Tajikistan: Improved Maternal and Child Health through Connectivity
The primary objective of the project is to improve maternal and child health results for isolated rural communities of five jamoats in Rasht district, one of the poorest regions of the country with the highest rate of food insecurity. Health services are poor and knowledge of health-promoting behavior is limited. The situation has worsened since March 2009 when the only bridge connecting the communities to the district center was destroyed by flooding. Residents now have to make a 17 kilometer detour to access the road to the district center. This has seriously constrained access to social services, especially health-care facilities, for communities lacking adequate local health services. The project outcome will be improved access of the marginalized rural poor in five jamoats in Rasht district to strengthened health services.
Project Details
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Project Officer
Nuriddinov, Farrukh Sharofiddinovich
Central and West Asia Department
Request for information -
Country/Economy
Tajikistan -
Sector
- Transport
Project Name | Improved Maternal and Child Health through Connectivity | ||||
Project Number | 46077-001 | ||||
Country / Economy | Tajikistan |
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Project Status | Closed | ||||
Project Type / Modality of Assistance | Grant |
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Source of Funding / Amount |
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Strategic Agendas | Inclusive economic growth |
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Drivers of Change | Gender Equity and Mainstreaming Partnerships |
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Sector / Subsector | Transport / Road transport (non-urban) |
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Gender Equity and Mainstreaming | Some gender elements | ||||
Description | The primary objective of the project is to improve maternal and child health results for isolated rural communities of five jamoats in Rasht district, one of the poorest regions of the country with the highest rate of food insecurity. Health services are poor and knowledge of health-promoting behavior is limited. The situation has worsened since March 2009 when the only bridge connecting the communities to the district center was destroyed by flooding. Residents now have to make a 17 kilometer detour to access the road to the district center. This has seriously constrained access to social services, especially health-care facilities, for communities lacking adequate local health services. The project outcome will be improved access of the marginalized rural poor in five jamoats in Rasht district to strengthened health services. The project will support (i) rehabilitation of the bridge and improvement of the rural road, which is linked to Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) corridors 3 and 5; and (ii) increased use of effective health services and nutrition practices in communities. About 40,000 villagers will benefit from these interventions. | ||||
Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy | The Government of Tajikistan identifies primary health care and Maternal and Child Health as top priorities in its comprehensive National Health Sector Strategy, 2010-2020. Poor child health outcomes in Tajikistan are caused by systemic health sector issues, including chronically limited financing and poor quality health services; poverty, particularly in rural areas; limited knowledge of health-promoting behavior; and poor access to clean water. The general population has insufficient access to health-related information and lacks awareness of the causes of ill health. The project area (Rasht district) is one of the most traditional and conservative areas in Tajikistan. Women from the area are less likely than women from other regions to participate in community activities or seek health services. Both the Infant Mortality Rate and Under-five Mortality Rate are 10%-15% higher in Rasht district compared with other regions. The district is one of the poorest in the country and has the highest rate of food insecurity (11%-18% of the population is classified as extremely food insecure and 74% as moderately food insecure). The project would support combined and interlinked health and transport interventions to improve the health of mothers and children. The bridge access and road improvement together with health interventions will have multiple synergetic social and economic effects; (i) improved transport services (e.g., availability, frequency, reliability, and costs); (ii) greater accessibility to health care resulting in improved health outcomes for women and children (due to an increased number of people seeking treatment for illness due to reduced travel times); (iii) better access to education opportunities; (iv) uninterrupted flow of agricultural goods and services (such as seed, fertilizer, and crops) across the river; and (v) growth in livestock raising through improved access to veterinary services and better access to market opportunities. The improved accessibility will increase economic opportunities of poor rural households, which in turn will contribute to increased income and, thus, improved health outcomes among women and children. The health information component of the project will increase demand for health services, and the project will support activities to match the demand by increasing the supply and quality of health services. The project will help ensure this supply by enhancing the mobility of health personnel and supplies by reestablishing the bridge and road connection and equipping the rural hospital in Navobod with a safe and operating ambulance. The Country Partnership Strategy for 2010-2014 emphasizes ADB's continuing involvement in the transport sector through investments in domestic and regional road links, and includes gender mainstreaming as a core cross-cutting theme. The Project will contribute to achieving MDG 4 (reduce child mortality) and MDG 5 (improve maternal health) in the project area. |
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Impact | Improved child and maternal health results in five isolated jamoats in Rasht district |
Project Outcome | |
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Description of Outcome | Improved access of the marginalized rural poor in five jamoats in Rasht district to strengthened health services |
Progress Toward Outcome | All project activities were successfully completed by the end of September 2016. Assessment of the project progress towards outcome is ongoing. |
Implementation Progress | |
Description of Project Outputs | 58 communities in Rasht valley have improved access to transport and social facilities Targeted communities effectively use health services and nutrition practices Effective project management, monitoring and evaluation of results |
Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues) | ROAD REHABILITATION: The civil works contract for rehabilitation of 9 km road and bridge was awarded on 3 September 2014 and signed on 5 September 2014. The main civil works were substantially completed by the end of 2015. In February 2016, ADB approved the Governments request to extend the main civil work contract until 30 June 2016 to allow improvement of further 1.5 km road section using remaining grant funds. Rehabilitation was completed by the end of June 2016. Local contractors and communities in five targeted djamoats of Rasht district were trained in conducting day-to-day infrastructure maintenance and minor repair works. Besides, a joint road maintenance association was established among all five djamoats to enhance communities capacity for routine road maintenance. The joint association pooled together existing machinery and equipment from five djamoats. As the result, the association owned a grader, an excavator, and a loader, in addition to the available tools (clothing, shovels, pickaxes, etc). The project filled in the available gap in this list by procuring a dump-track, which was considered to be crucial for proper and timely cleaning of the road during mudflows and rock falls. HEALTH COMPONENT: The project team in consultation with MOHSP and local authorities has identified the training needs of health workers (October 2013) and delivered training programs on obstetric/infant care (May 2014) (covering 80 staff or 100% of the targeted health workers), Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) (October 2014), and TOT trainings (February 2015). Implementation of the awareness raising activities was completed in September 2016. Besides, in December 2014 the project completed rehabilitation of a Diagnostic Center building of Rural Medical Facility in Jamoat Navobod (Rasht District). The project also procured a new ambulance (September 2014) and the required basic essential medical equipment, furniture, tools (December 2014) for the rural hospital in Navobod township. |
Geographical Location |
Safeguard Categories | |
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Environment | B |
Involuntary Resettlement | C |
Indigenous Peoples | C |
Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects | |
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Environmental Aspects | The due diligence confirmed that the Project does not pass through any environmentally sensitive areas and will not result in significantly negative environmental impacts, and therefore, for environmental safeguards the Project is classified as having environmental category B. MOT prepared an initial environmental examination (IEE) according to ADB's Safeguard Policy Statement (2009) and national legislation and regulations. The IEE was disclosed on ADB website on 24 September 2012. Project-affected people were duly consulted. The IEE includes an environmental management plan to minimize the Project's potential environmental impacts. MOT, assisted by an environmental expert, will be responsible for implementing the plan and submitting to ADB a semi-annual monitoring report. |
Involuntary Resettlement | The Project is categorized C for potential involuntary resettlement (IR) and indigenous peoples (IP) impacts since no land acquisition and impacts on IPs are foreseen. All activities will be conducted in the existing Right of Way (ROW) and other available land with no IR impacts. A due diligence mission to the project site was fielded and a report was prepared accordingly. |
Indigenous Peoples | No ethnic minorities that fall under the definition of ADB SPS (2009) on Indigenous Peoples are identified in the project site to trigger the policy application. The Project categorized as C. |
Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation | |
During Project Design | The project was formulated in consultation with Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Health, local governments, rural communities, and development partners concerned, particularly the Embassy of Japan in Tajikistan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, as well as people affected by the project. ADB held several consultations with district authorities, communities, and women's groups to identify primary and secondary stakeholders, their perceptions of current problems, and interest in the project. The project scope and approach have also been discussed with World Health Organization, United Nations Children's Fund, World Bank, GIZ, and Global Funds. All development partners agree on the importance of the project. |
During Project Implementation | The project design promotes consultation among all stakeholders, including Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, local governments with active participation of community and jamoat leaders, district administrators, the Embassy of Japan in Tajikistan, Japan International Cooperation Agency, World Health Organization, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Children's Fund, World Bank, GIZ, and Global Funds. Ministry of Transport will provide national coordination of the project and disseminate information on project activities to all project stakeholders and partners through consultation workshops, seminars, and public awareness campaigns. The project will build the capacity of key local stakeholders (local government, community-based organizations, and contractors) to carry out community-based maintenance work through participatory planning and mobilizing local resources. The project will rely on a variety of training and awareness-raising channels, including community-based education, counseling, schools, parent-teacher associations, local organizations (i.e., farmer associations, village infrastructure maintenance associations) in developing and implementing behavior change communication activities |
Business Opportunities | |
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Consulting Services | MOT will recruit all consultants under the project in consultation with ADB according to ADB's Guidelines on the Use of Consultants (2010, as amended from time to time). Individual international and national experts are expected to be hired for the positions of project manager (national, 36 person-months), technical advisor (international, 3 person-months), health coordinator (national, 36 person-months), environmental expert (national, 3 person-months), baseline survey and impact assessment, and monitoring and evaluation (4 person-months). MOT will recruit the independent external auditor using the consultants' qualifications selection (CQS). |
Procurement | Procurement under the project will be conducted in accordance with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Procurement Guidelines (2010, as amended from time to time). Procurement of civil works will follow (i) international competitive bidding (ICB) procedure for bridge rehabilitation and/or road improvement contract that exceeds ICB threshold indicated in the procurement plan, and (ii) national competitive bidding (NCB) procedure for renovation of health facilities contract, a value of which meets the NCB threshold in the procurement plan. The shopping method will be used for procuring contracts less than the threshold indicated in the procurement plan for basic essential medical equipment, furniture, tools, new ambulance, and small-valued items, including office furniture. Local consulting firms will be engaged for printing information, education, and communication materials using a national short-listing given the small contracts amounts. |
Responsible ADB Officer | Nuriddinov, Farrukh Sharofiddinovich |
Responsible ADB Department | Central and West Asia Department |
Responsible ADB Division | Tajikistan Resident Mission |
Executing Agencies |
Ministry of Transport Mr. Arabzoda, Nurali Sayvali, Executive Director for Project Implementation Unit for Roads Rehabilitation [email protected], [email protected] 14, Aini Street Dushanbe 734042 Tajikistan Ministry of Transport [email protected] 14, Aini Street Dushanbe 734042 Tajikistan |
Timetable | |
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Concept Clearance | 01 Dec 2011 |
Fact Finding | 06 Jun 2012 to 06 Jun 2012 |
MRM | 03 Oct 2012 |
Approval | 07 Mar 2013 |
Last Review Mission | - |
Last PDS Update | 24 Mar 2017 |
Grant 9171-TAJ
Milestones | |||||
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Approval | Signing Date | Effectivity Date | Closing | ||
Original | Revised | Actual | |||
07 Mar 2013 | 09 Apr 2013 | 09 Apr 2013 | 31 Mar 2016 | 30 Sep 2016 | 16 Mar 2017 |
Financing Plan | Grant Utilization | ||||
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Total (Amount in US$ million) | Date | ADB | Others | Net Percentage | |
Project Cost | 2.93 | Cumulative Contract Awards | |||
ADB | 0.00 | 17 Jun 2022 | 0.00 | 2.49 | 100% |
Counterpart | 0.43 | Cumulative Disbursements | |||
Cofinancing | 2.50 | 17 Jun 2022 | 0.00 | 2.49 | 100% |
Status of Covenants | ||||||
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Category | Sector | Safeguards | Social | Financial | Economic | Others |
Rating | - | - | - | Satisfactory | - | Satisfactory |
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ADB, Japan Support Tajik Communities with Better Access to Improved Health
Today, ADB and the Government of Tajikistan signed an agreement for a project that will improve access of isolated rural communities in eastern Tajikistan to strengthened health services.
Tenders
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Procurement Plan
Title | Document Type | Document Date |
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Improved Maternal and Child Health through Connectivity: Procurement Plan | Procurement Plans | Mar 2016 |