On Tuesday March 9, the Board of the World Bank approved a grant from the International Development Association (IDA) amounting $75 million, to finance the Adaptive Social Protection for Increased Resilience (ASPIRE).

This project will support Haiti's efforts to establish an adaptive social safety net system to respond to shocks, including the Covid-19 pandemic crisis and reduce the country's vulnerability to food insecurity and future natural disasters.

"Social protection systems can advance human capital, reduce inequalities, build resilience, and break the cycle of poverty," said Javier Suarez, Head of World Bank operations in Haiti, adding "This project offers immediate resources to help the poorest households, while supporting the country in the implementation of its social protection program in order to develop resilience as well as human capital, in the medium term."

An adaptive social protection system enables vulnerable households to develop their resilience by investing in their capacities to prepare for, respond to and adapt to shocks. The ASPIRE project will provide immediate support to poor and vulnerable households, while strengthening their resilience through unconditional cash transfers and measures to improve health, nutrition and financial inclusion. The project provides for an expansion of cash transfers in emergencies, such as natural disasters or health crises. It will also support the capacity building of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MAST) with a view to improving the management and governance of social protection programs.

Unconditional cash transfers will be offered to 18,000 households (approximately 90,000 people), including extremely poor families, living in rural areas prone to natural disasters, including young children, pregnant women or people with reduced mobility. The project will initially focus on the department of Grand'Anse. It will also establish the foundations necessary for the implementation of the national policy of social protection and promotion, allowing 200,000 additional households to be registered in the social register of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor.

HL/ HaitiLibre