Unified registry outreach programme nears completion — WB report

AMMAN — The National Unified Registry (NUR) and Outreach Worker Programme, funded by the World Bank (WB) and supervised by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, is 75-per cent complete, according to an implementation status and results report published by the WB this week.

The project began on October 8, 2013 and is scheduled to be completed by the end of December 2019, the report stated, adding that its goal is to improve the targetting of social safety net programmes and develop an efficient outreach mechanism to support underprivileged families.

The NUR is the first component of a project built to target safety nets, according to the WB website.

The website adds that the NUR has two sub-components. The first is building a database of private and informal sector workers at the Income and Sales Tax Department and using the NUR at the Ministry of Finance. 

The aim is to help the government reach families more effectively, analyse their situation and determine the services required to improve their livelihoods. 

The second component focuses on piloting the Integrated Outreach Worker Programme. 

The first sub-component is about outreach design, planning and training of outreach workers, under which the report says that 371 skilled outreach workers have been deployed, 51 supervisors have been trained to train outreach workers and 93 per cent of eligible households have been referred to services according to the needs assessment against a target of 70 per cent.

The project is expected to disburse 98 per cent of grant funds, which total $9.5 million, by the project's closing date, according to the report. 

According to the report, the project has reached 83,927 direct beneficiary households, which is 75 per cent of its goal of 112,400 households. 

The NUR has been tested and piloted in the implementation of the Expansion of the National Aid Fund Program (Takaful), benefitting 151,815 individuals, including 71,971 females, according to the report. 

The report adds that besides cash support, the platform was used for targeting insurance, energy subsidy support and transportation subsidy, as 37,258 households were selected to receive health insurance and 1,028 households were selected to receive solar panels.