Reducing Rural Poverty and Malnutrition Project II (RRPM II)

The development objective of Second Reducing Rural Poverty and Malnutrition Project for Lao People's Democratic Republic is to strengthen the social protection system and enhance the convergence of multisectoral interventions to improve nutrition behaviors in targeted areas, and in case of an eligible crisis or emergency, respond promptly and effectively to it. This project has five components. 1) The first component, Strengthening Social Protection Building Blocks, has the following sub-components: (i) Support regular updating of the social registry and its use by other programs; (ii) Enhancing Beneficiary Management and Payments; and (iii) Adaptive Social Protection. 2) The second component, Supporting the Implementation of the Nutrition-Sensitive Conditional Cash Transfer program, has the following sub-components: (i) Helping Hand Conditional Cash Transfer Program; and (ii) Social and Behavior Changing Communication and Village Facilitator Support. 3) The third component, Implementation Management Support & Institutional Strengthening, will finance project management costs related to operations, capacity building, and training, including financial audits, service fees for financial service providers, and implementation of environmental and social framework activities. 4) The fourth component, Enhancing the Nutrition Convergence Oversight and Coordination, aims to support the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) in the overall oversight and coordination of the Nutrition Convergence program. 5) The fifth component, Contingent Emergency, aims to allow for the reallocation of financing to provide an immediate response to an eligible crisis or emergency, as needed.