CONVERGENCE IN THE SAHEL: HOW TO LINK HUMANITARIAN CASH ASSISTANCE AND NATIONAL SOCIAL PROTECTION SYSTEMS? Written by Mira Saidi and Claudia Santamaria Ruiz Based on Corinna Kreidler, Sophie Battas, Karin Seyfert, Mira Saidi (2022), Linking Humanitarian Cash Assistance and National Social Protection Systems, SASPP Flagship Report, World Bank, Washington DC. SASPP Policy Note Series POLICY NOTE 10 | NOVEMBER 2023 SASPP Policy Note Series 2 November 2023 1 BACKGROUND AND KEY MESSAGES Convergence is the merging or coming together of separate Increasing convergence with national systems can lead to elements. In the realm of social protection, this translates into the greater efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian and effective coordination and alignment of different humanitarian government interventions, particularly shock responses. and development initiatives toward a shared national vision. Convergence can encourage cross-learning, prevent duplication, Convergence between humanitarian operations and national reduce confusion among beneficiaries, increase coverage of social protection systems has gained momentum in the last few programs, minimize transaction costs, and optimize response years, as reflected in the humanitarian-development nexus. time. In the Sahel, compounded crises have increased the pressure on fiscal spaces, which necessitates optimizing In the Sahel, a growing overlap between humanitarian activities resources for maximum impact. Convergence can be seen as a and government interventions is emerging, particularly fluid and adaptable concept in which some elements of programs with the advent of adaptive social protection. Humanitarian may be more amenable to harmonization than others. assistance tends to operate in emergencies and volatile contexts with short-term horizons. In contrast, national social protection While important, convergence does not always result in systems—including regular social safety nets—typically are better outcomes. Convergence can be a helpful approach to longer term, more predictable, and focus on issues such as strengthen national social protection systems. However, any structural poverty rather than emergencies. However, both types measures taken towards it must be appropriate for the country’s of interventions share a broad goal to protect the poorest and context and aimed at improving responses to the fast-growing most vulnerable and to promote their resilience to future shocks. regional needs. Evidence shows that linking the two can present Hence opportunities to better connect humanitarian assistance definite benefits but also potential drawbacks.1 to the national social protection system do exist, particularly in the context of protracted crises. What fosters convergence? Convergence is usually What hinders it? Several factors can impede stronger when social protection systems are mature convergence, such as irreconcilable program and trusted by the development and humanitarian elements, conflicting priorities, and insufficient communities. Having pre-established relationships government leadership. Incompatible data between partners and government with a history of management systems, divergent approaches collaboration and collective learning is critical for to data privacy, varying timeframes for financial enabling convergence.2 To create a common history planning, and political economy dynamics can also and promote convergence, encouraging long-term pose significant barriers to collaboration. thinking and national ownership of adaptive social protection systems is essential. What could work? Some factors could enable What are other practices, that can both foster, when convergence but do not yet do so. For example, existing, or hinder convergence, when not? Donor implementing global policy commitments related policy and administrative procedures, government to strengthening convergence would direct leadership, clear and coherent policy objectives, humanitarian actors to determine whether their institutional set-up and division of government responses could be implemented through existing responsibilities, coordination, and capacity building of government systems. government counterparts can either enable or hamper convergence depending on context. SASPP Policy Note Series 3 November 2023 2 HOW IS ‘CONVERGENCE’ UNDERSTOOD AND ANALYZED? This policy note consolidates key highlights of a study funded For each country, different interventions are examined. In by the Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Program (SASPP), Mauritania and Senegal, the analysis focused on responses to which explores the convergence between national social recurrent seasonal food insecurity, while that of Chad focused protection systems and humanitarian cash assistance in the on support to refugees and host communities. The studies Sahel. The analysis is based on six country case studies: Burkina on Burkina Faso and Mali described situations in which food Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal. The report insecurity and forced displacement occur at the same time. While provides strategic, policy, and operational reflections on the in Niger, the analysis focused on COVID-19-related assistance in potential for harmonizing the two kinds of assistance and the the context of a protracted crisis. potential value added of doing so. It does not assess the qualities of convergence or performance of the systems themselves, The interventions studied in each country are assessed for but rather it identifies the opportunities to align further the two their degree of convergence across 16 elements. These are systems and the key factors that either enable or constrain this grouped into four different categories: (i) national policy (1–4); convergence. (ii) program objectives (5); (iii) program design (6–10); and (iv) program implementation (11–16). National Policy Program Design 1. Legal and policy framework 6. Poverty/Vulnerability assessment 2. Financing 7. Price and market analysis 3. Governance 8. Targeting design, eligibility, and qualifying criteria 4. Coordination 9. Transfer value, frequency, and modality 10.Conditionality Program Objectives Program Implementation 5. Program objectives 11. Beneficiary management information system 12. Outreach and communication 13. Registration and enrollment 14. Payment and delivery 15. Accountability to affected populations 16. Monitoring and evaluation © Banque mondiale SASPP Policy Note Series 4 November 2023 Convergence exists on a spectrum and is not an “either/or” all humanitarian interventions are operated and delivered concept.3 At one end of the spectrum, humanitarian and national through national social protection systems, full convergence safety net programs deliver support independently of each other. has been achieved (Figure 1). Where program elements fall on In the middle of the spectrum, these programs can be aligned this spectrum depends on the degree to which the element is in some or all aspects of their objectives, design, or delivery contentious, influenced by the relative weight of the enablers and (mimicking each other) but still function separately. Alternatively, barriers. The spectrum allows for a more realistic way to approach they can use some of the same delivery mechanisms, thus convergence rather than consider it an either/or concept. piggybacking. At the opposite end of the spectrum, when FIGURE 1. Continuum of delivery options for humanitarian assistance Parallel System Alignment Piggybacking National System Led Standalone Standalone Response that Horizontal and vertical humanitarian response that aligns uses elements of the expansion response with existing or future SP national system programme/system NO INTEGRATION FULL INTEGRATION Source: original figure from Seyfert, K., et al (2019), adapted from O’Brien, C., et al (2018).4 3 MAIN HIGHLIGHTS WHY ISN’T THERE MORE CONVERGENCE IN SOCIAL PROTECTION PROGRAMMING IN THE SAHEL? The maturity of national systems and the level of government challenges, attention to and leadership of the social protection leadership in social protection influence the degree of sector are limited. There can be a high cost to converging for convergence in a country. The highest levels of convergence partners in such a context, where mandates and roles may not are seen in countries with more developed systems, such as be well defined ex ante or have undergone changes due to the Senegal and Mauritania. Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, and Niger conflict, or where the government is part to the conflict itself. This have relatively nascent systems, which are limited in scale and can hinder coordinated action. While these countries do exhibit reach. These countries also face greater needs, lower institutional convergence on some elements, humanitarian interventions capacity, and greater poverty and fragility. With competing largely run in parallel. SASPP Policy Note Series 5 November 2023 Global commitments toward convergence are present but humanitarian funding cycles. Providing multi-year financing for not fully practiced in the Sahel. Donors and implementing seasonal cash transfers could create an opportunity to align partners have made global commitments to work through humanitarian resource mobilization with that of Jigisѐmѐjiri. national systems when the context and opportunities allow. One such commitment is the Common Donor Approach to humanitarian cash programming, which was signed by various While these global policy commitments are donors in 2019. It established that “donors expect to see cash limited in their ability to enforce certain programs (…) align with local and national mechanisms such as practices, they represent a starting point social protection systems, where possible and appropriate.’’ In practice, possible and appropriate can be challenging and, as a for stakeholders to examine the feasibility result, numerous interventions still run in parallel. Furthermore, of pursuing further convergence and to players at the country level are not always aware of these global identify practical ways to do so. policy commitments. Donors can play an important role in fostering convergence Political economy and institutional interest are difficult through their funding and administrative policies. Funding barriers to overcome and hinder convergence in all countries. policies can influence design and implementation of programs Moving toward convergence can entail a loss of influence and/ in line with other priorities, away from convergence. In this way, or resources, creating a context of ‘winners’ and ‘losers,’ which donors do not always leverage their potential for encouraging threatens the existence or power of some actors. This can be a convergence and end up funding parallel systems, even in strong, mostly unspoken, reason to defer or halt convergence countries where national systems would allow for a higher efforts. Competition between agencies impedes convergence. degree of convergence. At times, donors nonetheless promote Program design elements can also be intrinsically linked to or mandate greater coordination and alignment with national the identity and raison d’être of some actors. Such political systems, as was the case for the Niger COVID-19 response economy and institutional interest considerations also apply supported by WFP, UNICEF, and the World Bank. The brevity of to governments and their decisions on who to support, how humanitarian funding cycles can also be a barrier to convergence, to support them and through which agency. Such decisions as they tend not to be aligned with government budget cycles can at times make it hard to converge with national systems. or the strategic planning for shock response. For instance, in A more concerted effort is required to overcome such barriers, Mali, the funding cycle supporting the building of the social requiring action at the political, technical, and operational levels safety net program Jigisѐmѐjiri follows a longer timeframe than simultaneously. © World Bank / Famara Dieng SASPP Policy Note Series 6 November 2023 OPPORTUNITIES FOR GREATER CONVERGENCE Some program elements are easier to converge than others. beneficiary registration (which raises issues of data protection Rather than attempting to tackle all elements at once or focus and interoperability), definition of vulnerability, and identification on the most challenging ones, focusing on elements that are of geographical zones of intervention, can be contentious but easier to agree on may be more productive. For example, the can be overcome with additional effort. alignment of payment systems and use (or not) of conditionality are generally easier to converge on, while eligibility criteria and By focusing on low-hanging fruits, actors transfer values (a recurrent topic of disagreement) are more difficult as they are more closely linked to program or actors’ can help build momentum toward more identity and objectives. Some elements, such as funding sources, complex agreements in the future. FIGURE 2. Level of contention in program elements LEVEL OF CONTENTION Contentious but can Potentially easy to be overcome with Hard-wired barriers agree upon additional edffort Utilisation of the same payment system Sources of funding Eligibility criteria Working with the same outreach actors Registration Transfer values Use market assessment to update Needs assessment and transfer values geographic targeting Conditionality Low-hanging fruit such as payment systems can be catalysts for through local authorities and establish partnerships with local convergence. While the analysis did not find examples of unified civil society to facilitate communication. Programs using the same payment platforms, there were cases of actors using the same frontline delivery staff present a great opportunity harmonizing payment provider, a good starting point toward a shared platform. In the programs’ communication and disseminating messaging. It Chad, most of the humanitarian cash assistance programs studied can also be helpful in implementing an integrated feedback or use the same financial service provider as the government safety grievance redress mechanism for all the programs. In Senegal, net program, albeit through separate contracting procedures. local civil society organizations, which help the government Untapped potential exists in utilizing the collective negotiating implement the social safety net on the ground, also work with power that comes with shared platforms to reduce fees and step other cash assistance programs. These social operators are toward increasing convergence simultaneously. key in enabling convergence, as they ensure that a consistent interlocutor communicates on behalf of various programs. Outreach and communication with participants are another way to increase convergence with minimal effort, as programs tend to leverage the same frontline delivery staff or organizations. The programs studied in the Sahel act SASPP Policy Note Series 7 November 2023 Registration can be a contentious element, but differences It is important to note, however, that even if convergence can be overcome. Social registries are, first and foremost, a tool is achieved in terms of using the same social registry, the for registering people who are potentially eligible for safety net identification of beneficiaries often remains contentious. programs. Ideally, a single national registry in each country would Beneficiary identification is one of the most difficult — although not provide the data for all programs to identify eligible households. impossible — design elements, as it is directly linked to a program’s However, humanitarian actors at times require faster registration identity and objectives. While governments tend to prioritize processes or different data than is available in the Sahelian coverage, reach, and equity among regions, humanitarian actors countries. High-quality and up-to-date data costs time and money. often focus on meeting the full needs of fewer selected individuals The absence of such data can disincentivize joint approaches on in prioritized areas. These opposing approaches make it difficult registration. In Burkina Faso, while previous interventions led to to converge on beneficiary selection criteria and transfer values. four independently managed databases, a recent recognition of In Mali, a complex picture emerged in terms of targeting. The the need to harmonize the registration process has encouraged the Jigisèmèjiri program and the EU-funded seasonal cash transfers development of a roadmap toward building a unified social registry. initially looked at ways of harmonizing their targeting. While both In other Sahelian countries, significant progress has been made in relied on the social registry — widely considered to be a strength developing social registries which are leveraged by multiple actors, and an encouraging way forward regarding convergence —, but additional data collection efforts are also still the norm. their approaches resulted in a patchwork of targeting criteria and methodologies, even within the same programs. 4 FIVE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS I. Prioritize convergence and make it an explicit goal to avoid III. Acknowledge and address the sensitivities when institutional funding parallel systems. Partners must work together more interests create barriers. By definition, vested interests, whether efficiently, and donors and implementing partners should translate those of government, donors or implementing partners, are at stake their global policy commitments at the country level and reduce in convergence efforts since each program has its own staff, delivery support for costly and unnecessary parallel delivery systems. The system, and budget, which can be threatened by moves toward strategic value of convergence is not yet sufficiently recognized greater convergence. Where a disincentive to align is present, use by key actors, so establishing a clear vision of convergence and its open dialogue to identify solutions that appease such concerns. benefits in each country is crucial before turning to implementation. A starting point is to leverage existing mechanisms (such as IV. Focus on missed opportunities and join forces to increase coordination groups, national response plans or early warning available resources. Working jointly towards a better articulation systems) to better align interventions. The parameters defined of interventions is important, especially with regular cash by these mechanisms could serve as the basis of converging transfers, shock-response, or productive inclusion interventions. responses. If disagreement exists on these parameters or This can be materialized, for example, by identifying shared mechanisms, then rather than creating parallel ones, donors and outreach efforts with local NGOs or leveraging shared payment implementing partners can collaborate to improve or modify them. platforms. Humanitarian resources can be freed up by increasing efficiency along the delivery chain or by leaving the responsibility II. Be mindful of the political economy and develop common for recurrent crisis responses to national social safety nets ground to overcome hard-wired barriers to convergence. Trade- (ensuring it remains affordable for governments and that offs on coverage versus benefit adequacy, for example, are programs provide adequate benefits). generally tied to institutional mandates and hence are more difficult to overcome. Policymakers should consider (1) breaking the silos by V. Be prepared for the long haul. Effective convergence will not bringing actors together physically, technically, and ideologically; (2) happen overnight and is not unidirectional. Setting up common building joint knowledge to break down barriers by encouraging tools and procedures for governments and humanitarian and more diversity in the composition of teams or broadening the skills development partners is a long-term endeavor that requires of existing staff; and (3) developing shared objectives and creating consensus building among actors with, at times, very different views. a coalition of allies working toward common goals. Sustained coordination is key to overcoming these differences. SASPP Policy Note Series 8 November 2023 ENDNOTES/REFERENCES 1 Aligning the value of humanitarian transfers with those of social protection programs, for instance, could render them insufficient for crisis-affected people. See for reference: O’Brien, C., Z. Scott, G. Smith, V. Barca, A. Kardan, R. Holmes, C. Watson, and J. Congrave (2018). “Shock-Responsive Social Protection Systems research: Synthesis report,” Oxford Policy Management, Oxford, UK. p. 70. McLean, C., L. Carraro, V. Barca, and L. Alfers (2021). “Transfer values: How much is enough? Balancing social protection and humanitarian considerations,” Social Protection Approaches to COVID-19 Expert Advice Service (SPACE), DAI Global UK Ltd, United Kingdom., p. 13. Gray Meral, A., and N. Both (2021). “Social protection and forcibly displaced people: a literature review.” Working Paper, Overseas Development Institute, London), p.30. 2 For instance, the annual Cadre Harmonisé processes bringing together governments, development partners, and humanitarian actors to assess the country’s food and nutrition situation. 3 Seyfert, K., V. Barca, U. Gentilini, M. Luthria, and S. Abbady (2019). “Unbundled: A framework for connecting safety nets and humanitarian assistance in refugee settings,” World Bank Group, Washington, D.C 4 O’Brien, C., Scott, Z., Smith, G., Barca V., Kardan, A., Holmes, R., Watson, C. and Congrave, J. (2018), ‘Shock-Responsive Social Protection Systems research: Synthesis report’, Oxford Policy Management, Oxford, UK. 5 Governments of Australia, Canada, Denmark, EU/DG ECHO, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and USA (2019). “Common Donor Approach to cash programming,” https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/common-donorapproach- feb-19.pdf p.2. ACKNOWLEGEMENTS SASPP is a multi-donor trust fund managed by the World Bank that supports the strengthening of adaptive social protection systems in the Sahel (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal) to enhance the resilience of poor and vulnerable households and communities to the impacts of climate change. The program is supported by Denmark, France, Germany and the United Kingdom. NOTE DESIGN: ANDRES DE LA ROCHE / ADELAROCHEDESIGNS.COM COVER PHOTO: © World Bank Famara Dieng For more information: saspp@worldbank.org www.worldbank.org/saspp