Niger - Second Adaptive Safety Net Project

Overview & Synopsis

Ratings of the Niger Adaptive Safety Net Project 2 for Niger were as follows: outcome was moderately unsatisfactory; Bank performance was satisfactory; monitoring and evaluation quality was substantial. Key lessons indicate that adaptive social protection (ASP) systems can function effectively in fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) settings when projects are explicitly designed to anticipate and respond to shocks and retain flexibility as contexts evolve. Future operations should embed triggerable mechanisms for crisis response within project design to maintain service continuity during insecurity, as demonstrated by the shock response component, and leverage innovations that create longer-term efficiencies. Disruptive information and communications technology (ICT) solutions add clear value in low-income and FCV environments when they are tailored, tested, and iteratively refined in context; this includes tools such as an early warning system (EWS) for faster, data-driven scale-up. A strong gender focus is essential: measures that increase women’s income and decision-making power yield multiplier effects for household welfare, adaptive capacity, and community resilience. Proactive donor coordination enhances impact and continuity for beneficiaries; structured partnerships with humanitarian and development actors can sustain critical programs during pauses in financing and should be institutionalized. Fiduciary risks can be mitigated through robust, hands-on implementation support and tighter controls; institutional arrangements should favor placing the project implementation unit (PIU) within the relevant line ministry rather than the Office of the Prime Minister to bolster ownership, capacity building, and oversight. Establishing an empowered oversight committee at the appropriate level is recommended to strengthen checks and balances and sustain governance quality through shocks.