Somalia Water for Rural Resilience (P177627) Barwaaqo Project Somalia and Somaliland Implementation Support Mission February 17-20, 2025 Aide-Memoire Contents A. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................................2 B. MAIN MISSION FINDINGS .............................................................................................................................2 C. NEXT STEPS .......................................................................................................................................................4 Annex I: Results Framework ..............................................................................................................................5 Annex II: General Project Status and Implementation since last ISM (Somalia) ..........................................7 Annex III. General Project Status and Implementation since last ISM (Somaliland) ................................ 15 Annex IV: Mission Participants ....................................................................................................................... 21 1 A. INTRODUCTION 1. A World Bank (WB) team carried out an implementation support mission with the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) from February 17-18 and the Government of Somaliland (GoSL) from February 19-20, at the World Bank office in Nairobi, Kenya, for the Somalia Water for Rural Resilience (Barwaaqo) Project. The mission's overall objective was to provide implementation support and assess progress since the last Implementation Support Mission (ISM) held in August 2024. The specific objectives were to; (i) review progress status and implementation arrangements from the National Project Coordination Unit (NPCU) and Project Implementation Units (PIUs), (ii) Review progress made on priority procurement packages, ESF arrangements, M&E plans, and (iii) Discuss and plan the implementation of additional financing approved in January 2025, (iv) discuss and plan the preparations for the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the project planned in June 2025 and (v) agree on next steps. 2. The mission would like to express its sincere appreciation to all participants listed under Annex IV. A summary of the mission’s main findings and agreed priority actions are indicated in Section B below. The project’s Results Framework with PDO level and Intermediate level indicator achievement is shown on Annex I. A detailed assessment of progress and actions is available in Annex II (Somalia) & Annex III (Somaliland). The participant list is available in Annex IV. Table 1: Project information PDO To develop water, agricultural and environmental services for rural communities in Somalia’s drylands Components Comp. 1 Development of Multiuse Water Sources (US$ 26.3 M) Comp. 2 Development of Agriculture and Livestock Services around water points (US$ 15.5 M) Comp. 3 Development of Environmental Catchment Services in project areas (US$ 10 M) Comp. 4 Project Management, Community Development, and Enhancing Livelihoods Planning (17.5M) WB Approval 9 December 2022 Closing Date 29 February 2028 Effectiveness 20 January 2023 IDA Amount US$ 70M IDA Grant No. E1320 Mid-term June 2025 IDA disbursed US$ 26.52 M (37%) Review Project Rating: Moderately Satisfactory B. MAIN MISSION FINDINGS 3. Overall implementation progress has improved since the last ISM in August 2024. 50% of the initially targeted 100 water points to be constructed and/or rehabilitated under the project in the 5 FMSs of Galmudug, HirShabelle, Jubaland, Puntland, and Southwest are either completed (21), under construction (14) or under procurement (11) with the remaining 54 sites already identified and under designs preparation and relevant safeguards assessments in readiness for procurement. In Somaliland, 3 out of the 35 new water points targeted are under construction while rehabilitation of 5 out of 15targeted existing water points have been completed. Procurement documents have been prepared for 14 water points which are planned to be put under construction by December 2025. Up to 122,950 people have been provided 2 with access to improved water source out of the completed water points. The implementation of Components 2 and 3 has progressed compared to the last ISM where zero results were reported for these 2 components. Progress include, provision of veterinary services, trainings and demonstrations on improved dryland farming techniques through farmer field schools, and farming inputs and completion of a modern livestock market. Up to 190 ha (2% of target) of degraded landscape has been put under various forms of sustainable landscape management practices including removing of invasive tree species and afforestation. 4. Table 2 below gives the overall status of achievement of the PDO indicators. The detailed updated project’s results framework is shown in Annex I. Table 2: PDO Results Achievement # PDO Indicator Target Achievement % 1 People provided with access to improved water sources 500,000 122,950 25% 2 Farmers adopting improved agricultural technology 200,000 976 0.49% Land area under sustainable landscape management 3 8000 190 2.37% practices (ha) 5. Implementation in Puntland State of Somalia is picking up pace satisfactorily. Puntland has completed setting up of the PIU, has done preliminary assessment of the proposed sites for water points and commenced implementation of agricultural services activity since starting implementation in September 2024. 6. The modalities for the implementation of project activities in the Sool and Sanaag regions are being discussed to finalize a clear way forward for implementation by both FGS NPCU and Somaliland PIU. According to the Project Appraisal Document (PAD), in the Sool and Sanaag region, where there is a lack of clarity regarding administrative responsibility, defined as “Agreed Areas” in the Financing Agreement, in reference to Sool and Sanaag; the Federal Government will contract third party implementers. Funds for a total of eight sites have been ringfenced for the “Agreed Areas” from project budgets. Accordingly, FGS NPCU made a request to the Bank prior to the mission, with a proposed third- party implementer, and the Bank gave an in principle clearance. Subsequent to the mission, further clarifications were being sought by the Bank with FGS NPCU, to clarity the implementation modalities 7. The mission agreed to move the Mid-Term Review (MTR) from June to early-August 2025. This change accounts for the slower pace of activities in Somalia during March, which is the month of Ramadan, and the restriction on missions in June due to the World Bank's fiscal year-end. The MTR will provide an opportunity to discuss the project's implementation status, address challenges, and consider any necessary restructuring, including potential revisions to the results indicators. Based on the progress made so far, it is recommended to continue implementing the project's components and ensure that the remaining funds are disbursed effectively. The mission clarified that the FGS NPCU and Somaliland PIU have to submit an MTR report to the Bank, at least by mid-June, identifying the project progress, implementation experiences, and proposed changes to the project, for review of the Bank, to feed into the MTR assessments. 3 8. The mission reaffirmed the agreement that by the Mid-Term Review (MTR) the project will align with the new Pay and Grading policies requiring that the responsibility allowances for seconded civil servants will be stopped. As an interim measure to facilitate project implementation, responsibility allowances are being provided to staff seconded from line ministries. The Ministry of Planning is required to collaborate with the Civil Servant Commission to develop a plan for aligning with the new Pay and Grading policies. Once this alignment is achieved, no further payments under the interim arrangement will be permitted. 9. Implementation roadmap for the proposed Additional Financing (AF) amounting to US$18.3 million from the Danish Somalia Climate Adaptation Program delegated agreement was discussed during the mission. During the mission, delegates from the Danish Embassy participated and expressed their confidence in the Somalia Government's ability to implement the project activities satisfactorily. They highlighted their engagement with the Ministries of Finance, Planning, and Environment, noting that this represents their single largest project to Somalia so far. The Danish Embassy emphasized the importance of measuring the impact across the project including beneficiaries, behavior change and natural resource management. The outcomes of this work, along with the Somalia Country Climate Report, will inform future funding decisions for the Danish, where Denmark presently has another USD 16 million allocated. 10. With the recent progress achieved under Components 2 and 3, the project ratings will be maintained as Moderately Satisfactory (both on PDO and IP) and will be upgraded once a reasonable progress is demonstrated. Monitoring and evaluation mechanisms are in place and will be further strengthened to assess the impact of the project on the target communities. The project indicators and targets will also be reviewed during the MTR for any revision. The detailed implementation progress assessment of Somalia is in Annex-II and Somaliland Annex III. C. NEXT STEPS 11. Tables 6 of Annex II and Table 10 of Annex III have detailed next actions agreed by the National Project Coordination Unit of the Federal Government of Somalia and the Project Implementation Unit of Somaliland. The next mission which is the Mid-Term Review is planned for Early-August 2025. 4 Annex I: Results Framework Barwaaqo – Somalia Water for Rural Resilience Project Project Development Objective (s): To develop water, agriculture, and environmental services for rural communities in Somalia’s drylands. Project Development Objective Indicators End Achievement Indicator Name Baseline Target February 2025 People provided with access to improved water sources (CRI, Number) 0.00 500,000 122,950 People provided with access to improved water sources - Female 49,465 0.00 150,000 (RMS requirement) (CRI, Number) Farmers adopting improved agricultural technology (CRI, Number) 0.00 200,000 976 Farmers adopting improved agricultural technology - Female (CRI, 293 0.00 60,000 Number) Land area under sustainable landscape management practices (CRI, 190 0.00 8,000 Hectare(Ha)) Intermediate Results Indicators by Components RESULT_FRAME_TBL_ IO End Indicator Name Baseline Target Component 1: Development of Multiuse Water Sources New water points constructed to reduce the risk of water shortages in 11 0.00 100 drought-prone rural areas (Number) Existing water points rehabilitated to reduce the risk of water shortages 15 0.00 50 in drought-prone rural areas (Number) Number of government staff gaining capacity to plan and design 135 0.00 175 climate-resilient infrastructure (Number) Female number of government staff gaining capacity to plan and design 28 climate-resilient infrastructure (Number) 0.00 53 Component 2: Development of Agriculture and Livestock Services around water points Number of functional Farmer Field Schools established (Number) 0.00 150 10 Number of Animals that received veterinary services (Number) 0.00 1,800,000 397,336 Number of Community Animal Health workers (CAHWs) trained 254 0.00 500 (Number) Female number of Community Animal Health workers (CAHWs) trained 77 (Number) 0.00 150 Number of institutions providing veterinary services/certifications 6 0.00 15 strengthened (Number) Livestock managers with increased productivity (Percentage) 0.00 70 Not assesed yet Female share of livestock managers with increased productivity Not assessed yet (Percentage) 0.00 30 5 RESULT_FRAME_TBL_ IO End Indicator Name Baseline Target Component 3: Development of Environmental Catchment Services Land area under invasive species management techniques (Hectare(Ha)) 0.00 1,000 90 Agricultural land area with soil and water conservation measures 0 0.00 3,000 (Hectare(Ha)) Forest area restored (Hectare(Ha)) 0.00 500 100 Component 4: Project Management, Community Development & Enhancing Livelihoods Planning Efficient and functional web-based Management Information System 1 (MIS) (Number) 1.00 2 Beneficiaries that feel project investments reflected their needs Not assesed yet 0.00 70 (Percentage) Project Implementation Units (PIUs) staffed (Number) 4.00 6 6 Female share of PIU staff, interns & seconded staff at line ministries & 20 other water institutions (Percentage) 12.00 30 Proportion of contracts awarded to female friendly contractors Not assessed yet 0.00 20 (Percentage) Women’s share of leadership positions in Village Development 44 2.00 20 Committees (VDCs) (Percentage) Grievances registered related to delivery of project benefits that are 100 addressed (Percentage) 0.00 75 Community Investment Plans Developed (Number) 0.00 150 36 Number of line Ministry buildings, laboratories and offices constructed 3 16.00 6 (Number) Number of line ministry buildings, laboratories, offices renovated 3 17.00 10 (Number) 6 Annex II: General Project Status and Implementation since last ISM (Somalia) 12. Project implementation at the Federal Member States is progressing positively, and has advanced since the last mission as reflected in Table 3. Director General Mohamed Shire of the Ministry of Planning, Economic, and Investment Cooperation has also participated in the mission and affirmed his government's commitment to achieving the Project Development Objectives. He stated that the Ministry would collaborate closely with the National Project Coordination Unit (NPCU) to address recruitment issues at the Federal Member States, including South West and HirShabelle. Component-wise Progress 13. Component 1: Development of Multiuse Water Sources (Somalia): Up to 50 percent of the initially targeted 100 water points to be constructed and/or rehabilitated under the project in the 5 FMSs of Galmudug, HirShabelle, Jubaland, Puntland, and Southwest are either completed, under construction or under procurement as shown in Table 3. Community is actively engaged through a process of Community Investment Plans (CIP), through the Village Development Committee (VDC). The process of CIP is being improved through experiences. Post the mission, a community engagement and CIP lessons sharing workshop was held with external partners and project teams on March 24 and 25, 2025. The MTR assessments should contribute to identifying a mechanism to effectively engage with the community, and to ensure an effective operation and maintenance (O&M) modalities to ensure sustainability. Table 3: Summary of progress under Component 1 - FGS Type of 1water Target for Completed sites Sites under Sites under Sites under points FGS by 2028 construction procurement assessments/design New 65 (out of 11 8 11 30 100 total*) 5 Galmudug; 3 3 in Jubaland; 3 (17% of target) in HirShabelle; in HirShabelle; 5 in Galmudug; 4 in 5 in Southwest Southwest, 2 in Jubaland Rehabilitated 35 (out of 50 10 6 None under 16 total*) (29% of target) 4 in Galmudug, procurement 3 in Galmudug; 6 in 1 in South West, 1 in HirShabelle; 1 Jubaland in Jubaland * total project target 14. Component 2: Development of Agriculture and Livestock Services Around Water Points: Implementation in the Federal Member States is actively progressing, with significant achievements in the agricultural and veterinary sectors. Approximately 228,330 livestock (13 percent of project target ) have received veterinary services across the Southwest, Jubaland, and Galmudug states. Technical workshops and training sessions for Community Animal Healthcare Workers (CAHWs) and Trainers of Trainers (ToTs) for Farmer Field Schools (FFS) are ongoing across various Federal Member States (FMS). Mobile veterinary clinics have been acquired and are operational in the Galmudug FMS. In terms of 1 Targets per FMS: Jubaland (7 new,3 rehabs); Galmudug (15 new and 8 rehabs); 7 agricultural development, several farming areas have been developed, and greenhouse facilities have been established to boost agricultural production. In Galmudug, vegetables such as tomatoes, watermelon, pumpkins, chilli pepper, spinach and bell pepper have been cultivated using drip irrigation technology, serving as demonstration plots. 15. Component 3: Development of Environmental Catchment Services in Project Areas: Under component 3, the rehabilitation of roughly 100 hectares of sand dunes in the Bali Guuleed Bahdo District of Galmudug state are completed, while 8 hectares of soil and water conservation and forest area regeneration are in their final stages of implementation in Kurun Uusle and Shubtuug, Jubaland State. Training on Nature-Based Solutions and the Development of Environmental Catchment Services, including rangeland management, charcoal management, and erosion control, has been completed across all Federal Member States. Furthermore, fourteen Community Investment Plans (CIPs) have been formulated through a consultative process, allowing communities to determine their water usage priorities. The progress of component 3 in terms of approval processes, team coordination, and capacity building has been positive, but there is room for improvement in activity sequencing, monitoring and evaluation, procurement, and budget planning. With the Bank’s support, the team has established a time-bound approval chain, documentation process, and archive folder to track activity designs and reviews in each FMS effectively. Bi-weekly meetings between the Bank team, PIUs, and NPCU have expedited progress and facilitated discussions on technical issues such as Nature-based solutions, prosopis juliflora management, and land tenure problems. The Bank commended the team's progress and advised them to use the concept note template and reference annual work plan to expedite document preparation. The Bank team provided support for procurement and financial management training on July 9th, 2024 and in October 2024. They also encouraged a consolidated mapping of intervention sites across components to ensure alignment. Theoretically, the sites identified for Component 3 should be in the same watershed as those in Component 1&2, taking into consideration land degradation, water resources, biodiversity, CIP results, and other environmental factors. The Bank team emphasized the role of the NPCU focal person in facilitating the progress of PIUs and encouraged the team to develop an integrated capacity building plan that can be replicated across FMS. The first draft will be ready by March 2025. 16. Key priorities for attention include finalizing the recruitment of sector specialists in Jubaland and Hirshabelle and a streamlined process to update the progress achieved in the Monitoring Information System (MIS). The team noted the importance of staff continuity especially for environmental specialists given the high time and labor costs spent recruiting new staff every year. The PIU is required to review the contract of the environmental specialists along with the line ministries at least one month before the contract closure and seek opportunities to extend the contract for well-performed specialists. For monitoring and evaluation, the MIS team will have a dedicated discussion with the technical specialists in Barwaaqo component 3 to streamline the process for updating project results. 17. Component 4: Project Management, Community Development and Enhancing Livelihoods Planning: Over the past six months, several training sessions have been conducted to enhance the capacity of the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) staff and seconded staff in the respective line ministries. These training courses included: Community Investment Planning Refresher Training -- aimed at updating and enhancing the skills of staff involved in community investment planning. Management Information System Refresher Training -- focused on improving the understanding and use of management information systems among the staff. Training for Baseline Data Validation -- to ensure accurate and reliable baseline data collection and validation. Additionally, training on World Bank procurement, finance policies, and regulations was provided to newly appointed Ministry staff at HirShabelle State of Somalia. Bi-weekly 8 meetings on Environmental and Social safeguards and Monitoring and Evaluation have been held with the World Bank task team and the Third-Party Monitoring Firm. These meetings are designed to build the skills and capacities of the PIU team. The web-based management information systems dashboard has reached an advanced level of development, offering real-time data on the implementation status of each project component and by Federal Member State. 18. Community Investment Plans: The CIPs are progressing, with 31 either approved or being finalized, out of 48 sites which have completed their CIRs. However, there are still 102 to be developed. The CIP local consultant became the Puntland project coordinator in October 2025, and two CIP consultants are being recruited: one for South West and Jubaland and one for Hirshabelle and Puntland should be in place by the end of February. A CIP reflection workshop has been conducted on 25th February 2025 and a refresher training will be carried out in March (once the CIP consultants and the social/CDD specialists are in place for Puntland and Hirshabelle) to roll out measures to speed up and streamline the process. The PIU teams need to respond more quickly to the comments on the CIP reports and translate them and share them with the community, government institutions and potential donors. The CIP reports need to be publicly available so that donors and government institutions can fund them e.g. publishing on the Ministry of Planning website for easy access. The CIP process and reports have been made available to a number of World Bank projects including FSRP and Bulsho. The CIP process will be documented in a manual and the entire community engagement process from community entry to community structures capacity building will be clarified in the POM. Monitoring of CIP activity completion and completion of activities by the community or other donors should be documented using the ODK CIP monitoring report. Good practice case studies of the CIP process and implementation should be documented and included in the MTR report. Supporting Systems and Processes 19. Water management models. The water points are being overseen by the village development committee, with an MOU laying out the requirements and commitments to the project as part of the initial community engagement and E&S instrument preparation. The O&M manual from Biyoole is still in draft and an experienced water management consultant is being recruited to refine the model and train the project teams. A workshop should be carried out before the consultant starts the work to interrogating the O&M manual model, drawing on a study on water management models being carried out by the GW4R project and checking that the model is appropriate for surface water as in Somaliland it has been found that communities are very reluctant to pay for surface water despite initial agreements. 20. The consultant will need to refine tools and processes on all aspects of water management including tariff collection and accountability, financial management and budgeting, roles and responsibilities, community engagement and conflict resolution, WASH and environmental protection measures and carry out TOT training for FMS teams and the Ministry of Water. Capacities of committees should be evaluated before handover. 21. Community structures and gender and minority inclusion: As requested in the last AM, more clarity is needed on the community structures that are being developed/strengthened and to what end. Progress on this and the capacity building measures should be documented as per the ODK community structures assessment and monitoring form, which is yet to appear in the MIS. Gender and minority inclusion needs enhancing in all aspects of the project. As requested in the last AM, case studies of active women’s engagement in the VDCs and other structures should be documented and where good practice and innovations are identified some exchange visits by other CIPs should be considered. 9 22. Monitoring and Evaluation: For monitoring reports from the TPM, gaps and issues need to be clearly flagged and prioritized and the need to be a mechanism for follow up, maybe using kobo and a follow-on tool. The mission highlighted that TPM reports are not regularly and timely received by the Bank, which issue should be addressed by the NPCU. 23. Procurement: The mission has observed considerable progress in the implementation of procurement activities. Most of the procurement actions agreed upon in the previous mission have either been completed or are nearing completion. During the review period, 119 contracts for goods, works, and consulting services have been signed and are currently being implemented for Galmudug, Southwest, Jubaland, HirShabelle, Puntland, and the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS). The cumulative cost of these contracts amounts to US$ 17,491,956.41, while the total budget allocated for these activities was US$ 16,134,325.00. This indicates that the actual expenditure has exceeded the allocated budget by US$ 1,357,631.41, necessitating budget adjustments. 24. It was noted that a limited number of contracts have been signed for Puntland State, as the subsidiary agreement was only signed five months ago. Consequently, the implementation process is significantly behind schedule, and urgent measures are required to expedite progress. Furthermore, it was agreed during the mission that procurement activities that have not yet been finalized or are still in the planning stages should be expedited. Regarding capacity building, the Bank conducted face-to-face training on Contract Management in Nairobi from October 14 – 17, 2024. The PCIU/PIUs staff attended this training. The Client is therefore requested to apply the knowledge gained to ensure that contracts are managed effectively and in accordance with the signed contract. The World Bank will conduct the first post review of activities that were not initially reviewed by the Bank this fiscal year for all PIUs . The identified procurement challenges and mitigation measures are listed in Table 4. The procurement rating remains “Moderately Satisfactory.” Table 4: Procurement challenges during the period and the proposed mitigation measures # Challenge Proposed mitigation measure Frequent changes in government Training of evaluation committee members by the Project officials and evaluation committee 1 Implementing Agency (PIU) to ensure a comprehensive members, and/or lack of orientation understanding of the evaluation process. /experience of the committee members Adherence to the internally agreed-upon post review matrix to ensure 2 Post review procurements proper oversight and accountability for all post review activities. Strengthening proper planning during the contract implementation 3 Contract management period. 25. Financial Management (FM): The overall disbursements for the last 24 months since effectiveness stand at 35.06% as of February 18, 2025, which is slightly below the expected disbursement rate of 39.34% based on the project implementation period. The project was advised to ensure timely documentation of advances received from the World Bank to provide accountability and support further replenishments; the current undocumented amount is US$7,000,000.00 (US$6,000,000.00 for FGS and US$996,920.19 for SL) see Table 5 below. The project is up to date regarding submission of quarterly interim unaudited financial reports (IFR) to the World Bank including the latest IFR for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, which was submitted before the stipulated deadline. The latest FM supervision of the project highlighted material delays in payment processing, inadequate internal audit oversight, weak 10 controls in management of fixed assets. In FGS, the project was advised to improve on the budget absorption, improve the turnaround time for processing payments, tighten controls on workshop-related expenses to avoid possible ineligible expenditures, and ensure enhanced controls on imprests management. In SL, the project was advised to ensure supplier payments are processed within the stipulated timeframe of 9 working days, update the fixed assets register, and prepare detailed and realistic work plans and budgets to ensure that planned activities are implemented within the stipulated timelines. The project is also up to date on the submission of project audited financial reports and the audit reports for FY 2023 was submitted to the Bank before the deadline of June 30, 2024. The project is advised to promptly address and close these findings in line with the time bound action plan agreed with the Bank. The project accounting capacity supported by a consultant financial management specialist was noted to be adequate. The ISR rating for financial management arrangements is therefore retained as Moderately Satisfactory whereas the FM risk is deemed Substantial. Table 5: Disbursement status as of February 18, 2025, IDA E1320(all in US$) # Loan details Overall FGS SL A Original signed amount 70,000,000.00 51,000,000.00 19,000,000.00 B Disbursed amount to date 24,544,508.71 20,954,073.29 3,590,435.42 C Documented amounts 17,547,588.52 14,954,073.29 2,593,515.23 D=B- Undocumented amounts 6,996,920.19 6,000,000.00 996,920.19 C A-B Available Balances 45,455,491.29 30,045,926.71 15,409,564.58 Safeguard Aspects 26. The E&S performance is satisfactory. The development of site-specific instruments is progressing well. The project E&S instruments have still not been translated into Somali and disclosed. Further work is needed to promote awareness of the GM channels including having them publicly available on the Ministry of Planning website and ensuring the functionality of the worker GMs. Improvements in the project that are made because of complaints received should be documented. Registering with the independent and trusted complaints mechanism TalktoLoop is also advised so that they can refer any complaints on the project that are sent to them. The social/CDD specialists are not yet in place for Puntland and HirShabelle. Once onboard, E&S training should be carried out for the Puntland and HirShabelle teams including the focal points in other ministries and all staff should do the Bank online E&S orientation. The TPM monitoring reports on E&S issues are yet to be received. Once the MIS information is updated, an M&E meeting devoted to E&S should be held to ensure all issues are reflected and followed up and to see if there a gaps that could be filled by the information being collected by the TPMA. Overall security risk management is satisfactory; however, security personnel need to be taken through the requirements on the code of conduct and material measures and actions in ESCP 4.5. Additionally, as part of infrastructure security site assessment procedures, UXO and explosive device screening should be monitored, including measures in SMP and ESMP. The performance of contractors on ESMP commitments needs to be carefully monitored and reported. For the Additional Financing (AF), FMS in-person consultations need to be carried out including with representatives of women and traditional ethnic minority groups. The community engagement process will be more complex in the AF to inform the sustainable land and water management plans and will need to be planned and budgeted. ESIAs are likely to be required for the larger water infrastructure, which will need to be carried out by a 11 consulting firm. For efficiency this could be carried out by the backstopping engineer if they employ social specialists as they are already will be assessing many of the environmental aspects. The implementation of the SEA/SH prevention and response action plan is broadly on track. With the finalization of the accountability and response framework and the inclusion of SEA/SH related questionnaire to monitor SEA/SH risks across the project with the TPM has been completed. Other challenges remain with the delayed recruitment of GBV Focal points in Puntland and HirShabelle. However, there is a need for stronger orientation and training for contractors and their workers and the GBV focal points at the different FMS as well as strengthening GM for SEA/SH related incidents. Action Plan and Timeline Table 6: Action Plan and Timeline (Somalia) General Responsible When Share the latest Steering Committee Meeting Minutes (for NPCU Immediately meetings held after August 2024) Recruitment of Key staff positions in South West including NPCU/PIU Immediately Project Coordinator and M&E Specialist Develop a mechanism to check the site selection criteria set in NPCU/WB/TPMA Ongoing the POM is adhered to Backstopping Engineering Firm to submit one-pager site BSE/HN Ongoing supervision reports for sites under construction every quarter Implementation Roadmap for the Additional Financing to be NPCU April 2025 prepared and submitted to the WB In Galmudug, 300 trees cut every year per HHS a year for NPCU/GSS PIU April 2025 livestock fencing – explore ways of minimizing this through the project component 3 intervention (develop concept note) Submit Mid-Term Review (MTR) report prior to the Mid-Term NPCU mid June 2025 Review Organize one technical field mission to water point sites prior NPCU May 2025 to MTR Prepare documentary on project implementation, short videos NPCU/comms May 2025 with interview of beneficiaries before the MTR Finance Document all pending Statement of Expenses to have a good NPCU/Finance Immediately/ ongoing amount of balance in the Bank Procurement Organize procurement and contracts management training for NPCU/WB tbc non-procurement staff (e.g. engineers) M&E 12 The third-party monitoring firm shares quarterly supervision, TPM/NPCU Every quarter finance and procurement reports, highlighting key areas of improvement and recommendations to the NPCU on a timely manner The Backstopping Engineering firm to send a one-pager BSE/NPCU Every quarter supervision report for all ongoing construction sites every quarter All FMS project coordinators, with the help of their M&E team Project Every quarter should submit quarterly reports within a week after the end of Coordinators at the quarter to the NPCU FMS NPCU/ National M&E specialist submits quarterly narrative National Every quarter report to the WB M&E/NPCU Provide a report on the gender breakdown of the project staff PIU End April by level and measures being implemented to promote their capacity Once the MIS has been updated, hold an M&E meeting to PIU End March review the TPM E&S reports and E&S section of the MIS and review how to ensure regular update of information for remote sites CIPs Speed up the completion of the CIP reports and translation and PIU asap distribution to communities Publish CIP reports on the Mop website so that government PIU End March and donors can access them and consider funding the non project community priorities. Clarify the community engagement process including the PIU End March community structures capacity building in the POM. Water management Organise a workshop to clarify the water management model PIU/WB Mid April and strengthening including the experiences of ground water project and a presentation of the O&M before the consultant is onboarded. Document how contributions are being collected for PIU End March maintenance of the water points including the haffir dams and include in the community structures monitoring form Community structures strengthening Provide a report on the community structures strengthening PIU End March Promote inclusion of traditional ethnic minorities in PIU asap consultations and project activities and ensure that this is documented in social summary report. E&S 13 Translate the E&S instruments into Somali and disclose PIU End March Train all new staff in the E&S processes and ensure they do the PIU End March online E&S orientation and sign the code of conduct Ensure the GM contacts are publicly available including on the PIU End March MoP website Ensure functionality of GM mechanisms including worker PIU End March GMs Submit the initial E&S instruments for HirShabelle and PIU End April Puntland to the Bank for clearance to ensure quality before moving to post audit review Carry out FMS stakeholder consultations on AF and E&S risks FMS End June and mitigation measures including representatives of women’s and traditional ethnic minority groups Develop a plan for community engagement in the development PIU/WB End July of participatory sustainable land and water management plans. Develop a TOR for ESIAs for the larger water infrastructures PIU End Aug for the AF and decide how it will be implemented. Train the PlUs and the GBV Focal Points on the projects' PIU April 2025 accountability and response framework for SEAH-related grievances Conduct orientation for PIU, GBV focal points, supervising PIU April/May 2025 engineers, contractors on SEA/SH risk managements requirements including CoC for HSS and Puntland state of Somalia. Undertake field visit support and supervision to ensure that PIU May 2025 proposed GBV/SEAH mitigation measures are implemented according to the E&S safeguards instruments and the GBV/SEAH Action Plan Conduct SEAH Safety audits with community members around PIU June 2025 the project sites 14 Annex III. General Project Status and Implementation since last ISM (Somaliland) 27. The mission was officially commenced by Director General Mohamed Saeed of the Ministry of Planning and National Development. During the opening, the Director General expressed his gratitude for the dedication demonstrated by the World Bank task team, the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), and the relevant ministries in executing this significant project. He reassured the team of his and his newly elected government's commitment to achieving the project development objectives. 28. Component 1: Development of Multiple use Water Sources. The rehabilitation of Five (5) existing water points has been completed while contractors for Three (3) new water points have been successfully procured and are to start construction works in early March. Construction Investment Reports (CIRs) have been completed for another 14 new water points with procurement of contractors planned to be completed by December 2025. A progress summary under Component 1 is as in Table 7 below. The process of CIP is being improved through experiences. Post the mission, a community engagement and CIP lessons sharing workshop was held with external partners and project teams on February 24 and 25, 2025. The MTR assessments should contribute to identifying a mechanism to effectively engage with the community, and to ensure an effective operation and maintenance (O&M) modalities to ensure sustainability. Table 7: Summary of progress under Component 1 - Somaliland Types of water Overall target Completed sites under sites under Sites under sites not yet point by 2028 sites construction procurement assessment/design identified 35 (out of 100 18 New total*) 0 3 0 14 (51%) 15 (out of 50 5 (30% of 10 Rehabilitation total*) target) 0 0 (66%) * total project target 29. The mission discussed the opportunity of constructing larger water points at the request of the Ministry of Water. The mission was informed that the MoWRD has recommended the consideration of fewer but larger water points that can reach more people instead of the current practice where the identification of sites is limited to the target of 35 with a budget ceiling. It was discussed and agreed that the current number is not fixed and that the MoWRD has the discretion to select larger water points capable of serving more populations. It was emphasized that the PIU must ensure sufficient safeguards assessments commensurate with the size and scale of the proposed water points are sufficiently completed. 30. Component 2: Development of Agriculture and Livestock Services Around Water Points: Ten Farmer Field Schools (FFS) have been established, providing training to approximately 300 farmers on sustainable land management practices. These practices include the cultivation of drought-resistant crops and soil health management. Farming inputs such as seeds, hand tools, greenhouse geomembrane, and milking equipment have been distributed through the FFS to benefit about 300 households. Community Animal Health Worker (CAHW) training was conducted for individuals at five rehabilitation sites: Ceel Baxay, Labisagaale, Oog, Awbarkhadle, and Holol. Veterinary Drug Kits were distributed to enable the community to provide basic veterinary care, such as deworming, to their livestock. Additionally, training on handling and selling hygienic milk was provided to targeted women, along with milk handling equipment like milk cooling cans, testing kits, and storage tools. This initiative aims to 15 overcome gender barriers and improve community livelihoods by enhancing the milk value chain. The tools provided are expected to reduce post-harvest losses and enable women to access formal markets. value chain. The tolls provided will reduce post-harvest losses and enable women to access the formal markets. 31. Component 3: Development of Environmental Catchment Services in Project Areas: The team has made good progress in designing activities on soil water conservation, invasive species management, and reforestation. Prioritization is needed to identify the activity sequencing and align the budget with the increasing activities. The team noted the delay of some activities design (e.g., two site mapping) due to the discussion needed between PIU and the line ministry regarding budget adjustment. The Bank team also noted the environmental education contract that was ongoing and requested sharing the procurement documents on the design to revisit the necessity to have customized master programs for project staff for the purpose of institutional capacity building. The Bank also noted the very limited disbursement for component 3 as of now. A budget projection was suggested to be prepared for the rest of the fiscal year. 32. Component 4: Project Management, Community Development and Enhancing Livelihoods Planning: On the job-training was provided to ministry of water and resource development water and site engineers for field works. Additionally, advanced surveying tools were procured for feasibility studies of water point project sites. Vehicles have been procured and delivered to Ministry of Agriculture as part of the institutional capacity building endeavor. A new building has been constructed to Ministry of Livestock that will facilitate research on livestock husbandry, trade assessment and marketing. The new building also provides laboratory rooms for veterinary lab research. The current office the PIU use, at the Ministry of Planning and National Development has been renovated and partitioned to serve the purpose. The continuous Environmental and Social safeguards refreshers and bi-weekly meetings with the WB task team have helped in building the skills and capacities of the E&S team. 33. Community Investment Plans: 12 CIPs have been approved, with 38 remaining to be carried out. A second local CIP consultant is being recruited, however further effort is needed by the social/CDD specialist to ensure the CIP reports are finalized and they are translated and shared back to the community quickly. More effort is also needed to ensure that both they and the ministry focal point are aware of their contents and to share the non-project priorities with other ministries and donors to be considered in their plans and funding. Supporting Systems and Processes 34. Water Management Models: From the field mission in November, it was found that communities are reluctant to pay tariffs in practice even though this is discussed at a condition of the project in the community entry meeting and included in the MOU signed by the community and the district government. Thus, other measures need to be considered including for example up front community contributions in cash or kind, to verify community commitment to maintaining the project. Specific estimated costs of maintenance should be discussed with the community led by the Ministry of Water including minor and major maintenance and a plan per site developed. A plan for O&M should be developed by the Ministry of Water drawing from the GW4R study once finalized. 35. Community engagement and gender inclusion: As requested in the last AM, more clarity is needed on the community structures that are being developed/strengthened and to what end. Progress on this and the capacity building measures should be documented as per the ODK community structures assessment and monitoring form, which is yet to be filled. Gender and minority inclusion needs enhancing 16 in all aspects of the project. As requested in the last AM, case studies of active women’s engagement in the VDCs and other structures should be documented and where good practice and innovations are identified some exchange visits by other CIPs should be considered. 36. Procurement: The mission has observed significant progress in the implementation of procurement activities. Most of the procurement actions agreed upon during the previous mission have either been successfully accomplished or are nearing completion. A total of 28 procurement activities were planned (7 for goods, 12 for works and 9 for consulting had been planned. The status of these activities is that 7 for goods (100%), 11 for works (92%) and 7 for consulting (78%) have been completed. The main procurement activities pending are that of the recruitment of the M&E Specialist which is under the shortlisting stage and that of the Third-Party Monitoring which is under the Procurement Plan stage. It was agreed that the procurement process of these activities should be expedited. Regarding capacity building, the Bank conducted a face-to-face training session on Contract Management in Nairobi from October 14th to 17th, 2024. Staff from the PCIU and PIUs attended this training. It is requested that the Client applies the knowledge gained to ensure that contracts are managed effectively and in accordance with the signed agreements. The mission was informed that, in accordance with the Bank's procurement policy, the prior review threshold applies to this project. Consequently, the World Bank will conduct the first post-review of the activities not initially reviewed by the Bank in this fiscal year. The procurement challenges observed and the proposed mitigation measures are shown in Table 8. The procurement rating remains “Moderately Satisfactory.” Table 8: Procurement challenges during the period and the proposed mitigation measures: # Challenge Proposed mitigation measure Staff do not fully understand the critical role of the Terms of Reference (ToRs), • Training and Capacity Building 1 Bills of Quantities (BoQs), and drawings • Utilize the expertise of technical experts. in timely procurement and project success. Engineers and technical staff lack • Training and Capacity Building of the Engineers and the 3 adequate skills to prepare precise and technical staff. complete documentation efficiently. • Utilize the expertise of technical experts. • Establish clear communication channels (regular meetings, Weak collaboration between shared documentation and dedicated communication 4 engineering/technical teams and platforms) procurement departments • Define roles and responsibilities • Encourage cross-functional training. 37. Financial Management: The project accounting capacity supported by consultant financial management specialists was noted to be adequate. The project identified shortcomings in processing payments efficiently within the PIU Office. The project is up to date regarding submission of quarterly interim unaudited financial reports (IFR) to the World Bank including the latest IFR for the quarter ended December 31, 2024, which was submitted before the deadline of February 2025. Both the level of disbursements and budget absorption were noted to be moderately satisfactory at the time of the mission. The project was advised to ensure timely documentation of outstanding advances from the World Bank which stood at US$996,920.19 at the time of the mission. see table 8 below. The latest FM supervision of the project highlighted delays in payment processing, pre-financing of project activities by the PIU team and the need to review and update the EAFS manual to align with current practices. The project was asked 17 to address these gaps in line with the time-bound action plan agreed with the World Bank. The project was advised to ensure timely approval of annual work plans and budgets to facilitate timely implementation of activities. The audit report on project financial statements for FY 2023 was submitted to the Bank before the deadline of June 30, 2024. The auditor expressed unqualified (clean) opinion on the financial statements but highlighted some internal control weaknesses in the management letter which the project was advised to promptly address and close in line with the time bound action plan agreed with the Bank. The ISR rating for financial management arrangements is therefore retained as Moderately Satisfactory whereas the FM risk is deemed Substantial. Table 9: Disbursement status as of February 18, 2025 - IDA E1320(all in US$) # Loan details SL A Original signed amount 19,000,000.00 B Disbursed amount to date 3,590,435.42 C Documented amounts 2,593,515.23 D=B-C Undocumented amounts 996,920.19 A-B Available Balances 15,409,564.58 Environment and Social Risks Management including GBV (Somaliland): The E&S performance is moderately satisfactory. Progress on the AM and other agreed actions has been slow and the team needs to be more proactive in addressing issues and updating them in the tracker. The project E&S instruments have still not been translated into Somali and disclosed, and the team should finalize them asap. The project has registered with the independent complaints mechanism Talk to Loop, but further work is needed on promoting awareness of the GM channels, and ensuring the functionality of the worker GMs. Improvements in the project that are made as a result of complaints received should be documented. The ODK E&S monitoring is being used, although the contractor ESMP tool also needs to be filled. TPM monitoring of E&S issues should be started as soon as the TPM is on board. For the Additional Financing, the SEP will need to be updated with stakeholder consultations carried out including representatives of women and traditional ethnic minority groups. For the Sustainable Land and water management plans, the community engagement process will be more complex and needs to be planned and budgeted. ESIAs are likely to be required for the larger water infrastructure, which will need to be carried out by a consulting firm. For efficiency this could be carried out by the backstopping engineer if they employ social specialists as they will already be assessing many of the environmental aspects as part of their feasibility and CIR reports. 38. The progress on the SEAH prevention and response plan is not accurate and all correspondence need to be copied to the PC for close follow up and supervision. All SEAH actions needs to be included in the tracker. The GBV Specialist needs to ensure regular update of the site-specific service mapping and continuous engagement and awareness on GM for SEA/SH related incidents with women including VDC and other community groups to prevent and mitigate SEA/SH risks associated with the project. There is a need to continue to promote women’s engagement in all aspects of the project. 18 Table 10: Somaliland Actions Agreed and Timeline Agreed Actions Responsible Deadline General Hold the first (since the setup of the new government) inter-ministerial PIU/Ministry of March 2025 steering committee meeting and share minutes Planning Submit Mid-Term Review (MTR) report one month prior to the Mid- PIU Mid-May 2025 Term Review Organize one technical field mission to water point sites prior to MTR PIU April 2025 Prepare documentary on project implementation, short videos with PIU May 2025 interview of beneficiaries before the MTR Conduct analysis of failure of water points under rehabilitation to further PIU April 205 and build O&M mechanisms in project implementation ongoing Organize long-term, hands-on training for ministry engineers by the PIU May 2025 backstopping engineering firm to do quality construction investment reports Explore opportunities of exposure visit to India (the largest milk PIU July 2025 production/selling cooperative) for those women farmers who took the training Develop a roadmap for implementation of the Additional Financing May 2025 Develop ToR for the BSE firm on the pre-feasibility work of additional PIU May 2025 sites/basin level studies Meet with the Backstopping Engineering firm to clearly map out their PIU March 2025 role on component 3 and develop plan of implementation Conduct stakeholders’ consultation to collect input on component 1 – cost PIU Mid-March 2025 increment reviews Procurement Explore possibilities of transiting from prior review to post-review WB By Mid-Term procurement Review 2025 M&E Have the third-party monitoring firm onboard PIU March 2025 Capacity Development plan for the PIU and seconded line ministry staff PIU March 2025 Develop concept note to move from sponsoring individual master’s PIU May 2025 programs to tailored integrated water resource management trainings, with set of modules, online and face to face for wider students from PIU/government staff Provide a report on the gender breakdown of the project staff by level and PIU End April measures being implemented to promote their capacity Once the TPM is on board, fast track the TPM E&S monitoring. PIU End March 19 CIPs Bring onboard the international consults and additional local CIPs PIU Immediately consultant Close monitoring of translation and sharing of CIP reports with the PIU ongoing communities and focal points. Share the non-project priorities with other ministries and donors PIU By end April and documented in the CIP tracking tool. Speed up the completion of the CIP reports and translation and PIU asap distribution to communities Clarify the community engagement process including the community PIU End March structures capacity building in the POM. Water management Develop a plan for O&M of the project water points with the Ministry of PIU End April water drawing on the study being carried out by the GW4R project and defining what minor and major maintenance costs and how they will be covered by the community and government respectively. Strengthen measures for O&M of the water points including contributions PIU End June from communities and develop a plan for each water point with likely maintenance costs and how they will be covered. Community structures strengthening Provide a report on the community structures being established, to what PIU End March end and how E&S Translate the project wide E&S instruments into Somali and PIU End March disclose Raise awareness of GM and ensure functionality of the worker GMs PIU End March Promote inclusion of traditional ethnic minorities in consultations and project activities and ensure that this is documented in social summary report. Carry out stakeholder consultations on AF and E&S risks and mitigation FMS End June measures including representatives of women’s and traditional ethnic minority groups Develop a plan for community engagement in the development of PIU/WB End July participatory sustainable land and water management plans. Develop a TOR for ESIAs for the larger water infrastructures for the AF PIU End Aug and decide how it will be implemented. Finalize the SEAH accountability and response framework - PIU March 2025 Roll out training on the SEAH accountability and response framework for PIU April 2025 all PIU 20 Conduct comprehensive GBV service mapping in all project locations PIU May 2025 Develop a comprehensive M&E plan to monitor work plan PIU June 2025 implementation on GBV/SEAH Capacity Building for all PIUs, Supervising Engineers, contractors on PIU April 2025 SEA/SH risk management Conduct SEAH Safety audits with community members around the PIU June 2025 project sites, Annex IV: Mission Participants Federal Government of Somalia 1 Mohamed Shire Director General, MoPEIC 2 Dr. Abdullahi Elmi Mohamed National Project Coordinator 3 Hussein Abdi Jama National Sr. Procurement and Contract Mgmt Specialist 4 Samira Hassan Senior Financial Management Specialist 5 Abdihakim Nidam Adem Administration Officer 6 Kafi Nidamudin National Social Safeguards Specialist/CDD 7 Maryan Mohamed National Environmental Catchment and Rangeland specialist 8 Ayub Abdirahman Issack Security Management Specialist 9 Omar Abdisalam Communications Specialist 10 Abdirahim Ibrahim Mohamed M&E Specialist 11 Mohamed Hussen Abdi Environment Safeguards Specialist 12 Naima Mohamed Tigow GBV Specialist 13 Abdalla Suleyman Galmudug PIU Project Coordinator 14 Mohamed Osman (virtually) HirShabelle PIU Project Coordinator 15 Abdullahi Ikow (virtually) South West PIU acting Project Coordinator 16 Abshir Mohamed Jubaland PIU Project Coordinator 17 Abdirizak Mohammed Puntland PIU Project Coordinator 18 Hassan Ibrahim Abdullahi South West State, Livestock Specialist and comp 2 focal 19 Hussein Ali Mohamed South West State, Somaliland 1 Mohamed Saed Director General, MoPND 2 Mohamoud Mohamed Abdilahi Project Coordinator 3 Abdulkadir Muhumed Guled Procurement Specialist 4 Mukhtar Ahmed Muhumed Financial Specialist 5 Kamal Abdi Yusuf Communication Specialist 6 Hassan Hussein Abdi Social Safeguard Specialist 7 Kafia Hassan Adam GBV Specialist 8 Abib Hassan Yousuf Environmental Specialist World Bank 1 Raghava Neti Senior Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist 2 James Origa Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist 3 Meseret Tsegaw Consultant (Operations Officer) 21 4 Mi Lin (virtually) Young Professional 5 Rahma Ahmed Consultant (CTG – SL Water Projects Officer) 6 Shair Luli (virtually) Consultant (GBV Specialist) 7 Vanessa Sigrid Tilstone (virtually) Consultant (Senior Social Dev. Specialist) 8 Francis Akolu Muthuiya Senior Procurement Specialist 9 Nyabicha Omurwa Onang'o Consultant (Senior Procurement Specialist) 10 Saam Ahmed Consultant (CTG – component 2 focal person) Embassy of Denmark 1 Jens-Peter Dyrbak Chief Program Advisor 2 Agnes Terp Rask Pedersen Intern Backstopping Engineering Firm (HydroNova) 1 Andrea Cattarossi Project Team Leader 2 Nicola Nardi Engineer 3 Paolo Mastrocola Engineer Third-Party Monitory Firm (Care International) 1 Sandra Ndung'u CARE Team 2 Mohamed Anoy Ali CARE Team 3 Mohamed Abdirizak (virtually) CAER Team 22