Gender and Social Inclusion. Unless MCC and the Government agree otherwise in writing, the Government shall ensure that all Projects and Activities undertaken, funded, or otherwise supported in whole or in part (directly or indirectly) by MCC Funding comply with the Gender Policy, Counter-Trafficking in Persons Policy, and the Operational Requirements and Milestones for Social Inclusion and Gender Integration.
Gender and Social Inclusion. The Parties shall agree in writing to the applicable gender and social inclusion measures for each activity of the ACFD Project as activities are identified.
Gender and Social Inclusion. Unless MCC and Belize agree otherwise in writing, Belize shall ensure that all Projects and Activities undertaken, funded, or otherwise supported in whole or in part (directly or indirectly) by MCC Funding comply with the Gender Policy, Counter-Trafficking in Persons Policy, and the Operational Requirements and Milestones for Social Inclusion and Gender Integration. Role of MCA-Belize.
(a) Designation of MCA-Belize.
(i) Pursuant to Section 3.2(b) of the Compact, Belize has designated, a statutory corporation named Millennium Challenge Account-Belize (“MCA-Belize”), as the primary agent of Belize to implement the Program and to exercise and perform Belize’s right and responsibility to oversee, manage, and implement the Program, including without limitation, managing implementation of Projects and Activities, allocating resources and managing procurements, and exercising its rights and responsibilities under the CDF Agreement (the “Designated Rights and Responsibilities”). The Parties note that Belize remains ultimately responsible for the performance of Belize’s obligations under or in relation to the Compact and this Agreement.
(ii) Belize shall ensure that MCA-Belize is and remains throughout the Compact Term (and during the Closure Period as provided in the Closure Plan), duly organized, sufficiently staffed, and empowered to exercise the Designated Rights and Responsibilities.
(iii) The “Accountable Entity” referenced in the Program Guidelines shall be deemed to refer to MCA-Belize, and all obligations assigned to the “Accountable Entity” in the Program Guidelines shall be obligations of MCA-Belize.
(b) Additional Country Undertakings with Respect to MCA-Belize. Belize hereby affirms to MCC as follows:
Gender and Social Inclusion. To address women’s mobility barriers, the CTR Project includes a three-pronged Improved Women’s Mobility Sub-activity, described above. The ESIA conducted by ANE indicates that the construction of the Licungo Bridge has the potential to improve income generation opportunities for women and youth, initially through the Project’s construction jobs and afterward, through enhanced access to the sale of agricultural and livestock products. The CTR Project may present social and gender-related risks to women, children, and communities near project sites, mainly in terms of sexual harassment, gender-based violence, and trafficking in persons (particularly sex trafficking). Construction works may involve a large influx of male workers who may engage in harmful behaviors, especially toward women and children. The initial trafficking in persons assessment identified that forced labor is a risk in the CTR Project and highlighted the risks that improving roads can support existing trafficking corridors and tendencies. Road safety is also of significant concern in Mozambique and will need to be further assessed in the proposed roads, both for motorized and non-motorized road users. The Licungo Bridge ESIA conducted by ANE also identifies the increase in gender-based violence by affluent workers in the region and increased prostitution, early marriages, and unplanned pregnancies. Therefore, the CTR Project will mitigate these risks through a holistic approach, including awareness raising among communities and with construction workers/employees, setting up effective reporting and response mechanisms, conducting strong oversight during implementation, and working with relevant government and non-governmental institutions. The Project will also explore the use of digital platforms to monitor compliance and report safety incidents. Finally, the CTR Project also includes efforts to improve women’s and youth’s employment through the road construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance interventions. These efforts will consist of resources for skills training, job orientation, mentorship, and support in establishing associations to compete for maintenance contracts.
Gender and Social Inclusion. Through the ZCAP Activity, the PRIA Project will seek to address the needs and opportunities of both women and youth. It will have as targets that: 40 percent of the smallholder farmer beneficiaries will be women and 30 percent of the smallholder farmer beneficiaries will be youth. The ZCAP Activity will support this effort by implementing the Gender Action Learning System through the Sub-activity discussed above. To accomplish this, the ZCAP Activity’s technical assistance to aggregators and smallholder farmers will provide support with inclusive business plans for aggregators, results-based financing, extension services and provision of inputs (such as seeds and fertilizer) to smallholder farmers, implementation of the Gender Action Learning System, and gender-based violence risk mitigation. The Gender Action Learning System has been successfully implemented with Mozambique’s farmers in past projects. Based on this earlier success, the PRIA Project expects to improve women’s participation in managing household income, production, and assets, as well as reduce gender-based violence, raise awareness of gender inequality and improve the allocation of chores within the household. Without this effort, the ZCAP Activity would continue replicating the gender disparities in Mozambique’s agricultural sector. Moving forward, the ZCAP Activity will explore the use of digital platforms to enhance the impact of interventions, especially on women smallholder farmers and youth (for example, to improve access to extension services and coordination with aggregators). The initial trafficking in persons assessment identified trafficking in persons risks related to family farming, therefore, the PRIA Project will seek to further assess this risk and address it appropriately, focusing more on the risks of forced child labor.
Gender and Social Inclusion. The CLCR Project presents exciting opportunities to support women and youth in the fisheries sector, both from an income generation focus and from participation in decision-making in the fisheries sector. Selected partners will integrate methodologies to support women’s empowerment and decision-making at the household and community level. The Project will support institutional strengthening of the Ministry of Fisheries from a gender and social inclusion perspective. The CLCR Project will benefit from gender and social inclusion analyses to understand better how gender, age, socioeconomic status, and other social norms create barriers and influence opportunities for women, youth, or other marginalized social groups. These analyses will also guide the Project’s efforts to support fisheries with an inclusive and gender- responsive approach, promoting women’s economic empowerment and participation in the fisheries management committees. The analyses will also assess and propose mitigation measures for potential risks to women and vulnerable groups, including issues related to land ownership. The analyses will be designed to include, learn from, and influence diverse members of communities, provincial and district government, the private sector, and staff of the implementing agencies. These analyses will also explore gender and social risks, including the risk of sexual exploitation and other forms of gender-based violence that women face in the fisheries sector. The CLCR Project will shape ongoing attention to gender and inclusion through follow-up studies, public communications, support to Mozambique, and intensive work with communities. The CLCR Project will also build upon the initial trafficking in persons assessment to identify trafficking risks. Of particular concern are the young boys impacted by the planned beach seine removal program, which may put these boys at risk of traffickers or further exploitation.
Gender and Social Inclusion. Under the Access Activity, access to electricity has multiple benefits for households, enterprises, schools, and health facilities. A multi-country analysis that included 26 African countries indicated that electricity access has positive and significant impacts on educational outcomes (study time, years of schooling, and school enrollment), with higher impacts for rural areas compared with urban areas. Likewise positive impacts on household income in both farm and nonfarm activities were noted. The Connections Sub-Activity seeks to support grid electricity connections to households (including low income and female headed), agri-businesses, schools, and health facilities, by addressing demand side connections barriers (financial and non-financial) that disproportionately affect low-income households. Gender and social inclusion considerations shall be taken into account in the initial selection of agro-processors with high growth potential. Under the EDSA Capacity Building Activity, limited institutional capacity in customer service and a cumbersome connection process are additional contributing factors limiting the poor from accessing grid electricity. EDSA customer service staff are interested in training and other capacity building support in key areas on how to interact with customers, collect data, conduct communication and education campaigns, and inclusively engage the community on issues relevant to low-income customers. This Activity shall facilitate EDSA’s development of a gender-responsive and socially inclusive customer service strategy to implement the pro-poor connection policy to be developed by the Ministry of Energy. The Distribution and Access Project may have negative impacts on communities in Project areas. These may include TIP, gender-based violence, sexual harassment, and other risks. The ESIA shall include a Project-specific assessment on TIP and other social and gender risks to inform Project funding to mitigate and address these risks. Sierra Leone shall ensure the application of inclusive stakeholder engagement so that the views and concerns of women, youth and marginalized groups are taken into account in Project design and implementation.
Gender and Social Inclusion. The Energy Storage Project’s PIR activities shall address challenges associated with the Government’s capacity to collect or analyze disaggregated information on energy use, the integration of inclusion and gender priorities into energy sector planning and Project implementation, and inclusive consumer outreach and consultation processes. The Project may provide support to the Government to consistently consider inclusion and poverty concerns as such concerns relate to the implementation of cost-reflective tariffs and a vulnerable customer program. Battery storage site selection, land acquisition, and any resettlement processes will consider and address inclusion and gender concerns through site selection criteria and compensation arrangements. Any resettlement processes must take into consideration inclusion and gender concerns related to the land and ownership rights, whether formal, informal, or customary, among women and minority groups. The ESOC shall provide additional capacity for MCA- Kosovo to support implementation of the social inclusion and gender requirements. A focus on inclusive and gender-informed stakeholder engagement shall be maintained at all stages of Program development and implementation, including with organizations representing women and vulnerable groups or the poor, and shall be included in the Compact-level SEP. Trafficking in persons (TIP) risks shall continue to be assessed and monitored, including in relation to the battery supply chain. To address the under-representation of women in employment and entrepreneurship, cross- cutting opportunities shall support increased participation by women-owned businesses among suppliers and female representation among employees and board members of the MFES Entity.
Gender and Social Inclusion. The JETA Project shall support opportunities for building a more inclusive energy sector workforce and enabling more equitable economic opportunities in the sector. This Project aims to take advantage of Kosovo’s energy transition to overcome female exclusion, expand the pool of talent available to energy sector employers, and allow women to more fully participate in Kosovo’s transition to a more just energy future. To the extent that the Project results in construction, typical gender and social issues related to construction shall be addressed. The Energy Skills for the Future Activity shall require a series of gender integration measures to be incorporated into the detailed design to address women’s under-representation in similar programs in Kosovo and ensure more gender balanced participation, striving for fifty percent participation by women in the training programs. The Project’s TIP risks shall continue to be assessed and monitored, with TIP requirements complemented by additional outreach and education. Activities aimed at strengthening female employment shall carefully consider and address possibilities for sexual harassment, which can be particularly pronounced in male-dominated environments. Minority groups and communities are anticipated to face higher barriers to participation, and additional measures shall be built into the program to ensure their participation, such as specific outreach to minority communities in their own languages and media channels and dedicated outreach to minority group-led and managed energy companies.
Gender and Social Inclusion. The Borrower (through Hunan Province) shall ensure that the Project will increase the socio-economic empowerment of rural women including young women and women in the project areas by setting an overall outreach target at 60% women and 30% youth. The Project will pay particular attention to the empowerment of women by: (i) expanding their access to and control over resources; (ii) strengthening their agency, decision making role in community affairs, and representation in local institutions; and (iii) building on their untapped potential for sustainable development.
