What are we funding?
GRANT AMOUNT | ENDORSEMENT DATE | ACTIVITIES | INSTRUMENTS SUPPORTED | WB PROJECT |
US$2.5 million (FY20) US$3 million (FY23) | June 6, 2019 (FY20)
August 4, 2022 (FY23) | Expanding the coverage and functionality of the country’s social protection system so that it can be scaled up using a World Bank contingent finance mechanism. | Shock-responsive mechanism for social safety net program leveraging contingent credit (CERC) | Sierra Leone Safety Nets Project (P143588) US$ 87 M (approved on December 17, 2020) Productive Social Safety Nets and Youth Employment (P176789) US$ 40 M (approved on March 8, 2022 |
- Sierra Leone’s flagship cash transfer program, Ep Fet Po, serves as a reliable safety net. Established with support from the World Bank and other development partners in 2014, it has enabled the country to more efficiently allocate emergency cash transfers originating from different financing sources.
- Sierra Leone received two GSFF grants totaling US$5.5 million. The first grant enhanced the trigger and disbursement systems of Sierra Leone’s safety net and supported the country’s DRF strategy. The latest grant updates the DRF strategy, institutionalizes standard operating procedures for funding emergency response, and supports a digital public works program pilot. The program will hire approximately 2,000 youths to collect data in disasterprone urban areas with the goal of expanding the registry of households eligible for emergency cash transfers.
- These improvements follow the success of earlier interventions that enabled the government to scale up its flagship cash transfer program between 2020 and 2023. More than 100,000 households received a one-time emergency cash transfer of US$135 during the COVID-19 pandemic and in response to fuel and food price shocks.
Useful links
- Sierra Leone Safety Nets Project (P143588)
- Productive Social Safety Nets and Youth Employment (P176789)