The World Bank Education Emergency Response In Afghanistan (eera) (P178758) Additional Financing Appraisal Environmental and Social Review Summary Appraisal Stage (AF ESRS Appraisal Stage) Public Disclosure Date Prepared/Updated: 11/09/2024 | Report No: ESRSAFA853 Nov 15, 2024 Page 1 of 10 The World Bank Education Emergency Response In Afghanistan (eera) (P178758) I. BASIC INFORMATION A. Basic Operation Data Operation ID Product Operation Acronym Approval Fiscal Year P178758 Investment Project Financing (IPF) Education Emergency 2023 Response (EERA) Operation Name Education Emergency Response in Afghanistan (EERA) Country/Region Code Beneficiary country/countries Region Practice Area (Lead) (borrower, recipient) Afghanistan Afghanistan SOUTH ASIA Education Borrower(s) Implementing Agency(ies) Estimated Appraisal Date Estimated Board Date United Nations United Nations Children's Fund 23-Sep-2024 12-Dec-2024 Children's Fund (UNICEF) (UNICEF) Public Disclosure Estimated Decision Total Project Cost Review Date 14-May-2024 100,000,000.00 Proposed Development Objective The Project Development Objective (PDO) is to support access to learning opportunities for girls and boys and improve learning conditions in project-supported schools B. Is the operation being prepared in a Situation of Urgent Need of Assistance or Capacity Constraints, as per Bank IPF Policy, para. 12? No C. Summary Description of Proposed Project Activities This AF is off-budget support to the education sector implemented by UNICEF, with funds flowing outside of the ITA systems and with close coordination across donor platforms. The design is built to respond to an evolving sector context, implementation realities and challenges on the ground, data availability, findings of monitoring activities, and ongoing operational lessons learned. The project takes into consideration UNICEF’s existing capacity as the implementation agency for the project. This AF will (i) continue and scale up the majority of parent project activities, (ii) Nov 15, 2024 Page 2 of 10 The World Bank Education Emergency Response In Afghanistan (eera) (P178758) add new activities focused on education quality and pathways to sustainability, (iii) adjust the RF accordingly, (iv) close a funding gap due to exchange rate fluctuations, and (v) extend the closing date to December 31, 2026. This project has the following components: Component 1: Support Access to Learning Opportunities. The component will support access to basic education with a special focus on out-of-school children. This will be achieved by continuing to support the current cohort of Community-Based Education (CBE) students and facilitating their transition to public hub schools. To strengthen the linkages between CBE students and primary-level schools, the component will enhance the capacity of primary hub schools. The Distance Learning activity will be scaled up to develop and deliver multimodal educational materials to cover science subjects for grades 7-12. Additionally, new activities will support livelihood skills development and job linkage programs for adolescent youth. The Early Childhood Development intervention will be extended to additional parents and caregivers, especially mothers, to build their capacity to effectively support child development. Component 2: Improving Learning Conditions. This component aims to improve learning conditions at project- supported schools by providing safe and inclusive learning spaces for all children, emphasizing gender-focused rehabilitation of school facilities, provision of High-Performance Tents, and teaching and learning materials. This component will also enhance teacher professional development and support learning assessment to improve the quality of learning outcomes. Additionally, a new activity on home-grown school feeding will address critical nutritional deficiencies impacting children's educational performance and attendance by ensuring they receive nutritious daily snacks or meals supplemented with essential nutrients. The component will facilitate returnee children's access to project-supported interventions. Component 3: Strengthening Monitoring and Ensuring Accountability. The component will support improvement in the quality of school-level data collection to feed into the Education Management Information System (EMIS) and strengthen the out-of-date database. It will also support educational data collection. The component will evaluate the teacher training interventions. Furthermore, the component will cover the costs related to Public Disclosure the project implementation and coordination. D. Environmental and Social Overview D.1 Overview of Environmental and Social Project Settings Similar to the parent project, the geographical coverage and scope of the project will remain nationwide under the additional financing. In addition, the AF interventions are expected to expand the coverage of primary schools for the rehabilitation of schools facilities. However, all planned activities under the project are expected to be implemented within the existing footprint. Thus, the project does not result in any involuntary resettlement or land acquisition. In Afghanistan, important gender gaps remain in the education sector; only 40% of girls are enrolled in primary education, as compared to 54% for boys. System-wide bans on female secondary and higher education enrollment persist, with girls excluded from attending secondary and higher education altogether since September 2021. Only one in three boys attends secondary school and boys are at high risk of dropping out at both primary and secondary levels due to the economic crisis. In addition, access to primary education has deteriorated for both girls and boys in the recent years, but especially for girls. This is mainly due to (i) countrywide ban on girls' education beyond grade 6, in addition to the pre-existing cultural norms, (ii) lack of female teachers, (iii) lack of infrastructure (including school buildings and proper WASH facilities), and (iv) insecurity (including distance to schools, lack of boundary walls). In addition, few CBE programs, which were mainly funded through Development Partners (DPs) to support out-of-school children, are suspended in some provinces. D.2 Overview of Borrower’s Institutional Capacity for Managing Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts Nov 15, 2024 Page 3 of 10 The World Bank Education Emergency Response In Afghanistan (eera) (P178758) UNICEF will continue to be the primary implementing partner for the AF project. The agency has gained experience over the past two and half years in preparing and implementing environmental and social (E&S) instruments and documents in compliance with World Bank ESF requirements for projects, specifically those in emergency and FCV contexts. In addition to implementing project in Afghanistan, UNICEF has experience implementing similar project in similar context such as Yemen and South Sudan. Through implementing these projects, UNICEF has demonstrated its capacity to comply with ESF as well as prepare and implement Environmental and Social Commitment Plans (ESCPs), Stakeholder Engagement Plans (SEPs), Environmental and Social Management Frameworks (ESMFs), and other ESF-related documents. UNICEF has standard contracting documents for implementing partners and contractors, where ESF plans, measures, and codes of conduct are included as part of the contract bidding processes for contractors to ensure E&S risks are addressed at all levels. This demonstrates UNICEF’s ability to ensure that ESF standards are cascaded down through its implementing partners and contractors. UNICEF’s E&S policy is contained in its draft Social and Environmental Sustainability Standards and Procedures (SESSP). While these policies are mostly well aligned with the World Bank’s ESF in substance, there are a few gaps. Some of the standards like those pertaining to labor, biodiversity conservation, and cultural heritage have fewer details than that of the World Bank’s ESF. Specific provisions like the requirement for a Labor Management Procedure (LMP), provisions for community workers, and chance find procedures are not included in UNICEF’s standards. UNICEF’s gender policies also do not provide for a specific SEA/SH risk assessment tool like the one that is used by the World Bank. They also do not mandate a Code of Conduct covering SEA/SH in projects. As the EERA project will follow the ESF, further granularity of these gaps will be described and specific measures will be included in the ESMF to ensure compliance with the ESF. Public Disclosure UNICEF has continued its presence and activities in Afghanistan after the collapse of the previous government administration in August 2021. Therefore, it has a very good understanding of the current situation and the ground realities in Afghanistan. It has 13 offices in Afghanistan including Kabul and provinces with 396 staff. Two hundred and fifty-eight of these staff are nationally recruited which provides UNICEF with excellent capacity to implement projects on the ground. The number of female staff is 96. Another noteworthy strength of UNICEF is that it has developed a robust mechanism through agreements with mobile service companies to use SMS text messaging termed Rapid Pro in Afghanistan to communicate with project beneficiaries. Along with a strong in-country presence, UNICEF is able to leverage expertise from its headquarters, and regional offices and hire consultants as required to draft the ESF documents. UNICEF will continue to maintain sufficient capacity for environmental and social risk management, including recruiting at least one dedicated environmental specialist, one dedicated social safeguard specialist, and at least one SEA/SH focal point to oversee the implementation of ESF instruments and will maintain the existing institutional arrangements under AF interventions. World Bank will continue to engage a Third-Party Monitoring Agency (TPMA) to undertake independent results verification of subprojects funded under the project. The TPMA will report quarterly on the activity outputs, the restoration of services for the intended beneficiaries, and the fiduciary and safeguard processes followed by the local partners. The TPMA will monitor and report on implementation and compliance with the ESMF and other environmental and social risk management measures and instruments which were prepared under the parent project and has been revised under the AF project. Nov 15, 2024 Page 4 of 10 The World Bank Education Emergency Response In Afghanistan (eera) (P178758) II. SUMMARY OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL (ES) RISKS AND IMPACTS A. Environmental and Social Risk Classification (ESRC) Substantial A.1 Environmental Risk Rating Moderate The environmental risks of the project will remain “Moderate” under the AF. Components 1 and 3 are not likely to cause any significant or adverse environmental impacts. The project’s key environmental risks and impacts are related to civil works under Component 2. The potential environmental risks include (a) issues relating to on-site storage of construction material; (b) storage and disposal of construction waste; (c) generation of noise and dust during construction; (d) storage and disposal of wastewater related to WASH facilities; and (e) limited capacity of the contractors to implement E&S risk management measures. In addition, there will be occupational health and safety (OHS) risks to workers during civil works as well as the OHS risks and impacts associated with kitchens, gardens and bakeries under the school feeding sub-component. As the works are confined within the existing footprint and small scale, they are not likely to generate significant adverse environmental impacts. The potential impacts are predictable, and expected to be temporary, reversible, low in magnitude, site-specific (limited to the immediate surroundings), and can be managed through the implementation of the site-specific ESMPs. The eligible schools will receive the rehabilitation packages (including gender disaggregated WASH facilities, boundary walls, solar energy, classrooms, and HPTs) which would make positive environmental and health and safety impacts on teachers, students, support staff and visitors, and encourage girls enrolment. Substantial A.2 Social Risk Rating Public Disclosure The social risks will remain “Substantial” under the additional financing. The key social risks include (a) possible tension and conflicts among beneficiary communities and districts; (b) tension over selection of women and youth to become school-feeding providers and to support the production and use of local ingredients; ( c) social inequalities, exclusion and discrimination of certain categories of people, especially vulnerable and marginalized groups in implementing Component 1 (CBE); (d) high SEA/SH risks in schools; (e) safety risks to building users (students, teachers, visitors, and other support staff) during the execution of construction works; (f) occupational health and safety risks to workers during construction; (g) minor labor influx affecting security and mobility of girls and women within the school and larger community; and (h) low capacity of NGOs and contractors to manage E&S risks following ESF . The possible occurrence of conflict (including armed conflict) and/or terrorist attacks on schools/project workers is also an important contextual risk that may affect the safety of the project actors. Furthermore, the project initiative to provide the tents for learning spaces could result in additional life and fire risks. Overall, the project activities are expected to have significant positive social impacts on the education sector in Afghanistan as they will safeguard education achievements obtained over the past 20 years and contribute to future nation-building efforts. This AF project ensures that learning continues, in a safe and secure environment for all children. B. Environment and Social Standards (ESS) that Apply to the Activities Being Considered B.1 Relevance of Environmental and Social Standards ESS1 - Assessment and Management of Environmental and Social Risks and Impacts Relevant Nov 15, 2024 Page 5 of 10 The World Bank Education Emergency Response In Afghanistan (eera) (P178758) This standard will remain relevant under the AF interventions. The E&S performance remained satisfactory under the implementation of the parent project. Under the parent project Component 2, all the required assessments and site screening were completed based on the project ESMF. Considering the AF activities will not result in additional E&S risks and impacts, the AF project will expand its Component 2 coverage which will include increase number in the provision and setting up of school rehabilitation packages in selected schools. Environmental and social impacts during construction would remain as identified under the parent project, which include dust, noise, worksite, and community health and safety, Life and Fire Safety, waste generation, labor issues, security management and storage and disposal of wastewater related to WASH facilities. In addition, the newly added subcomponent of school feeding will lead to waste generation and also entail OHS related risks and impacts. Component 2 (rehabilitation work), may also have potential social risks/impacts such as child labor, forced labor, and possible risks of excluding children from poor and vulnerable groups and individuals displaced by past conflict and security situations in the country. Furthermore, the risk of exclusion and nepotism during the selection process of NGOs is also considered a potential risk, which will be addressed by applying clear and transparent selection criteria and an inclusive and participatory decision-making process to ensure a fair and transparent selection process. An Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP) and a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) which were prepared under the parent project has been revised, updated, and will be disclosed by appraisal together with this ESRS. The ESCP outlines the commitment of UNICEF, which will be cascaded down to implementing NGOs and contractors, to screen, assess, and manage E&S risks and impacts while the SEP embodies the consultation, information disclosure, and engagement processes to be undertaken by the project throughout at all stages of the AF project implementation. The Environment Social Management Framework (ESMF) The Environment Social Management Framework (ESMF) submitted by the Recipient to the World Bank on November 5, 2024, covering the proposed Project design, except for Public Disclosure the Home-Grown School Feeding activity under Part 2.5 of the financing agreement, which is in substance acceptable to the Bank, subject to the incorporation of further feedback and comments by the World Bank. This ESMF will be revised to include this activity and disclosed by the Recipient in-country, and agreed that the updating, adoption and disclosure of the ESMF will be a disbursement condition for Part 2.5 of the financing agreement. The ESMF already includes an E&S screening template, a generic ESMP to manage the impacts of minor rehabilitation works, a LMP, and measures to manage OHS and Community Health & Safety (CHS) risks, including Emergency Preparedness Response (EPR) and Life & Fire Safety (L&FS). The ESMF also has an exclusion list covering activities that will not be supported by the project. Furthermore, the ESMF includes monitoring and supervision, reporting requirements, capacity building and training, and cost estimation provision. It also includes a brief description of the UN Security Protocol and any measures necessary to ensure consistency between the Protocol and the ESF requirements. In addition, UNICEF will update the current SEA/SH action plan. The generic ESMP includes mitigation measures to address construction waste management and pollution control including wastewater management, OHS, Covid-19 Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), labor issues, SEA/SH risks management, and other environmental and social impacts that may arise during the project operational phase. UNICEF will conduct the E&S risk screening of each sub-project under component 2 and the contractor will implement site-specific mitigation measures following the generic ESMP. The implementation of E&S instruments will be regularly monitored and reported on by UNICEF. As part of broader monitoring oversight, the existing Third-Party Monitoring Agent (TPMA) will be engaged for E&S risk management monitoring. The TPMA will provide quarterly reports covering field-level E&S issues. ESS10 - Stakeholder Engagement and Information Disclosure Relevant Nov 15, 2024 Page 6 of 10 The World Bank Education Emergency Response In Afghanistan (eera) (P178758) UNICEF has revised and updated the Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) that was developed under the parent project . The updated SEP was finalized and publicly disclosed in-country by UNICEF before appraisal. However, the SEP was further updated reflecting the new activity under subcomponent 2.5 :Home-Grown School Feeding” and redisclosed on November 5, 2024. The SEP lays out the plan for meaningful consultations and engagement with all stakeholders throughout the project lifecycle. The SEP describes the strategy and specific methods of engagement that would facilitate the effective participation of the different affected groups, including women and girls. The SEP delineates the roles and responsibilities for the implementation of the SEP, as well as monitoring and reporting Mechanism(s). It also describes the principles, processes, and structures of the project-level grievance redressal mechanism(s) (GRM) which is sensitive to SEA/SH grievances. The stakeholders under the AF are the same, which were identified under the parent project, these include primary school teachers, school administrators, students, adolescent youth and their parents, community members and leaders including religious leaders (Mullah Imams) as well as relevant NGOs and CSOs and contractors. Additional actors related to component 2.5 identified in the SEP are school feeding production units (women, youth, and small business owners ) and students are also the first beneficiary of School Feeding. SEP is considered as a live document that could be updated during the implementation of the AF intervention based on ongoing consultations. UNICEF will continue to identify and engage, through meaningful consultations, with all stakeholders, paying special attention to the inclusion of women, and vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. The SEP acknowledges the challenges of engaging with marginalized and vulnerable social groups such as internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, pastoral nomads, and those living in remote or inaccessible areas and proposes strategies to engage with them. The Project will continue to ensure that information disclosure takes place in an ongoing and satisfactory manner with clear and accessible messaging on principles of fair, equitable, and inclusive access to education. While the channel of communication may be restricted to electronic/ Public Disclosure virtual methods so that face-to-face interaction is minimized or avoided, the Project will ensure that stakeholder engagement takes place on an ongoing basis, at different levels, with different partners, and in a culturally appropriate manner. UNICEF will take advantage of its existing SMS text messaging-based grievance redress mechanism, Rapid Pro to communicate with project beneficiaries. Rapid Pro will also be a part of the project’s GRM as mentioned in the SEP. ESS2 - Labor and Working Conditions Relevant ESS2 will remain relevant under the AF interventions. The AF project implementation will involve direct workers and contracted workers. A Labor Management Procedure (LMP) which was prepared under the parent project has been updated, which will be part of the ESMF prior to UNICEF entering into a contract with Implementing Partners to guide the minimization and mitigation of labor-related risks and impacts. The AF project activities will be conducted mainly by direct workers and contractors of the Project such as community-based educators, employees of implementing partners, and construction workers. While the number of workers may not be estimated at the current stage, no large-scale labor influx is expected. The key occupational health and safety risks are in relation to communicable diseases, labor-related issues such as child labor, discrimination, working conditions, workplace injuries and fatalities, and risks associated with SEA/SH. During the project implementation, labor management-related risks and OHS issues affecting the workers of the implementing agency and contracted workers will continue to be monitored and managed. As all workers will be coming into close contact with communities, the LMP includes a specific SEA/SH code of conduct, prohibiting any form of forced or child labor, as well as a general code for interacting with communities and partners. The Project GRM is consistent with both ESS2 and ESS10 to enable workers and project stakeholders to access the GRM system under the AF project. The use of forced labor or the use of child labor for any person under Nov 15, 2024 Page 7 of 10 The World Bank Education Emergency Response In Afghanistan (eera) (P178758) the age of 18 in hazardous work situations is prohibited and will be regularly monitored by UNICEF and TPMA during the project Sycle. UNICEF, implementing NGOs, and contractors will continue to implement adequate OHS (including emergency preparedness and response measures), LMP and ESMP measures in line with the ESMF and the ESCP. The OHS, LMP, and ESMP measures as spelled out in the ESMF will consider the World Bank Group's General Environment, Health, and Safety Guidelines (EHSGs) as well as ESS2 requirements. ESS3 - Resource Efficiency and Pollution Prevention and Management Relevant ESS3 will remain relevant to the project due to the construction works proposed under Component 2 of the additional financing. . In addition the school feeding activities will entail waste generation impacts. Activities pertaining to facilities improvement of the selected schools would continue to carefully consider resource efficiency and pollution management aspects such as (a) sanitation, (b) water availability and quality, (c) environmentally augmentative measures related to energy and water efficiency, and, (d) waste management (including construction waste). The ESMF includes measures for the efficient use of resources and measures for preventing/ managing pollution, that can be incorporated into civil work designs for improvement/rehabilitation of already existing school buildings, construction, and operation and to avoid adverse impacts on human health and the environment. Incorporation of these aspects into the project design and implementation will enhance the quality of the physical environment in the schools, enhance health and safety, and reduce the environmental footprint linked to the use and operations of buildings. It is expected that there will be minimal water requirements as well as negligible greenhouse gas emissions from the project. ESS4 - Community Health and Safety Relevant Public Disclosure ESS4 remains relevant under the AF, as the proposed activities can pose community health and safety risks and impacts arising from small-scale civil works in selected schools as well as Life and Fire Safety (L&FS) and emergency preparedness and response (EPR) for students, teachers, and employees. To ensure the risks pertaining to L&FS are mitigated through a detailed Emergency Preparedness and Response procedures, evacuation drills will further enhance the arrangements to respond in case of any events. Sub-project activities under AF will continue to be screened and assessed for community health and safety impacts and risks such as issues related to community safety during civil works in schools situated in congested rural and urban areas; restriction of access during construction; health and safety due to works; civil works outside regular working hours, etc. The ESMF also include the identification of necessary measures to manage increased traffic to carry goods for construction. Adequate safety training and safety gear will be provided for workers by the relevant contractors with whom they will be working, and road safety issues will be addressed through appropriate provisions in works contracts. The SEP (see ESS10) describes respective measures, including engagement with communities when needed, regarding communication and outreach. In order to manage the contextual security risks to beneficiaries and workers, UNICEF has developed Security Management Framework (SMF) and will continue to implement and cause the implementing NGOs and contractors to adhere to the measures under SMF. To manage SEA/SH risks at the community and school levels, UNICEF will update and implement the SEA/SH Action Plan, which shall include time bound and resourced actions with plans and indicators for monitoring. ESS5 - Land Acquisition, Restrictions on Land Use and Involuntary Resettlement Not Currently Relevant This standard is not relevant as the project activities are restricted to the premises of the existing facilities. Nov 15, 2024 Page 8 of 10 The World Bank Education Emergency Response In Afghanistan (eera) (P178758) ESS6 - Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Management of Living Natural Not Currently Relevant Resources This standard is not relevant as the proposed civil works will take place in existing footprints/building premises. ESS7 - Indigenous Peoples/Sub-Saharan African Historically Underserved Traditional Not Currently Relevant Local Communities This standard is not relevant as there are no Indigenous People that meet the criteria of ESS7 in the country that could potentially benefit or be adversely affected by the Project’s activities. ESS8 - Cultural Heritage Not Currently Relevant This standard is not relevant as the project will not have any impact on the cultural heritage, as the rehabilitation of school infrastructure work will be conducted on the existing school infrastructure or proximity. However, the updated ESMF includes chance finds procedures. ESS9 - Financial Intermediaries Not Currently Relevant The standard is not relevant as the Project does not include financial intermediaries. B.2 Legal Operational Policies that Apply Public Disclosure OP 7.50 Operations on International Waterways No OP 7.60 Operations in Disputed Areas No B.3 Other Salient Features Use of Borrower Framework No Use of borrower framework is not considered for this project. Use of Common Approach No not applicable C. Overview of Required Environmental and Social Risk Management Activities C.1 What Borrower environmental and social analyses, instruments, plans and/or frameworks are planned or required by implementation? The ES instruments already prepared in the parent project have been updated for AF activities. An Environmental and Social Commitment Plan (ESCP) and a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) which were prepared under the parent project have been updated and submitted together with this ESRS. Nov 15, 2024 Page 9 of 10 The World Bank Education Emergency Response In Afghanistan (eera) (P178758) The Environment Social Management Framework (ESMF) which was prepared under the parent project will be updated and publicly disclosed after effectiveness. The ESMF includes E&S screening templates, ESMP template to manage the impacts of minor rehabilitation works, LMP, and measures to manage OHS and CHS risks, including EPR and L&FS. III. CONTACT POINT World Bank Task Team Leader: Elena Maria Roseo Title: Senior Operations Officer Email: eroseo@worldbank.org IV. 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 Public Disclosure V. APPROVAL Task Team Leader(s): Elena Maria Roseo ADM Environmental Specialist: Sayed Mujtaba Shobair ADM Social Specialist: Mohammad Yasin Noori Nov 15, 2024 Page 10 of 10