Lesotho Pathways to Sustainable Livelihoods Project

According to project documents, the Project Development Objective is “to improve the efficiency and equity of selected social assistance programs and to strengthen the livelihoods of ‘poor and vulnerable’ households in Lesotho.” The project includes components focused on an economic inclusion package, shock responsive cash transfers, and strengthening the social protection system infrastructure.

NISSA is not inclusive of all types of disabilities. The National Information System for Social Assistance (NISSA) is currently the only instrument used to collect data for marginalized groups to determine disability and economic status. NISSA determines eligibility in two social assistance programs to which the project provides contingency cash transfers, as well as the eligibility of children with disabilities to receive assistive devices. However, NISSA does not define disability in a way that includes all types of disabilities, often leaving out persons with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities from qualifying for social assistance programs.

Income eligibility does not match need. Children have to be categorized as “poor” or “ultra-poor” in order to receive assistive devices under subcomponent 1b. Assistive devices are expensive and most families are unable to afford them, leading to a host of children with disabilities being excluded from getting necessary assistive devices.

Contingency financing not expanding adequately. The Lesotho National Federation of Organisations of the Disabled (LNFOD) found that contingency financing was helpful to those who received cash transfers, and that households with a member with a disability greatly benefited from contingency finance. The Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) calls for increasing benefit amounts (vertical expansion) as well as the amount of recipients (horizontal expansion) in contingency financing to four existing social assistance programs: the Child Grant Program, Public Assistance, Orphans and Vulnerable Children Bursary Program, and Old Age Pension. However, contingency funding provided as “top-ups'' are only being received by the beneficiaries of the Child Grant Program. Persons with disabilities who are recipients of the three other social assistance programs are thus not receiving contingency financing. Further, the grant amount is too small to make a lasting impact on its beneficiaries.

NISSA should incorporate a comprehensive definition of disability that encompasses all disabilities, including physical, intellectual, and psychosocial, to accurately allow all persons with disabilities to meet eligibility criteria for social assistance. NISSA should expand its data collection strategy to include indicators that measure participation and the impact of project operations on all persons with disabilities by using the Washington Group questions on disability. By adopting this approach, NISSA can prioritize disability-inclusion, particularly when utilizing its services to identify eligible beneficiaries of social assistance programs.

Equity within disability inclusiveness should be prioritized so that every person with a disability can enjoy project benefits. This means the project should include a component to provide institutional support to schools, along with assistive devices so that those with all types of disabilities can benefit from project operations. Those from a range of socioeconomic statuses should also be able to benefit: families who are not “poor” and “ultra-poor” should be eligible to receive assistive devices considering they still remain out of reach for most families. Moreover, children with disabilities who are out of school should also be targeted to help bring them into the education system.

The expansion of contingency funding, as outlined in project documents, is crucial to enabling persons with disabilities to receive sufficient emergency cash transfers within existing social assistance programs. Horizontal expansion of contingency funding initiatives should begin so that all social assistance beneficiaries, including persons with disabilities, receive contingency financing. Furthermore, an increase in grant amount per recipient should be reconsidered to strengthen its positive impact on recipients.

While the economic inclusion package is set to target youth, women, and men, persons with disabilities are not specifically referenced in this component and risk being overlooked. There should be a target within this component for a percentage of targeted household beneficiaries that includes households with disabilities.

Last Updated

November 9, 2023

Location

Lesotho

Institution

World Bank Group

Campaigns

Disability Rights

Total Cost

US $26.50 million

Funding

World Bank

MDB Financing Status

Active