Burkina Faso COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project

As part of the World Bank’s COVID-19 emergency response plan to support developing countries in tackling challenges and issues related to the pandemic, Burkina Faso received $21.15 million towards its COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project. Specifically, the project seeks to prevent, detect, and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 and strengthen the national system for public health preparedness. Project components include emergency COVID-19 response, implementation management, and monitoring and evaluation.

BIC, along with our partner Plateforme Démocratie Sanitaire et Implication Citoyenne (DES-ICI), recently began monitoring the World Bank's COVID-19 response project in Burkina Faso and identified the following concerns:

Contrary to the Bank’s ESF requirements to make project information available in a language and manner that is understandable to stakeholders, all of the disclosed project documents are in English, whereas the official language in Burkina Faso is French. BIC and DES-ICI made efforts to obtain project documents in French, including reaching out to the Bank task team leaders (TTLs) and the Burkina Faso Ministry of Health, but the Bank has still not disclosed translated versions of project documents that interested parties can use officially. It is concerning that interested stakeholders are unable to access project documents in a language they are familiar with and understand. This limits their ability to meaningfully engage with implementers, contribute to efforts towards risk mitigation measures, and above all, hold the borrowing institution accountable. The inability of stakeholders to engage also means that affected persons and marginalized groups may miss out on life-saving early detection and care, especially considering the emergency situation. To promote transparency, accountability, and participation in project implementation, the Bank should work with borrowing governments to disclose translated versions of project documents so that interested stakeholders can understand project information. Informed, engaged stakeholders can therefore collaborate with implementation units to mitigate risks and promote the inclusion of marginalized groups.

The preliminary Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), published in April 2020, provided little detail on how civil society organizations could provide input on project design and implementation. The preliminary plan also indicated that an updated SEP would “identify the roles and responsibilities of religious leaders, traditional chefs, local elected people and NGOs including the organization of traditional healers as important stakeholders with specific roles to play in project implementation and implementation of the SEP” (p. 7). Project documents require the SEP to be updated no later than 30 days after the project effectiveness date of June 3, 2020 and throughout project implementation; however, the Bank has still not disclosed an updated SEP 13 months after the project approval date of April 28, 2020 and almost a year after the effectiveness date of June 3, 2020. The Bank needs to update the SEP and detail how identified stakeholders can participate in consultation processes in order to promote the inclusion of marginalized groups and affected parties in project benefits.

Project documents indicate that due to the public health emergency, the implementing agency did not carry out public consultations during the project design phase. There are no reports indicating that the implementing agency has engaged stakeholders in consultations and that the consultation processes are being adapted amid COVID-19 restrictions. According to DES-ICI’s monitoring report, field data gathered in communities indicate that the project did not hold public consultations and communities were not informed about the project and its impacts. Project implementation without meaningful stakeholder engagement not only risks excluding several groups from project benefits but also means that key concerns of relevant stakeholders, such as civil society, healthcare officials, communities, will not be addressed. Public consultations, when organized as early as possible in the project cycle, are key to designing and achieving an inclusive project. Holding consultations after implementation has begun raises serious concerns; how will the project team effectively incorporate feedback obtained from late consultations into project redesign? Moving forward, the Bank needs to work with borrowing countries to prioritize the effective participation of communities and civil society in design and implementation processes for improved accountability and inclusion of marginalized groups.

Last Updated

June 1, 2021

Location

Burkina Faso

Institution

World Bank Group

Campaigns

Stakeholder Engagement

Total Cost

US $21.15 million

Funding

World Bank

MDB Financing Status

Closed