OPERATIONS PLAN MALAWI MARCH 2015

Transcription

1 OPERATIONS PLAN MALAWI MARCH 2015 Government of Malawi 1

2 Contents ACRONYMS... 3 SECTION 1: GENERAL INFORMATION... 4 SECTION 2: COUNTRY DROUGHT PROFILE... 5 SECTION 3: INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS SECTION 4: RISK TRANSFER PARAMETERS SECTION 5: SCENARIO DEFINITION AND GEORGRAPHIC COVERAGE SECTION 6: INTERVENTION DETAILS SECTION 7: M&E FRAMEWORK AND PLAN SECTION 8: PROGRAM RISKS AND ASSUMPTIONS SECTION 9: DEFINITION OF STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES Annex 1: Cash Transfer Organigram Annex 2: Livelihood zones Annex 3: Roles and responsibilities Annex 4: Cash transfer Operations Manual and Targeting Guidelines

3 ACRONYMS ARC ARV CMT CPCs DC DCO DFID DoCC&MS DoDMA DoS EW FIP GoM GTPA HRC LZ MoAIWD MoDPC MGDS MVAC NDPRC NGO NSCTPS SCTP TA TWG WFP African Risk Capacity Africa RiskView Country Management Team Civil Protection Committees District Commissioner District Commissioner s Office Department for International Development (UK) Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services Department of Disaster Management Affairs Department of Surveys Early Warning Final Implementation Plan Government of Malawi Grain Traders and Processors Association Humanitarian Response Committee Livelihood Zones Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development Ministry of Development Planning and Cooperation Malawi Growth and development Strategy Malawi Vulnerability assessment National Disaster Preparedness and Relief Committee Non-Governmental Organisation National Social Cash Transfer Programme Secretariat Social Cash Transfer Programme Traditional Authority Technical Working Group World Food Programme 3

4 SECTION 1: GENERAL INFORMATION Name of Country: Contact Person for Country Operations Plan Malawi James Chiusiwa, Director of Disaster Risk Reduction , Chiusiwaj@yahoo.com Step1: Provide a brief overview of ARC, parametric weather insurance, risk of drought, and the purpose of the operation plan. Malawi faces multiple hazards in both rural and urban areas, including floods, heavy storms, droughts, dry spells, epidemics, fire incidents, landslides, earthquakes and HIV/AIDS. Environmental degradation, poverty, rapid urbanization and lack of effective disaster risk reduction efforts compound the vulnerability of the population and have consequently exacerbated the impact of hazards. Disasters play a significant role in increasing poverty of rural and urban households and erode the ability of the national economy to invest in the key social programmes important to poverty reduction. Major disasters also have a substantial impact on the national budget, including unplanned expenditures, widening fiscal deficits and increased domestic borrowing. These factors contribute to rising domestic interest rates and added inflation. As a result of climate change, weather-related hazards are becoming more frequent, intense and unpredictable. While Malawi experienced 40 weather related disasters between 1970 and 2006, the number of people affected by these disasters has increased sharply since The impact of these changes on the livelihood of people has also increased and government and other partners have the substantial responsibility of protecting the lives and livelihoods of its citizens affected by disasters. The African Risk Capacity (ARC) provides parametric weather insurance coverage to African governments for agricultural seasons in case of drought. In return for premium payments into the mutual, governments are eligible to receive a payout of up to USD 30 million. With Malawi s significant exposure to catastrophic drought events, the ARC could help to improve the management of this risk and, if disaster strikes, enable a more timely humanitarian response. Droughts significantly threaten record GDP growth in sub-saharan Africa. A 1-in-10 year drought event would have an estimated adverse impact of 4% on the annual GDP of Malawi, with even larger impacts for 1-in-15 and 1-in-25 year events. At the household level, the consequences of droughts can be devastating. An ARC cost-benefit analysis (CBA) examined existing evidence regarding the timing of household coping actions when faced with a drought and the likely long-term cost impacts of these actions. From this baseline, the study then estimated the economic benefits in acting early and thus protecting a household s economic growth potential that is intervening in time to prevent households negative coping actions such as reduced food consumption, livestock death, and distressed productive asset sales, which, in the absence of external assistance, have increasingly pronounced 4

5 negative consequences. The CBA calculates the economic benefits of getting aid to house- holds in the critical three months after harvest could result in nearly USD 1,300 per household assisted in terms of protected economic gains. In order to improve resilience to natural disasters, two key elements are required: risk management and investment. Investments that support longterm resilience against food insecurity can address chronic risks and provide a base of predictable on-going assistance that can support poor and vulnerable households to build assets and livelihoods, which will in turn develop resilience to cope with normal and somewhat frequent, mild shocks without external assistance. From this base level of in- vestment, sound risk management becomes critical. This is where a tool such as ARC can offer the most value, providing dedicated contingency funds that can scale up safety net systems in a reliable, timely manner, allowing them to remain solvent and sustainable, protecting hard-won gains for households, and reducing countries reliance on emergency appeals. Malawi is persistently affected by dry spells and some years the situation is approaching drought. Pockets can be severely affected. However this was rarely sufficient to trigger the National Weather Insurance which was in place until The advantage of ARC for Malawi is that the ARV technology is able to identify dry spells and droughts at a disaggregated and localised level and allows for funds to be channelled to interventions reaching the affected populations in a timely fashion, unlike any other previous response. This quick initial support will allow other resources to be mobilised. SECTION 2: COUNTRY DROUGHT PROFILE Step 2: Describe the general pattern of rainfall and seasonal calendar. Malawi s climate is subtropical with a generally hot rainy season, which normally runs from November to April. Annual rainfall ranges from about 600 to 3,000 mm, being generally greatest at higher elevations, and least in the Lower Shire Valley (Mkanda et al, 1995). The rains can start as early as October, especially in the south of the country and can end as late as May, especially in the north of the country Annual, Seasonal and Monthly Rainfall: With the definition of the onset of the rains given in the next section, it was decided that the calculation of total annual rainfall would begin on November 1 of a given year and end on October 31 the following year. Seasonal rainfall was determined by adding daily rainfall for the months within the rainy season in Malawi, that is, November to April (Mkanda et al., 1995). Monthly rainfall was calculated by adding daily rainfall for each calendar month for every year. Length of Actual Rainy Season Start and End of Rains: The rainy or wet season in Malawi is normally regarded as the period covering the months of November up to April/May. Given the year to year variability, it was necessary first to define start of rains and end of rains before length of the actual 5

6 rainy season could be determined for each year. In defining start of the rains the Department of Meteorological Services (DMS) takes into consideration the time for the establishment of the main rain bearing systems, namely Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and Congo Air mass. ITCZ climatologically gets established over Malawi in November. Prior to November, rainfall is mainly through thermal storms discontinuous in distribution over time and space. For practical purposes, DMS considers that onset does not start until 1st November. The following is a paraphrased definition of start of rains from DMS: Occurrence of at least 40 mm of rainfall accumulated within 10 days (i.e. from or after 1st November) and not to be followed by a dry spell of 10 or more consecutive days within one month. As for end of rains the following paraphrased definition from DMS was used: End of rains is marked by an accumulation of rainfall not exceeding 25mm in 15 days beginning 15th March i.e. if the 15-day period is after 15th March. Actual length of rainy season for each year was determined by counting number of days from start of rains to end of rains. In Malawi, droughts and dry spells are the key hazard affecting most rural households. They occur on local, regional and national scales, causing food shortages, water scarcity, declines in national maize production, and reduced harvests. The prominence of drought can be seen by looking at the succession of national level droughts in Malawi over the last 20 years. The most notable of these were the droughts that occurred during the ; ; and seasons. These droughts caused substantial crop losses, decimated livestock populations, and left much of the population unable to meet their basic food needs. In Malawi suffered one of its worst droughts in a decade; more than 5 million people, out of a population of 12 million people, experienced food shortages. The successive nature of the recent droughts has meant that households have not had sufficient time to recover from any given drought episode. In the past it was easier to predict when drought would affect the southern districts of Nsanje and Chikwawa, but more recently localized droughts are occurring at random without any predictable pattern When shocks like droughts occur, households with low resilience resort to coping mechanisms that are destructive and often irreversible which destroy their future earning potential. The intended response programmes outlined in this document, to be deployed in the event of an ARC payout, aim to provide food and financial support to the affected households to save their lives, protect their livelihoods and improve their resilience to future shocks. Regions Likely To Be Affected: Malawi is divided into 19 Livelihood Zones (LZs) which are used for food security analysis allowing for comparison of relatively homogenous areas. It also allows for intervention recommendations that are appropriate for the specific livelihood zone. Of the 19, the LZs that are most prone to drought and suffer a significant impact as a result of a drought include: Middle Shire, Lower Shire, Rift Valley Escarpment, Lake Chilwa-Phalombe Plain, and Central Karonga. Districts that fall within the mentioned LZs above include: Balaka, Mwanza, Neno, Blantyre, Machinga, Zomba, Phalombe, Mulanje, Chiradzulu, Ntcheu, Dedza, Salima, Ntchisi, Nkhotakota, Karonga, Chikhwawa and Nsanje. 6

7 Socio-Economic Characteristics: The majority of the population in the drought-affected areas is composed of low income households, producing in a low rainfall climate, with small land holding sizes and limited livelihood options. Most farmers depend on rain-fed agriculture. The total current population (2013) for the area (selected LZs) is The specific District population is as follows: For Livelihood Zone Map See Annex 2 The livelihood zones vulnerabilities have been profiled based on household data collected from the Household Economic Assessment (HEA) to capture the most likely affected populations. The livelihood zones vulnerabilities have been profiled based on household data collected from the Household Economic Assessment (HEA) to capture the most likely affected populations. The total population of also includes the following demographics to which this plan is paying special attention: Under 5s Pregnant and Lactating Mothers Women headed households Drought in Malawi has been defined as mild, medium and severe based on a percentage rainfall deficit from the 10-year average equivalent to 10%, 20% and 30% respectively. For a medium drought in these areas, the estimated total number of people affected is 1.1 million people, translating to households. A severe drought, would affect households, in excess of people Step 3 Insert pictorial version of your country s seasonal calendar (e.g. FEWSNET or others). If possible, include major agricultural activities and timeframe and major regular surveys and assessments and major meetings/gatherings/workshops related to agricultural activities and drought and timeframe. Make sure to cite your source. 7

8 Table 1: Seasonal Calendar of maize and Critical Events Timeline: Figure 1. Seasonal Calendar Malawi Step 4: Describe the general country drought conditions for the past 10 years ( ). Please refer to the work performed by the ARV Customization TWG in generating a consensus list of past drought events. If possible, list key regions/provinces impacted by the drought and add references to any other supporting evidence, if available, to describe the food security condition around the drought event (e.g. a severity classification scheme used by your food security Early Warning processes such as from ARV or IPC). 8

9 Table 2: Historical Drought Conditions (Malawi Vulnerability Assessment) Key Location National (if possible, enter any key sub-national data/information) Year Large-scale Localized Localised dry Mild Mild Mild Mild drought pockets of spells drought drought drought drought impacting drought impacting impacting localised impacting impacting most of the mainly the mostly pockets mostly mostly Severe south part of the the the drought that the country southern southern southern impacted part of part of part of most of the the the the regions in the country country country country and parts and parts and parts Regions A&B of the of the of the central central central and and northern northern region region Where possible, include Africa RiskView output and graphs along with any other information available and relevant to explaining the country historical drought profile. Step 5: Describe the impact of drought in your country in the past 10 years in terms of number of individuals/households requiring assistance. At a minimum complete row A, which shows the number of affected as defined by the ARV output. If there are other official sources of vulnerability numbers for historical years, please list in rows B and C, making sure to include the source name. Include additional graphs, charts, and statistics where appropriate. For the past 10 years the country has been experiencing episodes of prolonged dry spells. These have affected many households leading to scorching or poor production of crops in the field. Many households have been affected recurrently leading to chronic food insecurity. The Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC) is mandated to assess food security and livelihood vulnerability in the country to determine the extent of the damage and also number of people affected. The assessments are conduced twice a year soon after the beginning of the harvesting period in May/June, and later at the start of lean season in October/November. In the past decade, the worst drought was experienced in the 2004/05 agriculture season causing over 5 million people to be 9

10 food insecure in all districts of the country during the 2005/06 food consumption season. This was followed by the 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 agriculture seasons whereby a total of 1.9 million and 1.8 million people became food insecure in the 2012/13 and 2013/14 consumption seasons respectively requiring food assistance. Table 3 Historical Impact of Drought Impact of drought by data source Year A # of affected determined by MVAC[source: ] 1,343,640 4,172, , ,900 1,490, , , ,854 1,972,993 1,343,640 *ARV estimates include only those that are affected as a result of a poor rainfall season while MVAC figures do no isolate other factors that can lead to food insecurity as such the figures above includes other factors but a bigger portion of this is a result of drought Step 6: Describe the historical response to drought in your country in the past 10 years in terms of number of individuals/households who received assistance. Where possible, indicate the program activity (e.g. cash transfer, food assistance, etc.) and the source or implementing partner (e.g. WFP, Government, UNICEF, etc.). Row D provides the format of how you should present the information (if possible). Rows E-G provide examples of possible sources. Response to drought By activity and source Year D # Individuals assisted Targeted Food Distribution and Cash transfer programm sources: DoDMA department of economic Planning and Development/ WFP 1,035,332 4,315, , ,748 1,045, , , ,166 1,829,867 E Individuals assisted through 61,811 70, , , ,790 41,129 53,846 64,198 64,932 supplementary feeding ( Possible sources: MoH/WFP/UNICEF) F Individuals assisted through therapeutic feeding (Possible sources MoH/UNICEF/WFP) 15,849 33,474 31,505 14,516 12,900 6,895 3,711 1,

11 Example of a Recent Drought Experience: 2011/12 As a result from the 2011 drought, estimated by the MVAC to have affected 2 million people, the majority of the affected population did not have sufficient food stocks to last them to the next growing season. These households lacked financing to procure maize that was available in the market, and had likely also suffered the loss of the previous year s crop due to dry spells, further eroding their resilience. The MVAC Nutrition Report for December 2012 indicated that morbidity was high in the Lower Shire Livelihood Zone (63.4%) and for Shire Highlands LZ (52%) as a result of disease conditions associated with malnutrition, diarrhoea and fever with difficult breathing. The assessment also indicated that both crude and under five mortality rates were below 1 death per 10,000 persons per day. Example of a Severe Drought Experience: 2004/05 An early end to the 2004/05 rainfall season resulted in a devastating maize shortfall in January and February of Production dropped roughly by 30%, making it the worst maize season in 10 years. As maize is the predominant staple crop in Malawi, the poor harvest resulted in a 20% shortfall in food available to meet consumption needs through 2005 into the following agricultural season. This in turn affected over 5 million Malawians, accounting for approximately 40% of the population. The shortages caused a significant increase in the price of maize, making it unaffordable to vulnerable groups, particularly those affected by HIV/AIDS, who were already spending scarce resources on medications. Under such magnitudes of drought, early response activities were vital to save the lives of the affected households. In October and November 2005 the government imported approximately 200, ,000 MT of maize from the South African market for emergency response 11

12 SECTION 3: INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS Step 7: Describe the existing institutional arrangements in place to manage a drought response. The section can refer to other documents for more details, but these documents should be provided as annexes to the Operations Plan. 7.1 Does existing national policy and legislation related to drought exist? If yes, please give more details. Is there existing national policy and legislation related to other disaster risk management issues? If yes, please explain. 7.2 How do existing early warning (EW) processes function? What information are produced regularly, how is the analysis, do partners have access to that information, how helpful is the EW in detecting/mitigating drought and what are the major constraints In early 2015, the Cabinet approved the National Disaster Risk Management Policy. However, it is worth mentioning that policy priority area six Strengthening preparedness capacity for effective response and recovery recognises and acknowledges that strengthening preparedness capacity is key to ensuring rapid and effective response. It further acknowledges that effective disaster response and recovery is dependent on stakeholders and communities being in a state of preparedness to deal with different types of disasters which the country is prone to. However, there exists a Disaster Preparedness and Relief Act of 1991 which gives mandate to the DoDMA as the institution responsible for dealing with disasters. The act further established civil protection committees at district and community levels in order to assist in achieving effective response operations. Needless to say, while the policy, which is very new, addresses risk management issues as well, the Act is solely aligned to disaster response. The process to align this act with the policy has already begun. Early Warning Processes Core institutions which collect information on EW include Department of Climate Change, DODMA, Ministry of Agriculture, FewsNet, MVAC, Ministry of Local government (District Assemblies) and others. At the start of every Agriculture season, the Department of Climate Change issues a National Seasonal Forecast for the country indicating how the season is expected to perform in terms of rainfall (i.e. rainfall patterns, areas which are expected to receive high or low rains). The information will help in the planning process and updating of the national disaster contingency plan which is normally led by Department of Disaster Management. Ministry of Agriculture is also the core user of the information. The Department of Climate Change will then continue issuing the 10 day Rainfall and Agro metrological Bulletin, which also helps in the disaster awareness campaigns and Agriculture planning. In addition to monitoring for food insecurity and slow onset disasters like dry spells, FEWSNET also produces monthly food security and Agriculture performance bulletins for the country. Three to four times a year, the Ministry of Agriculture also conducts Agriculture Production Estimates. The estimates will indicate total production in the country and also map out areas with deficits. The reports forms part of the annual food security assessment done by MVAC at the end of the rainy season. The MVAC report will project the number of food insecure 12

13 population due to a number of factors including disasters like dry spells. The report will then will be used by the humanitarian response committee for food security programming. Challenges The major challenge is the Government Budget process which comes months after the end of the Agriculture season, making it difficult to plan for emergencies or procurement and redistribution of food and other programmes. However a tool such ARC could help to overcome this situation when a payout occurs. 7.3 Describe the existing contingency planning (CP) procedures for drought. The Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) under Theme 3, Social Support and Disaster Risk Management which states explicitly Drought has also led to food insecurity in some places requiring humanitarian assistance. Activities under this theme are aimed at developing an integrated early warning system and implementing mitigation measures in disaster-affected areas. The main instrument for this is the annual national contingency plan for Malawi, written by the Department of Disaster Management Affairs (DoDMA), which allows the government and its partners to plan for disasters with the aim of minimizing loss of life and protecting community assets. The contingency plan is multi hazard and drought is just one of the components addressed. The development of the plan is based on the seasonal forecast produced by the Department of Meteorology outlining the anticipated rainfall performance for the season. Based on these projections, scenarios are created with an emphasis on either drought related activities if the forecast projects drier conditions, or flood related activities if the forecast projects more rain than normal conditions. The proposed ARC activities outlined in this plan are complementary to the proposed actions in the national contingency plan. 13

14 7.4 Describe the drought response coordination mechanism. Make sure to indicate coordination between government and major non-government institutions and the coordination between the national and regional institutions Indicate whether institutions in charge of mitigating drought have office in drought prone regions? Describe in detail the regional linkages. In Malawi, the principle cause of food insecurity as measured by the MVAC in its annual food security assessment. When the MVAC report is produced, it is presented to the humanitarian response committee (HRC) who then approves the tonnage/cash equivalent required to address the gap. A recommendation is then made by the HRC to drawdown all or part of the required cereals from the Strategic Grain Reserve (SGR) depending on maize availability. In the SGR meeting, development partners also pledge to provide support in cash or in-kind contributions towards the humanitarian response programme depending on availability of resources in their respective institutions. The SGR committee meets to discuss the request for the drawdown which in most cases is approved unconditionally when there are high levels of stocks in the SGR. However, In some cases the request is approved on condition that an institution pledges to replenish the drawn down maize. After a drawdown is made, WFP engages NGOs to do the actual food distribution who work jointly with the district councils. In cases where cash transfers are involved, the International NGOs (INGOs) and recently WFP, engage financial service providers to do the transfers. The DoDMA, which is responsible for coordinating the mitigation activities, has offices in 14 disaster prone districts. The offices play a major role in coordination, on most of the mitigation projects that are undertaken by NGOs with financial support from development partners. In cases of response programmes, the officers with support from the district councils also actively implement the response activities. Processes and Organizational Structure 14

15 Step 8: Describe how a pay out from the ARC insurance policy would be considered or managed within the larger country early warning and contingency planning processes defined for drought. 15

16 8.1 How does the ARC OP fit within (link to) national and sub-national contingency and operational planning processes and coordination mechanisms? The OP is essentially a preparedness tool for drought. Considering that the national contingency plan focuses on multiple hazards, the ARC Operations Plan would become a subsidiary of the national contingency plan. The ARC Operations Plan builds on the existing coordination structures that exist in the Malawi from the central office of the DoDMA through to the regional and district structures. These parallels allow the ARC to complement existing national plans and structures, it also means that the ARC is part of a wider national emergency response. 8.2 Please briefly describe how an ARC pay out might be used to supplement a potentially larger response? Describe what you would do with a payout of 4 million USD Describe what you would do with a payout of 12 million USD Describe what you might do with a payout of 30 million USD The ARC payout would be used to provide quick support for targeted food/cash assistance to the affected people in the first months while stakeholders are mobilizing additional resources for adequate assistance unconditional assistance. The large scale drought affecting many people would require an enormous amount of resources to satisfy the needs. It takes time for the Government and stakeholders to mobilize timely resources for a quick response. The payout from ARC would facilitate this role in order to save lives for those that need immediate assistance. The $4 million payout will be used for targeted food distribution for the drought affected people in need (83 000). This payout will be triggered by a relatively small drought. However, depending on the length of time of assistance programme and number of people affected, the payout might not cover all needs. The Government and other stakeholders would mobilize additional resources to cover all needs. The ARC payout will be used for the initial response activities. A $12 million payout will be split between two modalities of assistance, $8 million for targeted food and $4 million for targeted cash transfers to assist people affected in need. In the case of a medium scale nationwide drought which would trigger this level of payment, it will be prudent to plan for food distribution in case of food shortages in local markets which tend to focus erratically in times of drought. The balance between food and cash amounts can be adjusted as guided by the market assessment according to prevailing conditions A $30 million payout will be allocated as follows: $20 million Emergency targeted food/cash distributions and $10 million for Social Cash Transfer to assist affected people in need. In the case of a severe nationwide drought which would trigger this maximum payout, the same logic applies regarding market conditions. 16

17 Studies have shown that Social Cash Transfer is slightly cheaper to implement than Food Distribution. According to the calculations given below, the cost of reaching one person with 6 monthly cash instalments is $45, whereas the cost of reaching one person with a 6 monthly food rations is $48. The selected response cost in ARV is therefore $48, in case Food Distribution is prioritised in the FIP. 8.3 Please provide details on what government agency will manage the ARC funding, including bank account details. A. The ARC payout would be transferred to the government through the Ministry of Finance accounts at Central Bank. There will be a dedicated ARC account receiving the funds. From this account, the Ministry of Finance would then allocate the funds according to the request submitted by the coordinating unit, in this case DoDMA based on the Final Implementation Plan. The financial management system used by the Ministry of Finance allows for the traceability of funds utilisation. B. In recognizing the loss in confidence in Government systems by Development Partners, the Government proposed that development partners identify within the proposed budget programmes, areas they are willing to support by providing funds directly to the programme and take lead in its management. Technical assistant may be brought in to provide the necessary support in the implementation of the programme and management of finances. This arrangement can be maintained until confidence in Government systems has been restored. For example, a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) pooled fund Manager and Finance Officer, recruited by the contributing partners to the pool account of the SWAp, may be hired to manage disbursed funds and to ensure full accountability in accordance with a memorandum of understanding. This initiative may allow a partner to reallocate funds programmed for budget support to sector or programme support. It is envisaged that a similar arrangements can be worked out for the ARC payout during the Final Implementation Plan development, in case the normal government systems continue to have challenges at the time of an ARC payout. 17

18 SECTION 4: RISK TRANSFER PARAMETERS Step 9: Define the risk transfer parameters based on the configuration of African Risk View (ARV). configuration is complete, but please complete what you can with the best available information. Note: This data will not be finalized until after ARV Coverage period Year: Season: Expected payout frequency Maximum payout Risk transfer level: Estimated premium: SECTION 5: SCENARIO DEFINITION AND GEORGRAPHIC COVERAGE Step 10: Define a set of scenarios based on possible payout amounts 1. The objective here is to determine four possible scenarios that are different enough to result in changes in how a country might spend the ARC funding, thus causing a different set of procedures to be implemented. We have provided some standard benchmarks. Please replace the highlighted sections with what makes the most sense in light of your country s contingency planning processes. Table 4: Scenario Definition Scenario Description #1: No pay out Average year with regards to rainfall. No payout from ARC insurance is expected. #2: Small pay out Below average rainfall, coinciding with an expected ARC payout of less than USD 4 million. #3: Medium pay out Below average rainfall, coinciding with an expected ARC payout of USD 12 million. #: 4 Large pay out Well below average rainfall, coinciding with an expected ARC payout of the ARC maximum of USD 30 million OR the country maximum based on the risk transfer parameters. 1 The risk indicator (or what determines the severity of the drought and ultimately the size of a payout) is parametric satellite rainfall data. These data are fed into African Risk View (ARV) and combined with other pre-configured data on population vulnerability figures, costs of activity implementation, etc. to determine the payout amount. 18

19 Step 11: Define current at risk areas and estimated numbers of affected people based on different pay out scenarios. List all potential areas that could potentially be impacted by drought and thus eligible for ARC funding. Use ARV data using historical rainfall from small, medium and large pay out years as the source of your information unless there is another reliable and authoritative source available.. Please clearly reference any alternative source of this information. The objective of this step is to better understand the magnitude of impact based on the severity of the drought 2. Table 5: Geographic Coverage of Drought by Scenario Regions Drought prone Districts Total Population Estimated number of vulnerable people under each pay out scenario No pay out Small pay out Medium pay out Large pay out Central Karonga Karonga (9%) 7431(9%) 7431 (9%) Lake Chilwa - Phalombe Plain Phalombe , Machinga , Zomba , Mulanje , Chiradzulu (22%) (47%) (50%) Lower Shire Nsanje , Chikhwawa Middle Shire Valley Balaka , Blantyre , Zomba , Machinga , Mwanza , Neno (18%) (37%) (40%) (25%) (47%) (49%) 2 Here we assume that a small pay out is related to a less severe drought. This assumption is based on the simulation which uses historical rainfall data to find a year or years which would have triggered a certain pay out based on the scenarios (e.g. USD 500,000, USD 5 million, USD 30 million) and then calculates the number of people affected based on the most recent vulnerability profiles sourced from household data. We recognize that this is only simulated data and does not include all the relevant information that might impact vulnerability numbers (e.g. market dynamics, conflict, etc.); however it provides a starting point by which to better understand the required size of a response under different scenarios. 19

20 Rift Valley Escarpment Mwanza , Neno , Ntcheu , Dedza (16%) (44%) (44%) 777, Salima , Nkhotakota- 51,378, Ntchisi- 30,694- Border Productive Veg Chitipa Millet & Maize Kasungu Lilongwe Plain Misuku Hills Mzimba Self Sufficient Nkhata Bay Cassava Northern Karonga Northern Lakeshore Phirilongwe Hills Shire Highlands Southern Lakeshore Thyolo Mulunje Tea Estates Western Rumphi & Mzimba TOTAL ,646 1,552,093 1,623,059 Use the lowest level of granularity within ARV (the level at which the household survey data we have is statistically representative) 20

21 Step 12: Describe how the government currently conducts a needs assessment in times of drought When is a needs assessment likely to be conducted and what are the criteria used to make the decision? Do you conduct other preliminary surveys before conducting a need assessment ( quick surveys, specific market, nutritional surveys) MVAC conducts regular assessments of household food availability and access (vulnerability assessments), focusing on regions that have been identified by the Meteorology Department and MoIAWD as likely to be affected by food shortages. The needs assessment is aimed at establishing the extent and location of the drought impact, how many people will require assistance and what kind of assistance will be required. The process of completing the MVAC Assessment, including field study, data analysis and consultations with District Councils lasts at most five weeks. The vulnerability assessment is approved and published by the relevant government authorities within another 2-3 weeks. Considering the magnitude of the response intervention that is required, the MVAC report makes recommendations to ensure that the rights of the affected people, particularly the vulnerable groups including the children, orphans, pregnant and lactating women, the elderly, the chronically ill and people living with HIV/AIDS, are protected. MVAC assessment reports are shared with the affected districts and the Humanitarian Response Committee (HRC), chaired by DoDMA, which makes the final decision on the response programme to be implemented. The actual implementation is typically delayed because of difficulties to obtain funds in time. The payout from ARC will help to overcome some of the logistical delays by speeding up the process of making funds available for response. MVAC Assessments form the vulnerability analysis base for Interventions 1 and 2. Example: MVAC Needs Assessment 2012 The June 2012 MVAC report estimated that 1.63 million people, of whom 277,000 were children, would not be able to meet their minimum food requirements until the next harvest in March However subsequent to June 2012, the situation deteriorated, especially in the Southern Region and some parts of the Central Region, as the number of households who depleted their food reserves grew. The October 2012 MVAC report indicated a 21% increase in the number of people who had missing food entitlements, and therefore required assistance. The number of affected people increased from 1.63 million to 1.97 million. Maize prices in most parts of the country increased even beyond the predicted trend. According to the FEWS Net analysis published in September 2012, maize prices increased continuously almost every week, significantly beyond the purchasing power of most rural households. In some areas in the southern region, maize prices as of September 2012 reached MK 79.41/kg. 21

22 12.7 How is the needs assessment paid for? The assessment was previously paid for by DFID, and now the Humanitarian Fund, DFID/Irish Aid/FICA, Managed by UN Resident Coordinator SECTION 6: INTERVENTION DETAILS Step 13: Briefly list the proposed interventions in the event of an ARC payout. Each intervention should have: i. a short name; ii. an intervention type which describes the main function of the intervention; iii. a flag to indicate whether the intervention is a scalable (program exists in non-drought times but intends to be scaled in the event of drought) or an emergency intervention (implemented strictly during times of need); iv. a brief description of the intervention. In this table enter a brief description of the interventions selected to be funded under ARC insurance payout. You will go into detail of each intervention in the next section. 22

23 Table 6: Summary description of interventions that can be funded in the event of an ARC pay out Intervention Name 1. Targeted Food/Cash Distribution Intervention Type Please select from list in Table 7 Program type (tick box that applies) Description D Emergency Providing timely in-kind relief to the populations whose food security is affected most by the respective drought. Food assistance is considered mainly in circumstances where other assistance mechanisms such as cash transfers would not be appropriate due to unavailability of food on the market or non-functionality of the markets 2. Unconditional Cash Transfer B Scalable The scale-up of the SCTP is expected to provide income to SCTP beneficiary households affected by drought that will enable them to buy food as a relief covering the period from the harvest until additional support is identified for them. Allocating up to USD 10,000,000 out of a total ARC payout of USD 30 million to this activity, up to beneficiaries would be targeted. Table 7: Intervention Types Intervention Types A Cash Transfer - conditional G Distribution of food stamps, vouchers, coupons B Cash Transfer - unconditional H Nutrition supplement C Cash Transfer for work I Seed distribution D Food distribution need based J Water trucking E Food distribution for work K Borehole development F Supplementary feeding L Other [ Enter name here] Step 14: Complete the following set of questions ( ) for each intervention proposed in Table 6. 23

24 a. FIRST INTERVENTION (From Table 6) 14.1 Enter name of intervention. This should be a short name that can be easily referred to in the rest of the Operations plan. Targeted Food Distribution 14.2 Enter the type of intervention. The intervention type describes the main function of the intervention (e.g. cash transfer, food for work, etc.). Please select from the list, if possible. Indicate whether this intervention is [ ] Scalable [ x ] Emergency [ ] Other Emergency 14.3 Enter a brief description of the intervention: Under this programme, food or cash would be distributed to labour-constrained, food-insecure, and ultra-poor households in the most droughtaffected LZs to maintain food security in the period between harvests until additional support is identified. Food distribution would be targeted in areas that have no functioning markets and that cash based intervention is deemed not feasible. Targeted Cash Distribution will be targeted in areas where markets will be functional throughout the coverage period. This would be informed by conducting a specific market assessment. The activity will be allocated a maximum of USD 20 million out of a total ARC payout of USD 30 million. The targeted households in the food assistance programme will be provided with monthly food rations for a period of four to six months (August November/January). Following the recommendations of the food distribution guidelines, the food basket will be comprised of a 50kg bag of maize, 10kgs pulses, 5kgs of corn soya blend and 2.5 litres of vegetable oil for an average household size of 5.5 people. Beneficiaries targeted for cash assistance will receive a cash equivalent to the value needed to procure similar food commodities at a prevailing local market price. This will be achieved by constantly monitoring market prices of the food commodities and calculating the transfer value as per that week s prices. Similar assistance has been provided by WFP in coordination with DoDMA and implementing NGOs in the past 2 years. For example, after drought and floods in 2012 combined with rising food and fuel prices, 1.9 million people in rural areas, particularly in the South, were left food insecure who received assistance from August 2012 until March 2013 in the form of targeted food distributions and cash transfers, facilitated in the same manner as described above. Similarly from October 2013 until April 2014, the food and cash assistance programme benefited about 1.8 million people in the country. For the food distribution segment, the monthly food package per household was almost the same as the one suggested in this Operations Plan. It was defined as 50kgs of Maize, 10kgs of pulses, 5kgs of corn soya blend and 1.84 litres of vegetable oil. 24

25 Food consumption patterns stabilized or did not deteriorate for 68% of the beneficiaries during the intervention period. The final evaluation report found that all objectives of the operation were met either highly satisfactorily or satisfactorily and concluded that food [distribution] should always be preferred for situations or geographic areas of severe food insecurity, meanwhile cash distributions are more adequate for less depressed contexts Explain why this intervention activity is a good option for ARC funding. How does it meet the ARC eligibility criteria (time-sensitive and/or catalytic; livelihood saving and able to be completed within six months) 3? What livelihood groups are the major beneficiaries (e.g. farmers, agro pastoralists, pastoralists, fishermen, women, etc.) Time Sensitive and/or Catalytic The growing season ends on 30 May; food distribution is planned to commence by August which was achieved during past emergencies (e.g. during 2012/13 emergency). Livelihood Protection This activity will preserve the livelihoods of households with labour constraints who live in areas with dysfunctional food markets and who cannot otherwise work to purchase food during drought. Able to be completed within 6 months The activity is only planned to last for 4 months and would therefore end within that timeframe Who are the possible implementing partners of this intervention? Please list the names and key contact information for all partner organizations. If the implementation is expected to be decentralized (e.g. lower-level administrative units select the implementing NGOs) please list the key contact person for each admin unit in the table below AND as an annex, provide a list of the NGOs (by admin unit) capable of implementing the activity. DoDMA would provide oversight and coordination for both ARC activities and is the focal point for response operations, including being responsible for reporting (see below). For Activity 1 in particular, the involved actors would be, as outlined in the official standard Guidelines for the Provision of General Food Distributions during Emergency Programmes in Malawi 4 : 3 For more information on the ARC eligibility criteria please refer to the ARC Contingency Planning Standards and Guidelines. 4 Malawi Government, Manual Guidelines for the Provision of General Food Distributions during Emergency Programmes in Malawi, Joint Emergency Food Aid Programme (JEFAP), 13 August

26 - DoDMA in the Office of the President and Cabinet; James Chiusiwa, Director of Disaster Risk Reduction, Private Bag 336, Lilongwe, Malawi; - Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee (MVAC), Victoria Geresomo, MVAC Chairperson, Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Lilongwe, Malawi - World Food Programme, Coco Ushyama, Country Director; P.O. box 30571, Lilongwe 3, Malawi - Implementing NGOs would be determined depending on their presence in the affected area; - Implementing NGOs; DoDMA is the principal national disaster risk management institution and would provide the overall coordination of the programme activity at the national level, including logistics. DoDMA would also be responsible for monitoring the programme in collaboration with WFP. WFP will be responsible for implementation of the target food/cash assistance programme. WFP would mobilize NGO partners to assist in implementing the programme. Some of the funds will be channelled to WFP to facilitate the distribution of the commodities. Should it be required, WFP can support the Government in procuring the commodities with the funds from the payout where necessary. MVAC will conduct a vulnerability assessment that serves as the basis for geographical targeting of the food insecure areas. At the operational level, the programme would be guided by the Joint Emergency Food Assistance Programme (JEFAP) guidelines as well as cash transfer guidelines to target the food insecure households in the communities. The JEFAP committee will be used as a forum to share the progress of the implementation of the project. The committee is comprised of DoDMA, WFP, and implementing NGOs (selection described below) and it is chaired by DoDMA and WFP. The targeting of beneficiaries would be jointly conducted by District Councils and community committees together (see below). Then, implementing NGOs would first define Final Distribution Points together with District Civil Protection Committees (DCPCs), Area Civil Protection Committees (ACPCs), and Village Civil Protection Committees (VCPCs). WFP will provide logistical support of transporting food from the warehouses to the distribution centres. Together with the District Councils, the implementing NGOs will be responsible for the distribution of food. Financial service providers will identified to disburse cash assistance to beneficiaries. The implementing NGOs will be selected following a predefined guidelines. During the food/cash assistance programmes, implementing NGOs and financial service providers included, Save the Children, International, World Vision, Concern Universal, Goal, Emmanuel International, ADRA, CADECOM, DAPP, COOPI, CARE, Plan International, Synod of Livingstonia, Opportunity International Bank of Malawi, Standard Bank, and Airtel mobile phone company. 26

27 For every emergency response programme implementing NGO are identified based on set of technical and financial analytical indicators that are set. Depending on the drought scenario and location of the drought the implementing partners would be different for most of the drought situations and hence this information would be appropriate in the final implementation plan when a clearer picture of the drought is developed. The list below includes NGOs that participated in the 2013/14 emergency response programme Name of Partner Name of contact at Organization organization DoDMA Mr. James M. K. Chiusiwa Telephone number , address chiusiwaj@yahoo.com Responsibility and role in Implementing activity Coordinator for Disaster Preparedness, Relief and Rehabilitation MVAC Mr. Simon Mulungu World Vision Robert Kisyula 805 CARE Malawi Michael Rewald 234 GOAL Ken McCarthy 671 Save the Children CADECOM ADRA Emmanuel International Concern Universal Matthew Pickard Casterns Mulume Claudio Sandoval Paul Jones Heather Campbell smulungu@yaho o.com robert_kisyula@ wvi.org mrewald@co.car e.org kmccarthy@mw.g oal.ie carsterns@yahoo.com eimalawi@malawi. net Assessment Coordination Food and cash distributions Food and cash Food and cash Food and cash Food and cash Food and cash Food and cash Food and cash 27

28 Development Aid from People to People Synod of Livingstonia COOPI Lisbeth Thomsen Donald Manda Victor Mauluka Online.net mail.com gmail.com Food and cash Food and cash Food and cash 14.6 In the event of a pay out, how will funds flow from the Government account to each implementing partner? Explain what checks are in place to ensure the funding flows in a timely manner and can be tracked. Please be as specific as you can. Again, if decentralized, explain how the funds will move from the National account to the regions/districts and what checks/paper work is completed to ensure this happens in a timely manner. A. The Ministry of Finance will receive the ARC payout in the government account held by the Reserve Bank of Malawi. From there, as per the budget submitted with the FIP, ARC funds will be committed in two budget lines: to the MoIAWD and to DoDMA. MoIAWD and DoDMA access these budget lines through the regular government process, where funds are received following their official request to the Ministry of Finance in line with the Public Financial Management Act. The Treasury shall act within one week of receiving the submitted request. In emergency situations, Treasury prioritises these transactions ensuring that they are completed within the standard transaction period to avoid delays that might victimize those deserving the humanitarian assistance. MoIAWD would use the funds for replenishment of the SGR (Activity 1) and, where necessary for food procurement through NFRA. DoDMA would use the funds for transfers to WFP 5 to facilitate (logistics of moving the food from the strategic reserves for NFRA to distribution points and also cover the distribution costs incurred by NGOs (Activity 1). WFP would use the funds to procure other required food commodities in the food basket such as pulses and oil. DoDMA will transfer other funds to the NSCTS (Activity 2). For Intervention 2, the TST and NSCTS transfer the funds then to the District Councils which facilitate the physical transfer to beneficiaries as described above. In turn, District Councils will submit a justification of fund use to DoDMA, which is in charge of consolidating them and reporting to ARC. Should the cash transfer be implemented through mobile services, the funds will flow through the banking system to reach the beneficiaries. Further information on this will be outlined in the FIP if deemed necessary at the time of a payout. B-In recognizing the loss in confidence in Government systems by Development Partners, Government proposed that Development Partners identify within the proposed budget programmes, areas they are willing to support by providing funds directly to the programme and take lead 5 Further discussions will be held between government and WFP to outline the mechanism through which funds would be transferred to WFP to support the logistical costs for the food distribution. It is anticipated that a memorandum of understanding would be agreed upon by the government and WFP 28

29 in its management. Technical Assistants may be brought in to provide the necessary support in the implementation of the programme and management of finances. This arrangement can be maintained until confidence in Government systems has been restored. For example, a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) pooled Fund Manager and Finance Officer, recruited by the contributing partners to the pool account of the SWAp, may be hired to manage disbursed funds and to ensure full accountability in accordance with a memorandum of understanding. This initiative may allow a partner to reallocate funds programmed for budget support to sector or programme support. It is envisaged that a similar arrangement can be worked out for the ARC payout during the Final Implementation Plan development, in case the normal government systems continue to have challenges at the time of an ARC payout. Step Description 1 Description: The funds flows to the Ministry of Finance account number 1 held at the Reserve Bank of Malawi Responsible officer: Governor of the Reserve Banks Checks: Minister of Finance 2 Description: Funds are allocated to DoDMA and Ministry of Agriculture based on FIP indications for each Responsible officer: Budget Director Checks: Permanent Secretariat for DoDMA and Permanent Secretariat for Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation &Water Development 3 Description: Funds are allocated to partners Responsible officer: Finance Officer Checks: Permanent Secretariat for DoDMA and Permanent Secretariat for Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation &Water Development 14.7 Define the Unit Cost (cost per beneficiary) to undertake this activity for 1 month. This amount should include the value of the benefit as well as procurement, transport, and administrative costs. Please include in an annex supporting documentation on how these costs were estimated (e.g. use the ARC OP budget tool). If there is no supportable information on how this unit cost might rise/fall by the different pay out scenarios, please put the same number in each box. Cost analysis: 50 Kg Maize = MK Kg Pulses (beans, pigeon peas) = MK Litre Vegetable Oil = MK

30 5Kg Corn Soya Bread = MK 3000 The total cost of the package is MK18, 000 which is approximately USD50 (USD1 = MK360). The Administration costs are estimated at between 10-15% per household which translates to USD Using the higher cost which USD 7.5, the total cost of response per household is USD 57.5 for a month Equivalent cost per person for four months would be approximately USD 42 based on average of 5.5 people per household and an exchange rate of Mk360 Unit Cost under Scenario #2,3,4 = 8 USD 14.8 In the event of a drought/arc pay out, please describe in as much detail as possible how the targeting for this activity will occur. Targeting The national and subnational details on targeting are outline in the General Food Distribution guidelines annexed to this report. At the national level, the Africa RiskView software would assist in the identification of the most affected Livelihood Zones for both food and cash based assistance programmes. This will inform MVAC on areas of focus on its food security assessment. MVAC assessments will recommend districts and the Traditional Authorities (TA) within the district that should be targeted. At the TA level, priority would then be given to the villages that are the most affected. These villages will be identified with assistance from the Agriculture Officers from the Extension Planning Areas (EPAs) in which the affected TAs are located. They will determine the villages with assistance from the NGO partners selected to implement the activity. Households that are identified as the most food insecure, with a poor income base will be targeted as the poorest households. The targeted households would be those that meet 3 out of the following 5 criteria: 1. Owning less than two acres; 2. Without major livestock (e.g. cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, poultry); 3. Without formal wage; 4. Perpetually depending on ganyu (piece work) for daily food; without regular income generating activities (IGA); 5. Having less than three months of food stock starting from harvesting. In order to give preference to the ultra-poor and labour-constrained, beneficiaries would be prioritized in the following order: 1. Keeping a chronically ill patient(s); 2. Elderly-headed households; 3. Female-headed households; 4. Households taking care of orphans. 30

31 The village civil protection committees will be trained to identify the most need households using the set criteria in the humanitarian guidelines. The NGO partners that would be selected to implement the activity in collaboration with the district councils will conduct verification exercise for the selected beneficiaries to confirm their eligibility in the programme. The identified beneficiaries assemble at a community meeting together with the Village Development Committee (VDC) and members of the community, where they are publically endorsed as qualified beneficiaries by the community at large. 31

32 32

33 What type of targeting mechanism and criteria will be used? Who will do the targeting? How will the targeting be paid for? Is there any process of verification of targeting? Geographical targeting to identify the districts and TAs affected. This will be done by the ARV programme and MVAC assessments. Village level targeting will be done by the NGOs in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture at local level. Beneficiary targeting will be done by the village civil protection committee members that will be verified by the NGO and the district council. Geographical targeting to identify the districts and TAs affected. This will be done by the ARV programme and MVAC assessments. Village level targeting will be done by the NGOs in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture at local level. Beneficiary targeting will be done by the village civil protection committee members that will be verified by the NGO and the district council. The NGO engaged will include some of the targeting activities in its budget including the verification activities. The village civil protection committee members work on a voluntary basis so that no costs will be incurred with their involvement. A continuous beneficiary verification process will be conducted throughout the implementation of the programme for both food and cash based intervention at the District Council level. The identified beneficiaries will be assembled at a community meeting together with the Village Development Committee (VDC) and members of the community, where they are publically endorsed as qualified beneficiaries by the community at large. Those who would not meet the targeting criteria would be removed from the list and replaced with other deserving beneficiaries. When will the targeting take place in relationship to the ARC pay out? The targeting will take place as soon as the ARC payment has been received. The Targeting exercises will require use of the funds from the pay-outs in order to conduct the activity. 33

34 14.9 Does this intervention require the procurement of goods or supplies? If yes, please give more details. For instance, do you buy from national/local markets or from other countries; be specific in each column how, who and timeframe for purchases internationally SGR Drawdown Procedure The food basket would be comprised of maize, pulses, corn soya blend, and vegetable oil. Maize would be drawn from the SGR as far as it is available (storage aim: 75,000 MT). In case of an emergency, DoDMA would request the drawdown of maize from the Ministry of Agriculture Irrigation and Water Development (MoIAWD) that would provide the necessary authorisation to the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA). The process is structured as follows: DoDMA submits an application to MoIAWD to release maize; - MoIAWD calls for the SGR and Commercial Maize Committee to discuss the request; - The SGR and Commercial Maize Committee approve the request and suggest a draw-down; - MoIAWD sends the request to the Ministry of Finance for the final approval; - WFP on behalf of the HRC conducts a public tender to identify implementing NGOs; - Maize is drawn from SGR and provided to implementing NGOs; - The same quantity of maize that was drawn down from the SGR will have to be replenished. Local Procurement Maize in the SGR is procured following official food procurement guidelines (see annex). Where maize needs to be procured for an emergency response, government would procure the maize through NFRA or the Agriculture Development and Marketing Corporation (ADMARC). In emergency situations, there is a provision for a waiver to fast track procurement. The SGR and Maize Committee meet to review and approve a waiver for emergency procurement for regional as well as local procurement. The following process is followed: - NFRA advertises for tenders to supply maize for a period of 21 days; - Bids are shortlisted by the Internal Procurement Committee; - Shortlisted bidders are submitted to Office of Director of Public Procurement for approval, which takes 1-2 weeks; - Once the list is approved, NFRA draws contracts with suppliers with a requirement to execute within 30 days. Regional Procurement In a case of a severe drought that would limit availability of maize in country thereby making local procurement difficult, maize would be procured from regional markets. The NFRA would be used to procure maize following standard procurement guidelines. In situations where the drought has also affected other neighbouring countries, the regional procurement process may suffer some delays because it will depend on bilateral negotiations between the governments as well as availability of non-genetically Modified Organism (GMO) maize on regional markets such as the South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX). Government may decide to start the procurement process before the season ends to avoid these delays. 34

35 All other food items would be procured by DoDMA following official food procurement guidelines. For these, if necessary, DoDMA would use the services of WFP for procurement, as it has always done in the past. WFP procurement follows standard WFP procurement procedures and usually takes 2-4 months. Maize, pulses and corn soya blend are procured locally by WFP if available in the country. Vegetable oil is imported by WFP. Where the maize and other food items are to be procured, it will be done using the commodity exchange platform. Bids will be invited from suppliers with an option of including transportation to the affected communities. The process will allow for a minimum of three weeks to deliver the maize to the communities. This process has been successfully used in the past. For example, during the 2012/13 emergency, WFP procured vegetable oil internationally and all other goods (including maize, since some maize in the SGR that was meant for distribution was spoiled) in the food basket locally Please list all the items to be procured and the possible procurement sources: Item Unit Source(s) Maize MT Local, Regional/International Market Pulses 755 MT Local, Regional/International Market Corn Soya blend 377 MT Local, Regional/International Market Vegetable Oil 189 MT Local, Regional/International Market Please describe in as much detail as possible how cash/goods will move from procurement to implementing partners to the targeted beneficiaries. Explain what checks are in place to ensure the cash/goods reach the targeted beneficiaries in a timely manner and can be tracked. Step Description 1 Maize will be sourced from the strategic reserves through DoDMA s request to the SGR committee for approval. When approved, DoDMA will authorize WFP to draw maize from the SGR. Firstly, maize will be packaged into 50 kg bags at the SGR. WFP will contract commercial transporters to move it into its warehouses so that dispatches can easily be controlled using an approved distribution plan. Procurement of the remaining commodities such as pulses, CSB and vegetable oil will be done through a competitive tendering process using the ACE platform. The lowest bidder meeting the required specifications will be offered a contract to supply the commodities. The supplier will deliver to WFP warehouses ready for dispatch to the final distribution points. Distribution plans will 35

36 be consolidated by the NGO partners on monthly basis and submitted to WFP for food delivery. WFP will review and take through approval processes by the head of sub-office, the responsible programme office, the food pipeline officer, head of programme and the head of logistics. After the approval, the logistics unit will issue a transport tender to procure services of transporters to deliver the food to the final distribution point. The lowest offering commercial transporter with capacity will be given the contract. The transporter loads the food commodities from WFP warehouses to the distribution points as per the distribution plan. The warehouse manager ensures that all commodities loaded are equal to the approved plan. While at the final distribution point, the transporter hands over the commodities to the NGO implementing partner who signs the delivery note indicating that they have received all commodities. The NGO partner distributes it to the selected beneficiaries. After distribution is completed, the NGO partner reports back to WFP on the commodities received, distributed, remaining if any or damaged. WFP has a corporate food tracking system called Commodity Movement Processing and Analysis System (COMPAS) which tracks movement of food from procurement to warehouse storage facilities to dispatches to the distribution centres and final distributions. Loss of commodities at any point in the system is charged appropriately to recover it and replacement stock is sent to the beneficiaries. For cash based assistance, tenders are issued to the financial service providers. The best offering financial institution is offered a contract to disburse the cash to the selected beneficiaries. An NGO is selected through a competitive process to register the beneficiaries using a predetermined targeting criteria. A list of beneficiaries is compiled by the NGO is verified by district councils and approved by WFP, then sent to the financial service provider to create accounts for the beneficiaries. On monthly basis, market price of food commodities in the food based intervention is collected in the cash intervention areas. The transfer value for each month is calculated to enable transfer of money sufficient to buy the same commodities in the food basket as that of beneficiaries receiving food assistance. A cash disbursement plan is consolidated by the responsible programme officer submitted for approvals to the head of programme; head of finance; and the country director. WFP transfers money into the account of the finance service provider. WFP sends the list of allocated cash transfer values for each beneficiary to the financial service provider to transfer the money into the beneficiary accounts Responsible officer: Orison Mapemba, Head of Logistics in WFP. Checks: COMPAS report; Food Waybills; Food delivery notes; Warehouse Stock cards at warehouse for both WFP and NGO level; Beneficiaries receiving the food. 2 Description: Commodities reception Responsible officer: Implementing partners Logistic officers 36

37 Checks: Programme Officers/District Council 3 Description: Commodities distribution Responsible officer: Communities distribution committee Checks: Village Council How will the implementation of this intervention be monitored? In the case of a payout, monitoring of the implementation of all three ARC activities would be coordinated by DoDMA who will submit monthly operational and financial reports to the ARC Agency according to the Operational Planning guidelines. At the end of the operation, DoDMA would submit a final comprehensive operational and financial report to the ARC Agency for all activities. This final financial report would consist in a thorough comparison of the planned budget as per the FIP against the actual expenditure during the intervention. A financial audit would be done by the Auditor General s office following terms of reference provided by the ARC Secretariat. For Intervention 1, monitoring would be done at two levels. At the national level, DoDMA would conduct a quarterly monitoring exercise. At the operational level, District Councils would conduct a monthly monitoring exercise assessing progress in implementation of the programme within the affected communities. Because of the active involvement of District Councils, they would be able to check progress of the programme frequently. District Councils would report to JEFAP. WFP and implementing NGOs would conduct monitoring in different ways. They would also report to JEFAP on a monthly basis, which then reports to DoDMA on a monthly basis 6 : On-site monitoring: WFP and implementing NGOs would make monitoring visits to beneficiary communities to determine if the intended beneficiaries are able to access their monthly entitlement at the right time, of the right quality and in the right quantities. Monitoring would also attempt to assess the travel required to access food distributions. Typical output indicators would include percentage of actual beneficiaries versus planned by sex and percentage of tonnage transferred versus planned. Output monitoring: The implementing NGOs will conduct monthly monitoring of operation indicators with regard to distributions, and target beneficiaries. Typical indicators will include quantities and types of food commodities distributed and purchased; timeliness of distributions; and number of beneficiaries by gender and age. The information will be analysed to reflect the percentage of planned tonnage versus actual distribution, per cent of planned beneficiaries and actual ration and cash transfer versus planned ration (size and 6 Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security of Malawi, 2013/2014 Food Insecurity Response Plan 37

38 composition) and cash transfer, which will allow for performance and progress appraisal of each activity. Furthermore, the number of women in food management committees and particularly in decision-making positions will be closely followed. Post-distribution monitoring: Conducted by implementing NGOs, this monitoring system will help to determine access and utilization of in-kind food and cash transfers at the household level. In addition, satisfaction and preference of quantity and quality of the food and amount of cash transfer will be determined. Utilization of food and/or cash will mainly focus on whether the beneficiaries are consuming or selling the food, or whether the cash is not used for the intended purpose, while satisfaction will look at the beneficiary contentment of the quality and quantity of assistance as well as services provided. This will also involve monitoring of assumptions and risks related to the expected progression from outputs to outcomes and thus the achievement of the identified objectives. Post distribution monitoring will also assess whether there are barriers for accessing the food or cash (e.g. lack of information, barriers to participate in activities, barriers to access distribution sites, etc.), this system has been applied in the past. For example, during the 2012/13 emergency, the following indicators were successfully monitored by WFP 7 : Output 1: Cash and inkind food is transferred/distributed with the right amount and timely to targeted women, men, girls and boys under secure conditions Output 2: Targeting of beneficiaries is done - Number of women, men, girls and boys receiving cash transfers by category and a % of planned figures - Target 100%; - Proportion of electronic cash received and redeemed - Target: 100%; - Total amount of cash transferred to beneficiaries as % of planned - Target: 100%; - % of cash transferred on time vs. planned - Target: 100%; - Number of women, men, girls and boys per month receiving food and non-food items by category and a % of planned figures - Target: 100%; - Tonnage of food distributed per month, by type and a % of planned distribution - Target: 100%; - % of in-kind food distributions undertaken on time vs. planned. - Target: 100%; - Proportion of female designated recipients for cash and food. - Target: 50 %; - Number of security incidents - Target: 0. - Inclusion error - Target: <5%; - Exclusion error - Target: <10%; 7 World Food Programme, Country Office Malawi, Impact Evaluation of the Targeted Food and Cash Transfer Programme (August 2012-March 2013) & Summary of Evaluation study on the Impact of Emergency Cash Transfers on the Local Economy, Final Evaluation Report, 13 September

39 efficiently as per targeting guidelines - % of community aware of the complaints procedures - Target: 85%; - % of community aware of targeting criteria - Target: 85%; - % of beneficiaries having to travel more than 1 hour to distribution point - Target: <25 %. Figure 2: Implementation Timeline for Targeted Food Distribution 39

40 SECOND INTERVENTION (From List in Table 6) 14.1 Enter name of intervention. This should be a short name that can be easily referred to in the rest of the Operations plan. UNCONDITIONAL CASH TRANSFER 14.2 Enter the type of intervention. The intervention type describes the main function of the intervention (e.g. cash transfer, food for work, etc.). Please select from the list, if possible. Type B Indicate whether this intervention is [ x ] Scalable [ ] Emergency [ ] Other 14.3 Enter a brief description of the intervention: The scale-up of the SCTP is expected to provide income to SCTP beneficiary households affected by drought that will enable them to buy food as a relief covering the period from the harvest until additional support is identified for them. Allocating up to USD 10 million out of a total ARC payout of USD 30 million to this activity, up to beneficiaries would be targeted. For the sake of speed and efficiency of the scale up which will take place the approach will be to increase the cash allocation to existing beneficiaries to the equivalent of a monthly emergency food ration, rather than to enrol additional beneficiaries into the programme. This is because adding significant numbers to the programme requires an extensive process of verification which may not be timely in the circumstance. Market prices of cereals and other food commodities, including key commodities of maize and pulses and price of livestock, would be monitored by DoDMA through its partner organizations. For the purposes of this response, analysis will be triangulated with that from Ministry of Agriculture and other stakeholders and shared widely. Adjustments to the monthly cash transfers will be made based on this monitoring. The regular program: The SCTP is an unconditional cash transfer program under the leadership of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Community Development (MoGCCD) that provides cash transfers to the ultra-poor and labour-constrained population. The programme started

41 in 2005, 31,000 households currently receive regular unconditional cash transfers year-round. It is planned for the programme to reach 319,000 beneficiaries by Beneficiaries are assisted with different monthly amounts, starting from MK600 for a single-headed household up to MK1 800 for four or more household members. In addition, households receive an education bonus for each child that is enrolled in school (MK200 for enrolled primary school children, MK400 for enrolled secondary school children). The SCTP is being implemented in the following seven districts: Chitipa, Likoma, Machinga, Mangochi, Mchinji, Phalombe, and Salima. It has reached the largest scale in Mchinji, Mangochi, and Machinga. The SCTP operates in areas where markets are functional and have sufficient capacity to meet the increased demand (to be created via cash transfers) in a timely manner and without causing excessive inflationary impacts. This is verified via the MVAC s annual market assessment. The transfer of cash is implemented via physical cash transfer by the District Councils. Alternative e-payment methods are currently being evaluated. Use of ARC funds: Under the ARC, up to USD 10 million out of a total ARC payout of USD 30 million would be allocated to top up the SCTP income of the worst-affected existing beneficiary households during September to March., going to the worst-affected households who are beneficiaries of the Social Cash Transfer Programme (Activity 2). The total amount transferred will be calculated using as a basis the cost of the food ration in Intervention 1, and is equally subject to regional price variations and monthly adjustments. In total, based on average local food prices from 2013, under Activity 2 up to households could receive additional funds (assuming an average regular monthly SCTP assistance of MK2 200 that is topped up to MK18 000). Thereby, with an average household size of 5.5, up to beneficiaries would be reached. The total number of beneficiaries can be lower, depending on number identified under Activity 2. Based on the food basket described for Activity 1, the following equation would be applied to determine the value of the SCTP transfer per household per month: Total transfer per household = [50 x (cost of 1 kg maize) + 10 x (cost 1 kg of beans) + 5 x (cost 1kg Super cereal) x (cost of 1 litre vegetable oil)]. This formula accommodates adjustment of the transfer amount based on market price fluctuations. Market prices, food commodity supply, availability and trader behaviour would be closely monitored throughout the project cycle. The value of the cash transfer would be reviewed and adjusted on a monthly basis by the District Councils with the approval of DoDMA to ensure that targeted households are able to meet minimum food requirements while ensuring cost efficiency through the transfer modality. Thus, the total cash entitlement may vary in different regions, as it is based on the market prices in each location. 41

42 Assuming a total ARC allocation to Activity 2 of 10 USD million and based on average local food prices from 2013, under Activity 2 up to beneficiary households would receive a monthly top-up of MK during October (cost of the monthly food basket MK regularly received monthly SCTP transfer MK 4 800) and a full transfer of MK from November to March. Thereby, with an average household size of 5.5, up to beneficiaries would be reached. Target group Ultra poor: households that have few or no assets, little or no land, limited or no labour Labour constrained: no able bodied household member in the age group who is fit for work (are chronically ill and/or are child/elderly headed); or households with a dependency ratio of more than 3 The SCTP targeted households comprise of the following groups of people: The elderly Orphaned and vulnerable children Female-headed households (with more than 3 children) Child-headed households Chronically ill and or HIV-infected persons and people with disabilities Transfers & delivery mechanisms Payments are made at village-cluster pay-points mapped out by the District Council (DC) Payments are made bi-monthly except for districts/ areas under e-payment where the frequency is monthly The programme is currently exploring options of using electronic payment systems for cash delivery. Scale up plans for the programme are in the pipeline with some having been initiated in 2014 and more planned for the coming years, suggesting that even though currently the programme would not cover all districts that would potentially be affected, in the near future coverage would have improved allowing for more households to be assisted through the programme. Therefore, the programme can easily be scaled up in an emergency situation owing to the fact that structures are already in place in the districts. 42

43 14.4 Explain why this intervention activity is a good option for ARC funding. How does it meet the ARC eligibility criteria (time-sensitive and/or catalytic; livelihood saving and able to be completed within six months) 8? What livelihood groups are the major beneficiaries (e.g. farmers, agro pastoralists, pastoralists, fishermen, women, etc.) Time Sensitive/Catalytic - The growing seasons ends on 30 May; the scale-up of the SCTP would be implemented in September and October. While this has not been done before, the fact that only the amount of money that is disbursed changes, makes the start of the activity within 120 days feasible. Livelihood Saved - This activity will preserve the livelihoods of households with labour constraints who live in areas with functional food markets and who cannot otherwise work to purchase food during drought; Duration - The activity will end six months after the start of activity implementation Who are the possible implementing partners of this intervention? Please list the names and key contact information for all partner organizations. If the implementation is expected to be decentralized (e.g. lower-level administrative units select the implementing NGOs) please list the key contact person for each admin unit in the table below AND as an annex, provide a list of the NGOs (by admin unit) capable of implementing the activity. DoDMA would provide oversight and coordination for all the ARC activities and is the focal point for ARC, including being responsible for reporting (see below). The involved actors and their roles and responsibilities remain the same as for the regular SCTP. They are: DoDMA; Ministry of Gender, Children and Community Development; National Social Cash Transfer Secretariat (NSCTS); MVAC; District Councils; District Social Support Committees; Community committees. 8 For more information on the ARC eligibility criteria please refer to the ARC Contingency Planning Standards and Guidelines. 43

44 See Annex 3: Institutional Framework for SCTP At the national level, the National Social Cash Transfer Secretariat (NSCTS) in the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Community Development provides policy oversight and the overall management of the programme and compiles M&E information. The national MVAC vulnerability assessment serves as the basis for identifying areas and population from which targeting will be carried out. At the operational level, District Councils and community committees target beneficiaries together (see below). District Councils ensure supervision and monitoring, and facilitate the cash transfer to beneficiaries. They report to the NSCTS. Roles and responsibilities are also explained in Annex 3. Name of Partner Organization UNICEF KFW GIZ LDF UNICEF Name of contact at organization Sophie Shawa Patience Kanjere Pasha Twea Paul Chipeta Sophie Shawa Telephone number address e twapashagha@gmail.co m paulw_chipeta@yahoo.c om sshawa@unicef.org Responsibility and role in Implementing activity Technical support Technical Support Implementing partner Implementing partner Technical support 14.6 In the event of a pay out, how will funds flow from the Government account to each implementing partner? Explain what checks are in place to ensure the funding flows in a timely manner and can be tracked. Please be as specific as you can. Again, if decentralized, explain how the funds will move from the National account to the regions/districts and what checks/paper work is completed to ensure this happens in a timely manner Cash transfers to eligible beneficiaries occur every month using a manual payment system (see annex 4) implemented by District Councils that will gradually evolve into an electronic payment system once systems and procedures have been put in place drawing from lessons and 44

45 experiences from the e-payment pilot which is being implemented through Save the Children with support from the European Delegation. The manual payment system involves a district council team composed primarily of an accounts assistant, district social welfare assistant, a driver and two armed police guards using a district council vehicle to deliver payments to beneficiaries at predetermined payment points organized according to clusters and striving to provide a pay point for each beneficiary at distances of no more than 5km from their village. Systems are being developed to strengthen the current manual payment system, making it faster, easier to reconcile and audit until the e-payment system can be adopted. Step Description 1 Description: Funds will move from the National Treasury to the District council accounts Responsible officer: Finance Director Checks: Permanent Secretary 2 Description: Fund reception at District Council Responsible officer: Districts accountants Checks: Area Executive Committee, composed of extension workers from government and NGO s 3 Description: Cash transfer to beneficiaries Responsible officer: A team of District council accounting staff/ngo s, armed police and driver distribute cash to beneficiaries Checks: District Commissioner/Implementing partners Finance Officers 14.7 Define the Unit Cost (cost per beneficiary) to undertake this activity for 1 month. This amount should include the value of the benefit as well as procurement, transport, and administrative costs. Please include in an annex supporting documentation on how these costs were estimated (e.g. use the ARC OP budget tool). If there is no supportable information on how this unit cost might rise/fall by the different pay out scenarios, please put the same number in each box. For cash transfer the cost was equally based on cost of food ration for the household per month as recommended by the MVAC (ie.intervention#) Unit Cost under Scenario #3,4 USD: In the event of a drought/arc pay out, please describe in as much detail as possible how the targeting for this activity will occur. 45

46 The national and subnational targeting structure is the same as in Intervention 1. At the national level, Africa RiskView software would assist in the identification of the most affected LZs and both the MVAC vulnerability assessment and the latest Integrated Household Survey by the National Statistics Office would assist in the determination of the geographical areas to be targeted. At the district level, priority would then be given to the villages that have been worst hit and to the poorest, as identified by the District Councils. At the village level, the selection of beneficiaries would be done using community-based targeting (CBT), which follows a well-established process Does this intervention require the procurement of goods or supplies? If yes, please give more details. For instance, do you buy from national/local markets or from other countries; be specific in each column how, who and timeframe for purchases internationally How will procurement take place? The cash transfer will use existing NSCT infrastructures. See Who is responsible for procurement? - What are the timelines around procurement? Please list all the items to be procured and the possible procurement sources: Item Unit Source(s) NA Please describe in as much detail as possible how cash/goods will move from procurement to implementing partners to the targeted beneficiaries. Explain what checks are in place to ensure the cash/goods reach the targeted beneficiaries in a timely manner and can be tracked. Currently, funds for beneficiary transfers and district operational costs transfer from funding partner to the Reserve Bank of Malawi where the Social Cash Transfer Programme has a holding account managed by the Ministry of Finance. Under this stream, the funds will be transferred to 46

47 the District Councils through the National Local Government Finance Committee (NLGFC). The NLGFC will be responsible for disbursement of funds to the Local Authorities for Transfers and Operational Costs in the District Development Fund account. The NSCTS will works with District Councils to draw up an implementation plan and budget, which will form the basis for the disbursement of funds to the district and will be a key tool for the management of the interaction between NSCTS and District Councils. This stream will evolve to reflect progress on the e- payment pilot where new streams may be introduced as new delivery mechanisms are proven feasible, cost-effective and sustainable. Thus it is expected that the manual transfer system will evolve initially to a hybrid manual and electronic system and possibly to a pure electronic delivery system. It is recognized that using a third party financial service provider to deliver cash electronically may be more efficient and effective particularly as delivery infrastructure is expanded and complementary technologies continue to develop at the current rate alongside declining service costs. The e-payment pilot is well positioned to capture these advances and it is expected that they will be integrated into the program as they are proven to be suitable. Financial reports will be generated by the Social cash Transfer Secretariat which will be submitted to ARC Sec. and copied to MGCSW How will the implementation of this intervention be monitored? The monitoring and evaluation process remains the same under ARC as it is conducted regularly. District Councils are required to regularly report on all component progress in terms of sub projects, participants data, physical completion and financial expenditures to the National Social Cash Transfer Secretariat. At the national level, the NSCTS submits an operational and financial report to DoDMA on a monthly basis. After the beneficiaries have been enrolled into the program and have started to receive transfers, then this is followed by Case Management activities and Monitoring. The program has a case management system which seeks to address claims, complaints, referrals and updates, in case of changes in beneficiaries. The program is monitored by both the district team and the Community. In addition, the program also has a mechanism for creating referrals and linkages to other social services. This is done to maximize the potential benefits of the program on beneficiaries. Creating and strengthening linkages shall involve training extension workers conducting social service mapping, developing seasonal calendars based on which extension workers will provide beneficiary education. Intensive technical backstopping and supervision through the NSCTS will be made available by a physical presence of experienced officers in the beginning, which will scale down to the usual quarterly monitoring and supervision visits and quarterly reviews as the District Councils gain experience and confidence to continue implementing the program with minimal support from the NSCTS. Quarterly supervisory visits shall be undertaken jointly with national level partners such as the Ministries of Economic Planning and Development, Local Government, Disability & the Elderly, civil society and CPs. 47

48 48

49 SECTION 7: M&E FRAMEWORK AND PLAN Step 15: Design an M&E results framework to help measure the performance of the rollout of the ARC contingency plan. Since ARC requires countries to monitor and report on specific performance indicators these are included below. Each country must also include an additional indicator per intervention that measures a medium term outcome of the activity. Food distribution - LogFrame OUTCOMES Performance Indicator Means of Verification Risks, Assumptions Outcome 1: Improved food consumption over assistance period for targeted households Percentage of household with borderline to acceptable food consumption score o Baseline: 72% o Target: 90% Annual Integrated Household Survey by the National Statistics Office Adequate stock levels of maize in the SGR Minimal sharing of the distributed to the targeted beneficiary households Output 1.1: Food commodities distributed in required quantity and quality to target households within the prescribed timeline Actual beneficiaries receiving food assistance disaggregated by sex as a percentage of planned beneficiaries o Target: 100% Actual MT of food distributed as a percentage of planned distribution per month o Target: 100% Monthly monitoring reports from DoDMA to ARC Final operational and financial report from DoDMA to ARC Availability of food commodities on the market Availability and timely delivery of food 49

50 Activities: - Determine appropriate food basket that meets required needs - Determine food ration to be distributed per household - Procure food commodities - Identify right beneficiaries at community level - Conduct verification process of the targeted beneficiaries - Distribute food Outcome 2: Improved implementation time for assistance to targeted households First contact with targeted beneficiaries within 120 days of the ARC pay-out received Monthly and final reports by DoDMA to ARC Adequate and credible structures, as described in the Operations Plan, are in place And correct targeting system is used to identify beneficiaries Output 2.1: Timely provision of assistance to affected households Actual time taken to roll out response programme from ARC pay-out date against planned Actual time taken to provide food to targeted households against planned time Monthly and final reports by DoDMA to ARC Adequate and credible structures, as described in the Operations Plan, are in place Activities - Conduct district consultations of stakeholders on the operation - Identify implementing partners - Conduct targeting and registration of beneficiaries - Conduct verification exercise of beneficiaries - Set final distribution or payment points - Consolidate distribution plans - Distribute food to beneficiaries accordingly 50

51 Outcome 3: Improved implementation time for ARC activities Output 3.1: Timely completion of activity Activity completed within 180 days Final report by DoDMA to ARC Adequate and credible structures, as described in the Operations Plan, are in place Actual time taken to complete activity against planned Final report by DoDMA to ARC Adequate and credible structures, as described in the Operations Plan, are in place Activities Distribute food to targeted beneficiaries Supervise and monitor operation 51

52 Activity 1 : Targeted Food Distribution Month Activities JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN Rainy Season Harvest Conduct Vulnerability Assessment Facilitate beneficiary identification JULY AUG SEPT OCT Implementing Partners NOV DEC JAN Responsible Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee District Councils, District Civil Protection Committees, Area Civil Protection Committees, Village Civil Protection Committees, Village Development Committees Verification of beneficiaries District Councils, NGOs, Implementing Identification of implementing Partners and fund Humanitarian Response Committee (selection), Ministry of Finance (allocate funds) 52

53 allocation them to Food procurement DoDMA, NFRA, WFP Facilitate draw down of grains from SGR Food distribution to beneficiaries Monitoring and reporting DoDMA, MoIWD, WFP, NFRA, ADMARC JEFAP DoDMA 53

54 Unconditional Cash Transfer - LogFrame Performance Indicator Means of Verification Risks, Assumptions OUTCOMES Outcome 1: Improved food consumption over assistance period for targeted households Percentage of household with borderline to acceptable food consumption score o Baseline: 72% o Target: 90% Annual Integrated Household Survey by the National Statistics Office Minimal sharing of the distributed to the targeted beneficiary households Output 1.1: Cash transferred to target households within the prescribed timeline Outcome 2: Improved implementation time for assistance to targeted households Up to individuals beneficiaries receiving cash disaggregated by sex as a percentage of planned beneficiaries o Target: 100% Actual quantity (USD ) of cash distributed by type as a percentage of planned distribution per month o Target: 100% First contact with targeted beneficiaries within 120 days of the ARC pay-out received Monthly and final monitoring reports by DoDMA to ARC Monthly and final reports by DoDMA to ARC Adequate and credible structures, as described in the Operations Plan, are in place Adequate and credible structures, as described in the Operations Plan, are in place Correct targeting system used Output 2.1: Timely provision of assistance to affected households Actual time taken to roll out response programme from ARC pay-out date against planned Actual time taken to provide food to targeted households against planned time Monthly and final reports by DoDMA to ARC Adequate and credible structures, as described in the Operations Plan, are in place 54

55 Activities - Conduct district consultations of stakeholders on the operation - Conduct targeting and registration of beneficiaries - Conduct verification exercise of beneficiaries - Distribute cash accordingly Outcome 3: Improved implementation time for ARC activities Output 3.1:Timely completion of activity Activity completed within 180 days Final report by DoDMA to ARC Adequate and credible structures, as described in the Operations Plan, are in place Actual time taken to complete activity against planned Final report by DoDMA to ARC Adequate and credible structures, as described in the Operations Plan, are in place Activities - Distribute cash to targeted SCTP beneficiaries - Supervise and monitor operation 55

56 Unconditional Cash Transfer Social Cash Transfer Programme Activities JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN Responsible Rainy Season Harvest Conduct Vulnerability Assessment Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee Conduct Market Assessment Malawi Vulnerability Assessment Committee Facilitate identification of Beneficiaries to participate in the programme District Councils, District Social Support Committees, Community Social Support Committees Verification of Beneficiaries for the programme District Councils, District Social Support Committees, Community Social Support Committees 56

57 Allocate funds to implementing partners (NSCTS/ District Councils) Ministry of Finance, DoDMA, NSCTS, District Councils Activity out roll District Councils Monitoring and reporting DoDMA 57

58 SECTION 8: PROGRAM RISKS AND ASSUMPTION Step 16: Define risks and assumptions Risk Basis risk: number of affected people does not correspond with the range of planned figures in the Africa RiskView (ARV) model as ARV results is used in part for geographic targeting, discrepancies between the modelled number of affected people and those who actually are can lead to a distorted allocation of resources Political and economic instability (for example, economic difficulty can increase vulnerability among the population and thereby increase the number of beneficiaries and the cost of implementing the response plan) Mitigation ARV will only be used to identify areas of potential problems. Assessments will still be conducted to verify the actual problem on the ground. ARV will be customised in country over several months to improve its performance ARC funds will be used as a bridge fund until additional support is identified for the affected communities Exhaustion of SGR: risk of the SGR not having sufficient grain for immediate drawdown Availability and adequate capacity of implementing partners and NGOs External conditions impeding procurement and the physical distribution of food With the official target storage quantity of MT for emergencies, the grain reserve aims beyond that to have a minimum stock of MT available that can be used immediately and ARC payout will be used as guarantee for its replenishment. This will cut down on time required to source the food. During the 2012/13 emergency, a certain amount of maize that was supposed to be drawn from the SGR for targeted food distribution was not available however, this was not due the amount of storage being too small but to spoilage of the grain due to a technical problem The NGO identification procedures certifies capacity and credibility of NGO before engaging them in the activities Implementation of the activities is targeted during the dry season and will last until before the rainy season 58

59 Vulnerability Assessment and Market Assessment may take longer to be completed for the activity to start within 120 days: for example, the Market Assessment was only published during the month of August in 2013, which would leave little time for targeting for the activity to start by September Food procurement from external market delay Risk of inflation by transferring more cash into the market With funds being available early MVAC assessments would happen in time The Government will take emergency measures to ensure fast track of food procurement Market Assessments are done prior to implementation of the activity to ensure that the injection of cash would not cause inflation 59

60 SECTION 9: DEFINITION OF STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES Standard operating procedures represent a set of tasks that will need to be completed before, during, and after a pay out to ensure that the ARC OP/FIP plans are implemented accordingly and that funding and benefits pass on to beneficiaries within the ARC-defined timelines. These procedures form the basis of any post-pay out audit, so it is important that you think carefully about what is feasible and practical and edit/adjust the table accordingly. Step 17: Complete the following table by i) ensuring that each SOP fits your country situation, editing the details where appropriate; ii) indicating the officer responsible for each SOP, iii) verifying the timing, and iv) entering the appropriate turnaround time for each SOP. Please add additional SOPs to the table, where appropriate. # SOP Name SOP Details Informational and Planning Processes 01 Monitor food security levels 02 Update contact databases 03 FIP development and submission Intense monitoring of ARV and other EW tools to track severity and deterioration of food security situation Confirm contact details for TWG members, implementing partners and other staff involved in the rollout of a disaster risk management plan Responsible Officer Timing Turnaround time (days) Min Max Type MVac/DoDMA Ongoing Monitori ng DoDMA As soon as possibility of payout is identified 5 10 Update Mobilize the ARC TWG responsible for contingency planning DoDMA 5 10 Meeting Decide most likely scenario DoDMA 5 15 Decision As soon as Decide on most likely regions/districts to receive Technical Decision possibility of ARC funding Working payout is Groups identified Decide on most likely interventions to fund given the scenario Technical Working Groups Decision 60

61 04 FIP re-submission (if necessary) 05 Coordinate Needs Assessment 06 FIP adjustment (if necessary) Financial Processes 07 Notification to financial institution to receive ARC funding 08 Notification to implementing partners of potential funds transfer Estimate the number of vulnerable people targeted Technical Working Groups Draft FIP, including detailed budget Technical Working Groups Obtain internal government approval for the FIP Steering As soon as FIP committee has been drafted Submit FIP to ARC Secretariat for approval DoDMA Not less than 30 days before anticipated pay out Integrate feedback and resubmit FIP if not approved by the ARC Board Work with the group responsible for coordinating the larger country drought response [enter name here] to get results from the needs assessment Following the needs assessment adjust the FIP estimates regarding number of vulnerable people targeted and how ARC funds will be used Inform National Treasury and/or Ministry of Finance of the country of imminent pay out and verify all the bank details. Inform implementing partner(s) and or procurement sources of possible funds transfer and verify the bank details DODMA Technical Working Groups Technical Working Groups DoDMA DoDMA As soon as FIP Review Process decision has been communicated Less than one month before the payout Following the needs assessment 30 days before payout At least 30 days before payout Meeting Meeting Approval Submissi on 1 5 Submissi on Conduct Joint fields visit 2 7 Meeting 5 10 Meeting 5 10 Meeting 61

62 09 Verify arrival of ARC funds national account 10 Funds transfer to implementing partners Operational Processes Coordination Targeting and registration Procurement (if required by intervention selected) 14 Verify functionality of existing systems Verify arrival of ARC funds national account DoDMA At least 14 days after the end of season Transfer funds to implementing agencies and/or procurement sources Inform other implementing partners of the possibility of payout Inform county and sub-county structures of possibility of payout Inform existing programme managers of possibility of scale up (if selected intervention is scalable) Identify additional beneficiaries and update beneficiaries lists Assess completeness of list of beneficiaries in each identified district/county Identify responsible actors for the procurement of goods / supplies Verify that procurement sources and procedures are functional Confirm that food transfer distribution/ payment systems are in place and functional and can handle 5 14 Follow up DoDMA After payout 7 10 Allocatio n DoDMA DoDMA DoDMA Implementing agencies Implementing agencies Procurement Units Procurement Units Implementing partners As soon as possibility of payout is identified As soon as possibility of payout is identified As soon as possibility of payout is identified As soon as payout is confirmed As soon as payout is confirmed After funds reception As soon as possibility of payout is identified 10 days before payout 5 10 Meeting 5 20 Meetings 5 20 meetings Field visit Check 5 7 Identifica tion and selection 5 7 Task Task 62

63 additional caseload (in case of scalable intervention) 15 Communication Develop clear communication channels among implementing partners 16 Identify additional M&E personnel and training needs for a possible pay out DoDMA DoDMA As soon as payout is confirmed As soon as possibility of pay out is identified 3 10 Task - - Task Monitoring and Evaluation Ensure implementing partners are familiar with ARC M&E requirements (monthly and final implementation report) Ensure that implementing partners submit monthly progress reports Submit monthly monitoring reports to ARC Secretariat Submit final implementation report to ARC Secretariat Country Team to review lessons learned and make decisions about changes for the next Operations Plan drafting process. DoDMA DoDMA DoDMA DoDMA National Coordination As soon as payout is confirmed Ongoing during pay out Ongoing during pay out After implementation completion After implementation completion 5 15 Meetings Task Task Task Consultat ion/ Decision 63

64 Annex 1: Cash Transfer Organigram INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE SOCIAL CASH TRANSFER PROGRAMME CABINET National Social Support Steering Committee (NSSSC) Composed of the following line Ministries: Gender, Children & Social Welfare; Agriculture; Health; Finance; Local Government; Economic Planning and Development; Development and CS partners Policy National Social Support Technical Committee (NSSTC) Composed of line Ministries; development and civil society partners; and donors Direction and Recommendation on Implementation Poverty Reduction and Social Protection Division (Secretariat to NSSSC & NSSTC) (Social Cash Transfer Technical Team, Dep. of Poverty and MoGC&SW) Technical guidance and Supervision Local Council (LC) District Commissioner (DC) Financial Control District Executive Committee District Social Support Committee headed by DPD and Composed of: DEM, M&E, DCDO, DoF, DSWO, DHO, DAC, DADO, SWA s, NGOs Approval of applications District Social Support Secretariat Composed of: District Social Welfare Officer (Head); Social Welfare Assistants and Trainers Organises targeting, Approval and payment Activities Village Development Committee Community Social Support Committee Targeting and follow-up 64

65 Annex 2: Livelihood zones 65