank-based methods, including: The GRM was built on the WFP pilot and launched • Increasing the awareness of families benefit- in September 2021 with strong support from the ing from SFSP and the public on electronic WFP. The complaint and feedback mechanism money, wallets, and transactions through are designed to provide an easy-to-access national campaigns. primary point of contact for inquiries about the • Passing the Payment System Application program. Its three components—information regulation. provision, communication channel, verification tool—have increased understanding of the • Passing a regulation that requires and encour- challenges that families receiving benefits face, ages PSPs to increase their active mobile and the call center has played a critical role in agent network, expand their infrastructure to the verification process. As of October 24, 2021, rural Sudan, and differentiate their products the call center had enabled verification of more with services suitable for poorer families. than 30,000 individuals and resolved more than 5,000 cases. Most of the cases resolved involved 69 STARS Annual Report 2021 delayed payments and registration and enroll- and MoFEP to strengthen social mobilization at ment processes. the state level. The MoLSD also provided initial data to implement the program. Challenges include inadequate government capacity, inadequate beneficiary mobilization and Collaboration with the WFP. The WFP has communication, lack of digital literacy, payment worked in North and West Darfur using all list creation (initially done manually), payment harmonized operating procedures to provide reconciliation, access and operating in conflict services to the SFSP beneficiaries. WFP staff states, government capacity constraints, con- were embedded in the PIU and reported to the flicts in the Red Sea state, and attempts to polit- program manager. Collaboration between the icize the program. Mitigation measures include WFP, World Bank, and MoFEP increased pro- increasing the capacity of the PIU with consul- gram implementation capacity and increased tants. Collaboration and embedding the WFP the speed of implementation. A major challenge team within the PIU mitigated some skill gaps, was the delayed signing of the output agreement including communication, computerizing the between the WFP and the MoFEP. payment systems, and working in conflict states. Gender. Gender factors have been mainstreamed Digital literacy was envisaged to be a strong com- across the SFSP. Given the complicated gender ponent of phase three implementation. dynamics in Sudan and the positive long-term out- Governance and institutional arrangements and comes of a focus on gender equity, the program effective project management and monitoring has a goal of giving 50 percent of primary grant systems have been implemented to support recipients to women. Nearly 36 percent of primary the SFSP. An interministerial committee, which grant recipients have been women. As of October the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning 25, 2021, operationalization for gender community chaired, and a technical committee, which the actions was in process, building on the gender Minister of Telecommunication and Digital handbook that had been delivered. Gender indica- Transformation chaired, have been meeting tors and disaggregation of beneficiaries have been regularly to oversee the program at the national included in the MIS, and registration portals have level. State-level actors had all embraced the been revised to include disaggregation, For mon- program, and hiring and training of focal points, itoring and evaluation, there is a gender-sensitive social workers, and enumerators were at differ- results framework that captures several gender fac- ent stages in the states. Key challenges include tors, such as women being primary grant recipients. a need to strengthen program implementation systems to accelerate enrollments and payments. Component 3: Project Management, Monitoring Technical capacity needs to be increased at the and Evaluation, and Learning national and local levels to enhance implemen- This component supported coordination and proj- tation and improved public communications and ect management activities necessary for smooth community outreach are needed to increase functioning of the project, including establish- public awareness and understanding of the ment of the PIU. The activities supported include program linkages to broader reform efforts. day-to-day operational management, institutional Collaboration with the WFP has been helpful in setup, and stakeholder coordination by the PIU. terms of capacity support of the PIU. The component also financed the establishment To ensure proper coordination and implemen- of the SFSP beneficiary database hardware and tation of the SFSP, MoUs were signed between software, Internet connectivity, and information the MoFEP and the states to strengthen imple- technology infrastructure at the national and mentation of the program, between the MoFEP local levels. This component also supported the and MoI to accelerate issuance of the national coordination and local-level capacity-building identification systems, and between the MoLSD process of and training of NCR staff, with the 70 Appendix E. Sudan Family Support Project Updates MoLSD and MoFEP tasked with supporting a traditional impact evaluation strategy with which program implementation. Implementation of this to estimate the causal impact of the program on component is rated satisfactory. household welfare, the proposal is to draw from complementary pieces of evidence that could be Project implementation staffing. As of October used to provide persuasive evidence of the ben- 25, 2021, the government had almost a full tech- efits of this intervention (figure E.1). Each piece nical team in place composed of hired PIU staff on its own has limitations, but in combination, and staff seconded from ministries. Hired staff they can be convincing. It is proposed that the and those seconded from various ministries con- vast documented positive effects of cash transfer stitute the project management team of about 80 programs be used to create awareness on the individuals. The core team includes the project expected benefits of the FSFP intervention on manager, who reports to the undersecretary of household welfare. This can be complemented the MoFEP; the finance manager; the monitoring with context-specific microsimulations that quan- and evaluation manager; the enrollment man- tify the potential poverty-reducing effects of the ager; the payment manager; the communication program based on the latest household survey manger; and the GRM manager. data. A draft simulation paper had been prepared The environmental and social safeguard officer by the project team. The theoretical benefits of the selection process was finalized, and staff was sup- program would then need to be supported with out- posed to begin work in the last week of October comes of program implementation. The program 2021. The seconded staff are from the MoFEP must reach the intended population. This can be (including information technology), Finance and approached from two angles: program monitoring Internal Audit team, MoLSD, Ministry of Justice, records, which document number of beneficiaries and MoI teams. Before the project was paused, and transfers disbursed, complemented by a tool the World Bank recommended that the following that maps the socioeconomic distribution of ben- additional staff be recruited to facilitate imple- eficiaries. This second element would help assess mentation: deputy project manager to focus the efficiency of targeting methods of the program. on implementation of the project in fragile and Supplementing coverage statistics are process hard-to-reach states; deputy project manager to evaluations and perception data that can provide focus on social mobilization, support formation the Bank with a more granular understanding of of beneficiary associations, facilitate the work of the workings of the program and outreach perfor- community volunteers and social workers, and mance. Two upcoming household surveys were be responsible for the GRM systems; financial planned that can be used to assess knowledge and controller to strengthen the financial controls of perceptions of the program. Lastly, self-reported the program; and information and communications assessments of the impact of the intervention were technology (ICT) staff (ICT manager, ICT infrastruc- to be gathered be gathered using a program-level ture manager, MIS manager, network administrator, survey and through the national household budget information security officer manager). survey. By combining these last two data sources, an ex post quasiexperimental strategy could be Monitoring and evaluation. From April to explored. October 2021, the program developed an evalua- tion strategy. Given the challenges of establishing 71 STARS Annual Report 2021 Figure E1  Proposed Impact Evaluation Approach In theory ... Welfare Literature Micro Distributional analysis review simulation impact Roll-out Sudan Mapping socio- Regular Household economic monitoring Budget and distribution of by PIU Poverty the bene ciaries Survey 2022 In practice ... Process evaluation On-going High Baseline and Third party frequency end-line in Self-reported outcomes evaluation phone survey select states Perceptions Safeguards and Fiduciary Aspects of events, the review was extended to December the program 30, 2021, to provide enhanced fiduciary oversight Environmental and Social Safeguards of the program. The World Bank has placed a consultant at the PIU not only to continue with Implementation of safeguard activities remains the financial management review, but also to broadly satisfactory. All safeguards documents review financial management regularly. The main are in place and finalized except the security focus of the World Bank financial management assessment and plan. A social safeguards officer team includes: had been hired by the time of the program pause on October 25, 2021. The PIU had submitted the • Ensuring that the PIU reconciles the funds that draft data privacy bill to the Ministry of Justice for the program disburses (with all unused funds approval and public consultations, which were transferred back to the designated account) scheduled for November and December 2021. • Helping the PIU prepare interim financial man- Challenges regarding the social safeguards agement reports and submit them to the World included possible exclusion of vulnerable groups, Bank particularly women, in part because of lack of • Reconciling beneficiary data national identification numbers, and limited accessibility in poor and marginalized areas that Procurement. The SFSP completed two essen- could also lead to exclusion. These challenges tial procurements from April to October 2021. were being mitigated in part by expanding the First was procurement of tablets for electronic national identification card system. enrollment. The overall procurement was accom- plished through three procurement processes Fiduciary challenges that enabled the program to obtain about 1,150 Financial management. The World Bank tablets from the local market. By September 30, launched an in-depth financial management 2021, the program had procured 3,750 tablets review in August 2021 that was to be concluded through an internationally competitive process. on October 30, 2021. As a result of the recent By October 25, 2021, about 2,400 tablets were 72 Appendix E. Sudan Family Support Project Updates pending delivery. Second was procurement of • All disbursements for all World Bank–financed vehicles. The SFSP procured 32 used vehicles activities in the country, including activities from the African Union–United Nations Hybrid that World Bank–managed trust funds such as Operation in Darfur. By September 30, 2021, only STARS are financing, are paused, with excep- 26 vehicles had been received. In mid-August tions being made for special commitments 2021, the program had signed two contracts (none of which have yet been designated). with main vehicle agents in Sudan for mainte- • Preparation of new operations for financing by nance of program vehicles. With six vehicles yet the World Bank is paused. to be secured, the main focus of the team during this pause is to complete the post-procurement • World Bank staff are to assess whether to con- review of the entire program. tinue disbursements under existing operations and to process new operations. These assess- The Road Ahead ments are to be undertaken after allowing World Bank Operational Policy 7.30 on Dealings sufficient time to pass to have a clear under- with De Facto Governments, which was triggered standing of the country situation and confirm soon after the events of October 25, 2021, gov- that a proper legal framework is in place to erns the Bank’s approach in Sudan. The following permit the project to be implemented and that occur under this policy: obligations under financing agreements are valid and binding. Table E3  Updated Results Framework Project development objective indicators according to objective and outcome Transfer cash to Sudanese families affected by economic reforms and short-term shocks › Number of families receiving cash or income support (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value 0 200,000 1,393,139 4,400,000 Date 08-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 30-Jun-2022 Comments Number of households receiving cash or income support from the SFSP . . . percentage of which a woman is the head of household (custom supplement) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value 0 0 36.0 2.4 › Number of SFSP beneficiaries (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value 0 1,000,000 9,609,532 24,700,000 Date 08-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 30-Jun-2022 Comments Direct beneficiaries benefiting from SFSP disaggregated according to gender. As of October 25, 2021, there were 864,793 enrolled female-headed households. The PIU has not yet determined the percentage of individual female beneficiaries. . . . percentage of which are female (custom supplement) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value 0 0 18 50 73 STARS Annual Report 2021 Project development objective indicators according to objective and outcome Transfer cash to Sudanese families affected by economic reforms and short-term shocks › Number of families receiving cash or income support (custom) Updated Results Table E3 (CONT) Baseline Framework Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Improve Sudan's safety net system › National registry platform that functions across the country is strengthened (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value National platform is The project began initial • Memorandum of National registry functioning but has activities to support outreach understanding signed platform covers low coverage and and registration, enrollment, with Ministry of the 80% of the needs efficiency beneficiary verification, Interior to upgrade NCR population in the improvements payment delivery, GRM, systems regions that the monitoring, and capacity project covers. building and will establish • It is the NCR’s operational procedures, an responsibility to SFSP management information increase the number of system, necessary expansion Sudanese with a national and enhancements to the NCR, identification card by at and an enabling legal framework least 5 million individuals for data protection and privacy. over the course of the The project supports the delivery SFSP program. cycle (registration, enrollment, payment, GRM) and supporting • Work plan and budget systems. All these systems developed and provided are nascent and will require to NCR with necessary continuous strengthening. equipment and mobile registration units. Date 08-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 30-Jun-2022 Comments National registry platform that functions across the country receives support to expand coverage of SFSP. Intermediate results indicators according to component Intermediate results indicators according to component Component 1: Provide cash transfers Component 2: Establish delivery systems and build institutional capacity › SFSP MIS system has been developed and deployed? (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value No No No Yes Date 08-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 15-Jun-2021 Comments The current MIS has a registration and enrollment module and a dashboard. The payment and reconciliation module was almost complete at the time of the political turmoil, as was the GRM. The MIS has a data-sharing platform and required linkages with NCR and administrative data sources. By October 25, 2021, the business processes and architature for a sustainable MIS were being designed. › National data protection and privacy law submitted to governing council? (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value No No No Yes Date 08-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 15-Jun-2021 Comments National data protection and privacy bill was prepared and submitted to Ministry of Justice, which was to authorize the team to conduct national consultations. Date 08-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 15-Jun-2021 Comments The current MIS has a registration and enrollment module and a dashboard. The payment and 74 reconciliation module was almost complete at the time of the political turmoil, as was the GRM. The MIS has a data-sharing platform and required linkages Appendix with E. Sudan NCR Support Family and administrative data sources. By Project Updates October 25, 2021, the business processes and architature for a sustainable MIS were being designed. › National data protection and privacy law submitted to governing council? (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value No No No Yes Date 08-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 15-Jun-2021 Table Updated E3 (CONT) National Comments Results data protection Framework and privacy bill was prepared and submitted to Ministry of Justice, which was to authorize the team to conduct national consultations. › Number of states that SFSP program covers (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value 0 4 14 12 Date 08-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 30-Jun-2022 Comments The objective of the program is to provide cash assistance to all eligible citizens of Sudan in all 18 states. The program covered 14 states, with program activities being piloted in the remaing four states. › SFSP branded as national, well-defined, quasiuniversal program? (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 08-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 30-Jun-2022 Comments A brand for the program has been developed (brand name Thermarat). A brand is the name, term, design, logo, tagline, content, and other features that will be used in mainstreaming the SFSP as a national, well-defined, quasiuniversal program. Brand works as a program identity and will help in marketing SFSP objectives to mitigate the effects of the ongoing economic hardship and improve Sudanese living conditions. Branding includes a series of processes for planning, producing, testing, and publicizing communication and community outreach material. › Communication campaigns have been launched? (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 08-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 15-Mar-2021 Comments Outreach campaign implemented in 14 phase one and phase two states. Messages on registration and payment disseminated via four national radio and television channels to reach all who access radio and television in Sudan. › Hybrid system for tracking enquiries, complaints, and grievances (GRM) has been established? (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value No Yes Yes Yes Date 08-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 31-Dec-2020 Comments 4,977 cases received of which 2,650 cases were resolved. All operators were dedicated to handling incoming calls, which affected the number of complaints received, which spiked from 978 in July to 2,817 in August 2021. › Percentage of complaints resolved in 15 days or less through GRM (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value 0 0 86 80 Date 08-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 30-Jun-2022 Comments Resolution of cases has significantly improved significantly for September, reaching 86% of the 1,182 cases received because of the massive coordination of the call center with the rest of the pillars and regular updates of the referral pathway and question-and-answer documents. Planning is on track with all stakeholders and pillars to ensure proper expansion in terms of staffing, capacity, equipment, and performance of the call center, which is exploring ways to process social media and email complaints for greater GRM accessibility. STARS Annual Report 2021 Table E3 (CONT)  Updated Results Framework › Gender-focused behavioral science integrated into community strategy for SFSP in areas where women are not designated primary beneficiaaries? (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value No No No Yes Date 08-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 30-Jun-2022 Comments Behavioral science is an interdisciplinary approach to understanding and motivating human behavior. Using nudges and other techniques, gender-focused behavioral science will help SFSP messages resonate with women and girls. The indicator will be applied in areas where women are not designated primary beneficiaries of cash transfers. Component 3: Project management, monitoring and evaluation, and learning › Monitoring, evaluation, and learning impact evaluation baseline and follow-up survey conducted? (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value No No No Yes Date 15-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 30-Jun-2022 Comments An impact evaluation strategy had been prepared. A draft paper simulating poverty impacts of the program had been prepared. The impact evaluation strategy was to be discussed with stakeholders and implemented. › Monitoring, evaluation, and learning lessons drawn from Sudan’s experience included in an evaluative report? (custom) Baseline Actual (previous) Actual (current) End target Value No No YES Yes Date 15-Jun-2020 22-Jun-2021 25-Oct-2021 30-Jun-2022 Comments A report is developed that contains the monitoring, evaluation, and learning lessons from Sudan’s experience with implementation of the project. Lessons from the WFP pilot were discussed in a national workshop in September 2021. Note: MIS = management information system; NCR = national civil registry; SFSP = Sudan Family Support Program; WFP = World Food Program. Appendix E. Sudan Family Support Project Updates Table E4  Summary of Enrolled and Paid Families per State Phase State Target Enrolled Paid Female- Enrollment Paid/ Paid/ family families families headed target (%) target enrolled population households (%) (%) (%) 1 Khartoum 1,165,880 1,317,395 833,551 37 113.0 71 63 South Darfur 913,144 248,564 115,977 34 27.2 13 47 Kassala 343,604 143,711 92,406 28 41.8 27 64 Red Sea 334,750 143,739 123,616 4 42.9 37 86 2 West Darfur 411,022 84,916 176 39 20.7 0 0 East Darfur 411,022 4,291 391,900 16 1.0 1 91 White Nile 413,806 292,416 88,896 26 70.7 21 30 Blue Nile State 196,085 27,994 4 14.3 12 82 South Kordofan 274,548 8,008 642 14 2.9 2 79 West Kordofan 406,248 4,923 1,494 0 1.2 0 30 North Kordofan 473,349 51,961 45,649 0 11.0 10 88 Sinnar 274,264 82,178 50,414 18 30.0 18 61 North Darfur 473,349 155,315 147 45 32.0 0 0 Central Darfur 139,360 2,306 1,116 4 1.7 1 48 3 Northern State 794,081 3,497 242 9 0.4 0 7 El Gazira 3,674,574 4,566 54 8 0.1 0 1 El Gedaref 1577,586 6,807 65 0 0.4 0 1 River Nile 1,131,474 55,045 8,149 36 4.9 1 15 Total 6,230,431 2,637,632 1,395,295 42.3 22 53 Total average 18