The World Bank Somalia Empowering Women through Education and Skills Project - "Rajo Kaaba" (P176898) Project Information Document (PID) Appraisal Stage | Date Prepared/Updated: 08-Apr-2022 | Report No: PIDA33379 Apr 08, 2022 Page 1 of 12 The World Bank Rajo (P176898) BASIC INFORMATION OPS_TABLE_BASIC_DATA A. Basic Project Data Country Project ID Project Name Parent Project ID (if any) Somalia P176898 Somalia Empowering Women through Education and Skills Project - "Rajo Kaaba" Region Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date Practice Area (Lead) AFRICA EAST 19-Apr-2022 26-May-2022 Education Financing Instrument Borrower(s) Implementing Agency Investment Project Financing Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, Federal Republic of Culture and Higher Somalia Education, Federal Republic of Somalia Proposed Development Objective(s) To improve literacy and numeracy skills of women in selected areas and to prepare women for leadership roles. Components Skills for Life and Labor Market Success Higher Skills Development for Women’s Leadership Technical Assistance and Project Management PROJECT FINANCING DATA (US$, Millions) SUMMARY -NewFin1 Total Project Cost 52.00 Total Financing 52.00 of which IBRD/IDA 25.00 Financing Gap 0.00 DETAILS -NewFinEnh1 World Bank Group Financing Apr 08, 2022 Page 2 of 12 The World Bank Rajo (P176898) International Development Association (IDA) 25.00 IDA Grant 25.00 Non-World Bank Group Financing Trust Funds 27.00 Early Learning Partnership 2.00 Somalia Multi-Partner Fund 25.00 Environmental and Social Risk Classification Substantial Decision The review did authorize the team to appraise and negotiate Other Decision (as needed) B. Introduction and Context Country Context 1. The proposed Project supports the Government of Somalia’s efforts to educate and empower girls and women with skills to promote their economic empowerment and capacity to lead. Boosting women’s economic empowerment is essential to achieve economic growth, shared prosperity, and social stability in Somalia and to meet current Government objectives set out in the Somalia National Development Plan (NDP 2020-2024). Under the 2018-2022 Country Partnership Framework, the World Bank is intensifying its efforts to advance gender equity and address factors of exclusion and marginalization. Addressing gender disparities is also critical to the consolidation of peace and security in the fragile context of ongoing conflict and instability in Somalia. This project reflects the government’s vision of a comprehensive approach to education and skills that will target the most disadvantaged women and girls with support to acquire basic literacy, numeracy, socio-emotional and livelihoods skills, as well as foster female leadership at the highest levels of society. 2. Despite its recent progress, Somalia is confronted with substantial challenges resulting from years of instability and underinvestment in human capital, including widespread poverty, low economic growth, low fiscal capacity, and fragility. Somalia is one of only four countries on the World Bank’s list of fragile and conflict- affected situations (FCS) rated as a “high intensity� conflict. Somalia is one of the poorest countries in the world with a per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of US$327. 3. The challenges facing adolescent girls and women in Somalia are substantial and limit their ability to live healthy and productive lives, fulfill their potential, and contribute to the country’s growth. More than one quarter (27 percent) of girls and women age 20-24 give birth before their 18th birthday, which contributes to high overall fertility as well as increased likelihood of low-birthweight babies and stunting in early childhood. Less than Apr 08, 2022 Page 3 of 12 The World Bank Rajo (P176898) one quarter (24 percent) of all women receive four or more antenatal care visits, and the maternal mortality ratio is high, at 829 per 100,000 live births, as is the under-five mortality rate of 115 per 100,000 live births. Across the country, an estimated 56 percent of women aged 15 years or older cannot read, compared to 41 percent of men, and more than half of all females aged 15 to 29 years (57 percent) are neither at work nor in school/training, compared to 39 percent for males. Gender-based violence (GBV) is widespread: according to one survey, 36 percent of adult women experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) and 62 percent reported undergoing Female Genital Mutilation/ Cutting (FGM/C) in their lifetime. The cumulative effects of underinvestment, lack of opportunity, and violence traps women in a vicious cycle of under-empowerment that impacts their capacity to participate in society, engage in productive employment and support their families. 4. With the right investments in its people – particularly in educating girls and women – Somalia has the opportunity to capture a demographic dividend. Despite current low levels of literacy and access to education, investment in Somalia’s youthful population could yield a high return, especially if girls and wom en who have been left behind by the formal education system could benefit from second chance education and new opportunities. Sectoral and Institutional Context 5. Somalia is rebuilding its education system. Though previously high functioning, Somalia’s education system was decimated during the civil war as infrastructure was destroyed and teachers and students abandoned the educational process. Somalia’s current education system emerged in 2012 with the establishment of the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and the provisional constitution guaranteeing free primary and secondary education as a basic right in 2012. 6. Somalia’s federal and state governments have made strides in education policy and program development, but despite this progress, access to education remains very low. The primary gross enrollment rate (GER) is estimated to be 20 percent, with approximately 3 million primary- aged children (5-14 years) out of school, and the secondary gross enrollment rate is estimated at 14 percent. Nationwide, an estimated 44 percent of youth (age 15-24) in Somalia are not in education, employment, or training (NEET), according to the 2019 Somalia Labor Force Survey. The NEET rate is particularly high for young women: 50 percent of all females aged 15 to 24 years were neither at work nor school/training, compared to 39 percent for males. Girls’ and Women’s Education in Somalia 7. Women’s basic skills, such as literacy and numeracy, are low both in absolute terms and relative to men in Somalia. Nationwide, an estimated 56 percent of women aged 15 years or older cannot read compared to 41 percent of men (Figure 1a). Somalia has made progress in getting more girls in school in recent years: the share of women and girls from 10 to 19 years of age without any formal education is half that of women over age 35 (Figure 1b). This gradual improvement in access to basic education is a substantial achievement against a backdrop of crisis. Despite this progress, more than 40 percent of girls remain excluded even in the youngest cohort. Apr 08, 2022 Page 4 of 12 The World Bank Rajo (P176898) Figure 1. Key Education Indicators disaggregated by gender in Somalia 1(a) - Literacy rates by gender and geography, 1 (b) - Population without access to formal Somalia education by Gender, Somalia 100 100 % of population aged 15 or more 80 80 % of population 60 60 40 40 20 20 55+ 10 - 14 Years 15 - 19 Years 20 - 24 Years 25 - 29 Years 30 - 34 Years 35 - 39 Years 40 - 44 Years 45 - 49 Years 50 - 54 Years 0 Mogadishu Other Rural IDPs in Nomads urban settlements Women Men Overall average Age group Women Men Overall average Source: Somalia Poverty and Vulnerability Study (World Bank, 2019) 8. Girls and women face many challenges in accessing education. These include: poverty, distance from home to school, clan systems and preferential treatment of males, and other social norms that include pressure to marry at a young age and household and care responsibilities for younger siblings.1 The scarcity of female role models in leadership positions and at higher levels of education, coupled with beliefs that only men should continue to advanced levels of education, likely affect women’s persistence in the education system.2 Efforts are underway, including a new World Bank-financed project, to address access challenges in basic education; the stock of girls and women who never benefitted from basic education in the first place, however, will remain very high without concerted efforts to provide second chance or non-formal education opportunities. 9. A number of barriers, in addition to low educational attainment, affect women’s economic engagement.3 Overall, women’s labor force participation is low at 20 percent, compared to 58 percent for men. The labor market is segregated by gender, with women mostly in lower-income activities. Women account for 60 percent of owners of micro businesses, which are characterized as informal, irregular, and of low value. Figure 2 lays out the reasons for economic inactivity from the Somalia Poverty and Vulnerability Study 2019. Across all groups-- urban, rural, IDPs, nomads, poor and non-poor -- “family and household care� is the most cited reason for inactivity, nearing 60 percent for most subgroups of women. 10. Somali women stakeholders and activists were consulted during project identification regarding issues of labor market engagement.4 When asked to what degree basic skills affect women’s well-being and success, the participants agreed that it is a key priority for women to have the basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills. They 1 Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, 2019. 2 Jama, A. and Barre, GS. 2019. Understanding the barriers to girls´ and women´s access to higher education in Puntland, Somalia. London: ODI. 3 World Bank 2019. 4 Consultations included representatives from a diverse group of stakeholders, including: Disability Aid Foundation, MCA- Network/MVTC Network of marginalized and vulnerable groups, Save the Children, Somalia Non-state Actors (SONSA), Somalia Vulnerable Actors, Gaari Dumar, Hano Academy, Kaafiya, Hiigso, iRise Hub and Microfinance initiatives such as Kim’s, Awood, and Fursad Abuur. Apr 08, 2022 Page 5 of 12 The World Bank Rajo (P176898) stressed the close correlation between having a command of these basic skills and the capacity to reach financial independence, which they identified as the main driver of self-confidence. Second Chance Education 11. There are two principal categories of second chance education in Somalia: Alternative Basic Education (ABE) and Non-Formal Education (NFE). ABE programs provide education to out-of-school children, especially marginalized groups such as nomads, orphans, and displaced people, with the goal of giving them a primary and sometimes secondary equivalency to reenter the formal education system. Most ABE services in Somalia are provided by non-government organizations and designed to provide education for children of the same age-group as regular primary school-going children. NFE programs are provided for children, youth and adults who are not able, due to special and difficult circumstances, to join or rejoin formal schools, to help them develop life, numeracy, and literacy skills. Despite NFE being the only reported subsector where adolescent girls’ enrollment is higher than boys, no major initiatives to expand access have been undertaken over the last several years. Given this lack of investment, the government of Somalia has requested that the proposed new project focus on NFE in its second chance activities. 12. A successful second chance education system will require investment to build the system over time and address current deficits. Challenges facing second chance programs and policy reform efforts include low access, inadequate financing, insufficient data, and low capacity of staff at federal and state levels. Most services are provided by non-governmental institutions, with little coordination and oversight and a lack of basic information on service provision and outcomes. Higher Education 13. After the collapse of the central government in 1991, the entire higher education sub-sector was destroyed. Destruction of the sector went far beyond the deterioration of physical infrastructure. It is estimated that more than 80 percent of the educated elite left the country from 1991-2008 (Lindley, 2008). This extended period of insecurity and instability has robbed a generation of young Somali men and women of the chance to attend formal education and to build a pipeline to higher education. 14. Women’s access to higher education and leadership opportunities is low, albeit slowly improving. Figure 3 illustrates trends similar to those observed in basic education, with women’s attainment slowly improving from older to younger cohorts, with a persistent gender gap that may only recently be closing. Retention of women in higher education remains a significant challenge. Apr 08, 2022 Page 6 of 12 The World Bank Rajo (P176898) C. Proposed Development Objective(s) Development Objective(s) (From PAD) To improve literacy and numeracy skills of women in selected areas and to prepare women for leadership roles. Key Results PDO Level Indicators • Beneficiaries advancing at least one level in Somali reading assessment (disaggregated by gender and disability status) • Beneficiaries advancing at least one level numeracy assessment (disaggregated by gender and disability status) • Female graduates of women’s college and Women’s Development Center programs in leadership roles (cumulative, disaggregated by disability status) D. Project Description 15. Empowerment of women in Somalia is at the center of building a more just, economically strong, politically stable, and peaceful country. The Project will support the government’s efforts to enhance the conditions for women’s empowerment by providing the fundamental skills, qualifications, competencies, and mindset needed for women to improve their labor force participation, enhance their informal and formal sector job success and self-employment, and expand their leadership roles across all sectors of the society. A growing pipeline of women who have this preparation for success would enable Somalia to walk the path of sustained economic growth and social development, reduce the intergenerational transmission of poverty through reduced fertility and greater parental investment per child, and change social norms around women’s autonomy and accepted harmful practices such as FGM, GBV and child marriage. 16. The project design recognizes the self-reinforcing dynamics of women’s success across various levels of education. The presence of women leaders has been shown to increase aspirations of parents for their daughters and girls’ aspirations for themselves, while relieving constraints such as girls’ greater burden of household chores.5 Female leadership at the top of society requires a pipeline of girls and women progressing through primary to secondary education and beyond. Acquisition of numeracy and literacy skills both enhance women’s basic ability to engage in the world and facilitate access to skilled occupations and entrepreneurship. The Project’s comprehensive approach to second-chance education, skills training, and higher education recognizes the potential for a virtuous cycle of women’s success up and down the educational system. 17. The Project is designed to reinforce Somalia’s efforts to build a coherent education system at the federal and sub-national levels. Complementing and building on the system-building activities supported by the Somalia Education for Human Capital Development Project (P172434), the proposed Project will include policy development and system management across components. A core goal of these activities would be to promote vertical mobility and portability of qualifications across mainstream and second-chance basic education, skills training, and higher education, ensuring multiple pathways for advancement and the elimination of “dead ends� in educational progression. 5 Beaman, Lori, Esther Duflo, Rohini Pande, and Petia Topalova. 2012. "Female Leadership Raises Aspirations and Educational Attainment for Girls: A Policy Experiment in India." Science 355(2012): 582-586. Apr 08, 2022 Page 7 of 12 The World Bank Rajo (P176898) Component 1: Skills for Life and Labor Market Success 18. The objective of the first component is to support adolescent girls and women to acquire basic literacy and numeracy skills, cross-cutting socio-emotional and life skills, and skills to improve their livelihoods. Given the extremely low levels of literacy and numeracy in the target population, the component will focus on improving these foundational skills as well as basic livelihood skills, which are prerequisites to higher-level employment or self-employment skills in specific sectors. This component addresses key demand-side constraints as well as supply-side constraints in service delivery, using a competitive Skills Development Fund (SDF) to finance different service providers and delivery methods as appropriate to the diverse regions of the country. The component includes funding to pilot innovative approaches to deliver remote learning to women and girls. The component will be led by the federal MoECHE’s Department of TVET and NFE, in close collaboration with their equivalents at the FMS level and in Somaliland and the Ministry of Labor. While the primary beneficiaries will be girls and women, up to 10 percent of beneficiaries in each target district may be disadvantaged boys and men (e.g., members of marginalized groups such as IDPs or men with disabilities). Component 2: Higher Skills Development for Women’s Leadership 19. Through this component, the government of Somalia will take the first steps in creating a consortium of autonomous women’s colleges to support a system-wide expansion of women’s higher skills and leadership development through participation in higher education. The principal aim of the women’s colleges would be to provide Somali girls and women with strong academic potential from all walks of life with access to a relatively local, dedicated, safe, and well-resourced higher education opportunity through which they can develop the knowledge, qualifications, and abilities to serve effectively in high-skilled employment and in leadership roles in politics, government, and the world of business. The women’s colleges and women’s development centers that will be established will provide short course, mentorship, and formal courses to support women and foster leadership capacity. This consortium of women’s colleges will serve two key strategic goals identified by the Government of Somalia as of national importance: (i) increasing the number of women with the high-level skills needed to serve at the highest levels of leadership in Somalia, including in the Parliament, where there is a national target already set to reach and maintain 30 percent female representation by the next parliamentary election cycle; and (ii) expanding opportunities for women to hone the academic learning and research skills needed to proceed through increasingly advanced levels of post-secondary education, including through Master’s and Doctoral level studies, particularly in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Component 3: Systems Strengthening, Technical Assistance and Project Management 20. Component 3 will finance systems strengthening efforts, technical assistance and project management, including: development of data systems for the NFE, TVET, and higher education sectors, technical assistance on policy development and evaluation, developing contextually appropriate ways to leverage technology to deliver skills and leadership training and monitor and evaluate the system and impact of individual interventions, project management and federal and state government capacity building. . . Legal Operational Policies Triggered? Projects on International Waterways OP 7.50 No Apr 08, 2022 Page 8 of 12 The World Bank Rajo (P176898) Projects in Disputed Areas OP 7.60 No Summary of Assessment of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts . The environmental risk rating is Substantial at this time. This is due to the environmental risks that may arise from proposed rehabilitation and construction activities under Component III in the project. Rehabilitation and minor construction for women’s colleges is likely to result in the occurrence of environmental impacts, including noise pollution, soil erosion, waste and wastewater management, loss of vegetation, e-waste, as well as possible occupational health and fire safety risks. Congregating large numbers of persons during the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to result in exposure to the virus. The project is likely to be implemented by construction companies with limited experience and with unknown capacities for E&S implementation, and lack of regulations for ESIAs and OHS requirements, and with little knowledge of Good International Industry Practice (GIIP). The capacity for environmental governance at the Ministry of Education is weak at the moment. Social risk rating for the project is equally Substantial. Overall, it is expected that the project contributes considerably to the strengthening of women empowerment, not just among the immediate beneficiaries but also indirectly to the society at large. Based on international research, this is consequently also expected to lead to positive social outcomes on peace processes, institutions building, respect for vulnerable groups, etc. However, during the transition towards stronger gender equity, social risks may increase, both, towards project beneficiaries and project implementors. Social norms around early marriage, expectations that girls support households and rearing of younger siblings, and greater social value placed on boys accessing education over girls play a role in lower enrolment and completion rates of girls in addition to a predominantly male teaching force and long distances to schools will need to be addressed as part of implementation. The project has to address an imbalanced power structure which may trigger intentional and unintentional backlash, including varying forms of GBV, including by extreme-conservative political groups, in an already very challenging FCV situation with considerable security risks. This relates above all to second chance education activities as well as the operation of the women’s college. The project must also address risks of exclusion via an inclusion assessment and management instrument, which equally will address the risk resulting from data collection activities. This extends to data collection. The project also entails more standard ESF risks on eventual small- scale land acquisition and involuntary resettlement, inward migration, labour influx and possible use of child labour, elite capture of project benefits, human trafficking, exclusion, and access to beneficiaries for effective consultations and grievance redress. Respective risk management instruments are being developed accordingly. The risk of sexual exploitation and abuse, sexual harassment, and other forms of gender-based violence (GBV) is rated as substantial. Gender restrictive norms and lack of decision-making power are often cited as barriers to women and girls accessing education opportunities and increasing exposure to harm. The risk of violence or assault may also increase while travelling long distances to reach schools. Other factors such as unequal gender and power relations can exacerbate the risks of GBV in schools especially where unethical school administrators/ teachers or facilitators take advantage of their positions and sexually exploit students as well as the potential of sexual harassment for female teachers. During the process of creating women’s colleges, disruption of power dynamics might surface in a community and within households due to the arrival of the workforce in the area. It can be during construction, as women in the community come into contact with mobile workmen in various ways, including direct employment on the project during construction or operation or indirectly via associated services such as catering. Although construction activities are likely minor to moderate in size, these measures will include, during construction and operation, a) conducting PIU sensitization and capacity building to improve understanding, management, and monitoring of SEAH risks throughout the life of the project; b) Reinforcing CoC that address GBV/SEAH in schools in order to cultivate an environment free Apr 08, 2022 Page 9 of 12 The World Bank Rajo (P176898) from GBV and SEAH; c) ensuring regular community consultations to raise awareness of the risk of SEA /GBV and measures for reporting and response; d) ensuring that grievance redress measures include mechanisms for safe and confidential reporting of cases of SEAH; e) Mapping out GBV service providers and Identifying a dedicated referral process for school related violations, relevant organizations for referrals, development of procedures and processes for referrals, development of accountability framework for handling allegations; and f) Conducting regular safety mapping with the students, teachers, community and parents to identify areas within and outside the schools where they feel unsafe and develop remedial actions where necessary. SEAH risk mitigation requirements will be established in a SEA/SH Action Plan and also addressed, where relevant, in social risk management instruments. E. Implementation Institutional and Implementation Arrangements 21. The proposed project will be implemented by the MoECHE and the FMS and Somaliland Ministries of Education. The MoECHE will be responsible for oversight and coordination of all project activities and reporting on project progress and performance. The FMS will be responsible for service delivery in their respective jurisdictions. Regional, District Education and Community Education Committees (CECs) will also play an important role in the delivery of project activities. 22. The project will benefit from the existing implementation arrangements used for the on-going Somalia Education for Human Capital Development Project (P172434). The responsibilities of the Project Steering Committee (chaired by the MoECHE) will be expanded, as will the Project Management Committees’ responsibilities for technical leadership (headed by the Federal Director General and including DGs from participating FMS). 23. A lean Project Management Unit (PMU) will be responsible for overall project management, coordination, implementation, monitoring and day-to-day responsibility of the project. Key responsibilities of the PMU will include: (i) ensuring Project activities are implemented as agreed and in compliance with the World Bank technical and fiduciary guidelines; (ii) leading technical, operational, and fiduciary functions, especially contracting and contract management; and (iii) coordinating and overseeing Project implementation/management in the respective FMS, including monitoring and evaluation of Project activities, capacity building, and ensuring compliance with social- and environmental-safeguard requirements. The PMU will also prepare the annual work plan and budget and conduct quarterly progress reviews. In addition, the PMU will coordinate project activities with the education implementing partners and education sector coordination committees at FGS and FMS level. 24. To ensure smooth implementation of Project activities, a Project Operational Manual will be prepared by the PMU for Bank review and approval within two months of Project effectiveness. This will clarify project activities, including fiduciary/disbursement and environmental- and social-safeguard implementation arrangements, roles and responsibilities of the parties involved, and coordination mechanisms. In addition, a Fund Manual detailing the operational details of the skills fund will also be prepared. A third-party independent verification agency will be contracted by the MoECHE to conduct monitoring and evaluation of the program. . CONTACT POINT World Bank Apr 08, 2022 Page 10 of 12 The World Bank Rajo (P176898) Shawn Michael Powers Senior Economist Amanda Epstein Devercelli Senior Education Specialist Borrower/Client/Recipient Ministry of Finance, Federal Republic of Somalia Abdirahman Duale Beileh Minister of Finance abdirahmanbeileh010114@gmail.com Implementing Agencies Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education, Federal Republic of Somalia H.E. Abdullahi Abukar Haji Minister minister@moe.gov.so Mohamed Abbi Hassan Director General dg@moe.gov.so FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT The World Bank 1818 H Street, NW Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone: (202) 473-1000 Web: http://www.worldbank.org/projects APPROVAL Shawn Michael Powers Task Team Leader(s): Amanda Epstein Devercelli Approved By Practice Manager/Manager: April 8, 2022 Page 11 of 12 The World Bank Rajo (P176898) Country Director: Kristina Svensson 20-Apr-2022 April 8, 2022 Page 12 of 12