Vulnerable and Marginalised Group Framework Kenya Social and Economic Inclusion Project (KSEIP)

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1.1 Background

This Vulnerable and Marginalised Group Framework (VMGF) has been prepared with respect to the proposed Kenya Social and Economic Inclusion Project (KSEIP) to be supported by the World Bank. It is based on the findings and recommendations of the Social Assessment that was also conducted for this project. Since the proposed project interventions will be implemented in areas where Indigenous Peoples (IPs) are present referred to in Kenya as Vulnerable and Marginalized Groups (VMGs the World Bank (WB) safeguard policy OP/BP 4.10 has been triggered and a VMGF prepared to guide the implementation of the project.

The KSEIP aims to enhance access of poor and vulnerable households and strengthen delivery systems for provision of social and economic inclusion services and shock responsive safety nets. It builds on the National Safety Net Program (NSNP) by continuing to strengthen systems already established under the NSNP, but also contains new interventions, including expanding nutrition sensitive safety net services for pregnant and lactating mothers and children under two years, and testing economic inclusion activities to inform design decisions for possible future scale up contextualized to the Kenyan experience.

The objective of the VMGF is to guide the preparation of KSEIP interventions that may affect VMGs in the proposed project areas. The VMGF is based on the OP 4.10 of the World Bank and the applicable laws and regulations of the Government of Kenya. The OP 4.10 is triggered when it is likely that groups that meet criteria of World Bank OP 4.10 “are present in, or have collective attachment to, the project area.” The VMGF includes: proposed types of interventions and activities; potential positive and negative effects on VMGs; a framework for ensuring free, prior, and informed consultation; institutional arrangements for assessing project-supported activities and reviewing and identifying presence of VMGs in project sites; monitoring and reporting arrangements; and disclosure arrangements for VMGs.

This VMGF has been prepared based on the final project design. Given that the project design follows a participatory implementation approach for some of the proposed activities, specific aspects of these activities (i.e. types of income generating activities to be undertaken by each beneficiary) cannot be determined prior to implementation as it depends on priorities and preferences identified by the beneficiary. As such, it was not possible to predict all the potential negative impacts, as is required in a Vulnerable and Marginalised Group Plan (VMGP). Therefore, this VGMF will be used by the SDSP and the NDMA in ensuring that the provisions of the World Bank’s Operational Policy (OP) 4.10 are integrated in the implementation and management of the project. This will ensure that negative impacts are adequately identified and mitigated against, whilst potential positive impacts on the VMGs are enhanced.