WFP TURKEY E FOOD CARD PROGRAMME. Heads of Programme Meeting 11 th -12 th August

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1 WFP TURKEY E FOOD CARD PROGRAMME

2 Overview Programme Basics Visa card platform (relationship between bank and visa is held with the partner) One card issued per container/tent Cards can be held by men or women, but around 60-70% of cards are issued to women Anyone in container/tent can shop wit the card (but minors should not use the cards) Can buy any food commodity except: alcohol, sweets/chocolate, chips, cigarettes 80 TL pp/pm is provided in two fortnightly installments, balance is cleared at the end of the month Operational in 14 out of 20 camps assisting 115,000 people In camps only 46 shops involved in the programme, Government runs tenders and contracts, TRC has a separate contract with the shops and WFP approves shops Programme has reduced costs from USD pp/pm to 45 USD pp/pm saving around 20 million USD per month 2

3 Overview Key Contextual factors Government is in control of camp management, including registration process and registration lists etc. The support and assistance provided to the Syrian population is of a very high standard however, the level is not uniform across all camps. Provision of assistance is administered by the local authorities, and each authority determines their own standards and there are significant differences in services in different camps (so WFP must negotiate programme basics and standards etc. with individual managers). Camps are fully populated when they are completed, while numbers may increase slightly afterwards there is no further expansion to individual camps. Syrians who want access to camps are kept on the Syrian side of the border until a new camp opens (with increasing levels of desperation there are now more illegal entries into Turkey and also people who entered legally to live outside of camps who have depleted assets are also seeking access often by sitting themselves outside of a camp) Turkish Red Crescent is only NGO allowed to operate in the camps but is a very strong partner. Highly integrated major supermarkets in town areas near camps, there are many major super market brands as well as smaller markets 3

4 How it is set up (technically) Beneficiary list and Verification WFP provides assistance to all registered Syrians living in the camps in which it operates (operates in 14 out of 20 camps). The Government of Turkey undertakes registration and issuance of Identification Cards in camps. Registration is done by local authorities and every province uses a different registration platform/database. One Visa card is issued per each container/tent in the camp, except containers hosting single men together who each get their own card (families are divided into containers, so generally one card per family but not always) All refugees have ID cards with their names/photos and indication of number of container where they are living. The Visa Cards have the container number printed on them, the beneficiary must present their ID card and Visa card for cross checking during the redemption. 4

5 How it is set up (technically) The payment System Each fortnight, AFAD provides the numbers of containers per camp and the number of people living in each container to TRC/WFP which is the basis of the beneficiary list. This is all the beneficiary information that WFP requires and asks for. TRC estimates beneficiary list based on camp population data (1 week before first payment of the month is due ) WFP transfers funds for the whole month 2 days before the first upload of the month is due A few days before each fortnightly payment is due, the Government provides final beneficiary list to TRC TRC provides final list to the bank including how much should be uploaded on each card and also provides to WFP Bank holds for one day and then transfers onto cards On the last day of the month, funds are cleared from cards and the next day new funds are uploaded TRC provides final beneficiary list to WFP for verification No transaction costs are charged and 9,000 free cards were provided. WFP now pays around 3 USD per new card 5

6 How it is set up (technically) Training and education Specialized training products/brochures were developed and translated by WFP in coordination with TRC TRC and WFP developed education and training programmes to be implemented when the programme starts in each new camp On-going sessions held with shop owners to ensure adequate standards Camp Managers meeting planned for late August 6

7 How it is set up (technically Feedback and Complaints mechanism TRC has a service desk/container set up in each camp. Complaints are registered and bought to the attention of senior management Issues with cards are documented (including lost/stolen and broken) and shared with WFP at central level WFP field monitors are present in each camp every day doing monitoring. 7

8 The partners TRC Already had the card platform developed (but no operational system) Holds contract and relationship with the bank Contributes significantly to the non-commodity operating costs (i.e. through staffing) With the guidance and technical support of WFP, TRC contracts and train shops in voucher project implementation. The shops selection criteria ws jointly developed by WFP and TRC in consultation with local authorities. Distribute visa cards to the beneficiaries according to the agreed specifications and plan. Maintains proper accounts of all funds received from WFP and disbursed onto cards. Provides monthly progress reports, including both narrative and quantitative information on beneficiaries assisted and funds disbursed to shops. Liaises with HALKBANK to ensure timely payment of the shops and uploading money to the smart card of beneficiaries WFP Provides technical assistance on how to design and implement an e-voucher programme (i.e. verification, shop contracting, monitoring etc.) The final list of shops selected for vouchers is endorsed by WFP. Provides funding for commodity cost Undertakes monitoring of households and shops Financial monitoring and controlling UNHCR UNHCR has provided some of the cooking facilities in some camps, including: fridges, shelves, stoves and cooking sets Government Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides the overall authority for WFP to operate in Turkey Disaster Management and Response Presidency (AFAD) is responsible for the delivery of services in the camps Local Governors/Sub Governors are responsible for management of camps and camp budgets Local camp managers run tendering and selection process for shops and assist WFP and TRC to ensure quality and standards are met 8

9 Key financial monitoring WFP checks on a monthly basis Halkbank statements to ensure that funds have been transferred by TRC as per the final list provided by AFAD to TRC. WFP receives a card abnormalities report from the partner, including: lost, stolen and broken cards (this leads to differences between the final AFAD list and what is transferred). WFP validates these cards and checks that no further funds have been transferred to the cards and that they have been cancelled on time. WFP issues a financial irregularities report to the partner each month and allows two weeks for the partner to respond. 9

10 Key challenges and lessons learned Had to establish programme financial monitoring and control reports and processes for the e-card, programme now has a large emphasis on this as the partner, not WFP, has the relationship with the bank Time to replace lost/stolen cards and what to do in the interim (in Turkey the Government should provide interim assistance) Strong education of shop owners at the onset of the programme to ensure pricing and quality is fair Had to ensure that balances were printed on receipts WFP use of language, the name e-voucher programme makes no sense when it was a card and people could not understand it, very quickly we rebranded as E-FOOD 10

11 Questions? 11

12 Thank You 12