EVD Risk Allowance System Risk Allowance Payment Program for Ebola Response Workers
Sierra Leone Hazard Payments Team18 May 2015
Private and Confidential
Key Stakeholders
• The payment process was originally managed by Ministry of
Health and Sanitation but since November 1, 2014 was
transferred to the National Ebola Response Center (NERC)
• UNDP is providing Technical and Financial Support to NERC to
develop and maintain the payment system
• Governance (from January 2015): Steering Committee was
formed consisting of NERC, UNDP, UNMEER, WB, AfDB and DFID
• Fiduciary Agent - BDO
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Information Management System
Open source system:
• iDT Labs, a local software development company, was hired to
develop the system
• The system would be used to electronically update the list
• The system (nercpay.sl) is hosted on Amazon EC2cloud
• November to March: Only NERC paid ERWs (23,000 ERWs)
• March: NERC plus other paying agencies (over 31,000 ERWs)
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Information Management System
• System is capable of running duplication check (algorithms)
• A biometric re-verification was completed (Feb 2015). ERWs have
photos in the system.
• Contracts/ERW ID can be issued from the system; facial
recognition tests (for duplication) can be run in the system.
• Extend the use of the system to other paying partners for
effective coordination (e.g. list updating, detection of double
dippers).
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Strengthening existing payment mechanisms
The GENESIS
• September 2014: Hazard pay was introduced through the Ministry
of Health and Sanitation (MoHS)
• October 2014: Weekly payments could not be delivered on time
by MoHS; Ministry of Finance verified MoHS list.
• November 2014: Payments transferred to NERC with support
from Ministry of Finance and UNDP
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Method of Payments by NERC till date:
• November 2014: Direct CASH payment (bi-weekly)
• December: Mobile Money through MNOs and Splash Cash was
introduced (bi-weekly)
• January 2015: Mobile Money and Splash Cash (shift to monthly)
• February and March: Combination of banks and MNOs/Splash
(monthly)
• April: All government staff to be paid through banks (monthly)
• May: All payments to be made through banks (monthly)
Strengthening existing payment mechanisms
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Strengthening existing payment mechanisms
Key areas of focus:
1. Efficiency
• Shift from Direct Cash to majority E-Payment for timely delivery
• List management from MS Excel to automated payroll database
(nercpay.sl)
• Complaints resolution (Help Desk, Hotlines, Complaints
resolution processing)
2. Cost effectiveness
• Shift from Direct Cash (7% expense ratio) to MNOs (5% fee)
• Shift from MNOs 5% to combination of banks and MNOs (less
than 5%)
• Shift from MNOs and Banks to only banks (free of charges)
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Strengthening existing payment mechanisms
Key areas of focus:
3. Transparency
• Reporting
• Grievance mechanism
• Field monitoring
4. Accountability
• ERW verification to ensure genuine workers are paid (biometrics)
• List attestation by heads of medical facilities and district medical
officers
• Financial reconciliations (to be led by Fiduciary Agent)
• Duplication and investigation/reporting of fraud
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Payments made to ERWs to date
Months ERW Count Amount Paid
November Cycle 1 14,239 $ 1.3 Millions cycle 2 15,655 $ 1.8 Millions
December Cycle 3 17,106 $ 1.5 Millions Cycle 4 19,581 $ 1.9 Millions
January Cycle 5 20,310 $ 4.2 Millions
February Cycle 6 23,040 $ 4.1 MillionsMarch Cycle 7 21,922 $ 3.9 Millions April Cycle 8 2,897 $ 0.7 MillionsTotal $ 19.3 Millions
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CHALLENGES
Information Related
• List/category of facilities
• List of approved and verified beneficiaries
• Categories of workers based on levels of risks
• Lack of verified start-dates to address backlogs on an ongoing basis
Infrastructure related
• Technology
• Internet connectivity at centers
• Provision of list updation and verification by relevant authorities
• Physical
• Last mile connectivity for payment agents
• Movement of ERW between health and payment centers
• Security while moving cash to remote locations
Policy and Legal related
• Events rapidly overrun policy relevance
• Streamlining operational policies (simplicity and clarity)
• Regular salary and hazard pay paid through different agencies causing confusion
• Compliance to government audit requirements in an emergency
• No control over staff deployments
• Different response structures in districts.
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Decentralization of List Management and Help Desk
• Deployment of district staff for hazard payments to assist District
Medical Officers (DMOs) and District Ebola Response
Coordinators (DERCs) in updating list.
• Other Implementing Partners (e.g. MSF) to be given access to the
database for real time list updating.
• District Help Desks to be activated
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Financial Education
1. Financial education leaflet to be distributed to ERWs
2. Radio communication
3. SMS
Key messages:
• Changes in hazard pay policies and implications to ERWs
• Security of mobile wallets
• Planning – savings and expenses
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After completion of Ebola management, the system can be
transferred to GoSL for Ebola recovery cash-transfer
The system is ideal for future government use as a G2P payment system as:
• The ERP system captures a wealth of information including:
• Identity Number: National ID Card or drivers license or employer ID
• Phone number
• Bank account details
• The system is also interfaced with MNOs, Splash Money and Commercial Banks and
equipped for direct cash transfers, enabling money transfer through key payment channels
• The ERP system is cloud based least expensive and fastest to implement.
• The system is also enabled for SMS based, ODK operations making it easier to operate in
remote regions.
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LESSONS LEARNED
• Policy needs to be simple and clear; allows streamlined
protocols but risks are mitigated and accountability is strong.
• Technology Infrastructure such as fast internet connectivity
should be available at the earliest time possible during
emergencies
• Communication to beneficiaries should be proactive and timely
• Coordination of Donors through a Steering Committee is
effective
• Recipient identification should be addressed at the early stage of
the response (e.g. issuance of IDs)
• Legal accountability of facility heads on list of workers should be
strictly enforced at the outset