<div><h4>Description</h4><p>The proposed project will support the Government of the Marshall Islands to improve young people's access to productive livelihoods and decent jobs and reduce harmful gender norms that inhibit young women's economic empowerment.</p><h4>Impact</h4><p><p>An enabling and sustainable environment built where all adolescents, young people and youth of the Marshall Islands develop their full capacity and potential to be independent and contribute meaningfully to sustainable development and peace for the nation, through strategic partnerships and collaboration with local communities, families, churches, government, non-governmental organizations, regional and international agencies</p></p></div>

Youth Skills Development and Employment Project

Initial poverty and social analysis project number: 56192 -001 december 2022 marshall islands : youth skills development and employment project this document is being disclosed to the public in accordance with adb's access to information policy currency equivalents the currency unit of the marshall islands is the united states dollar . abbreviations adb - asian development bank adf - asian development fund cso - civil society organizations ngo - nongovernment organization rmi - the republic of the marshall islands ta - technical assistance note {s} in this report, refers to united states dollars . in preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the asian development bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area. initial poverty and social analysis country: the republic of the marshall islands project title: youth skills development and employment project lendingfinancing modality: project departmentdivision pacific department, social sectors and public sector management division i. poverty impact and social dimension s a. links to the national poverty reduction strategy and country partnership strategy the proposed project will support the improvement of access to productive livelihood pathways for youth and reduce harmful gender norms that inhibit youth mar shallese, especially women, economic empowerment. this is aligned with the government of the marshall island's national youth policy 2021 -2025 which recognized youth as significant human capital with much potential to contribute and drive sustainable devel opment in the marshall islands. a the national youth policy is also aligned with the national strategic plan 2020 -2030,b which aims to provide learning opportunities for all and enhance skills and attributes for a dynamic workforce, and the national gender mainstreaming policy,c which calls to "engage adolescents and youth as strategic groups for ending the cycle of domesti c violence. the proposed project is aligned with t he rmi country partnership strategy, the pacific approach 2021 -2025 covering 12 small pacific island countries which prioritizes inclusive growth, and highlights adb's support to education and skills deve lopment programs and expansion of livelihoods, job creation, income generation, and economic opportunities, particularly for young women and marginalized youth.d the proposed project aligns with adb's strategy 2030 operational prioriti y 1 'addressing remai ning poverty and reducing inequalities ', 2 'accelerating progress in gender equality ', and 6 'strengthening governance and institutional capacity '.e b. poverty targeting general intervention individual or household ti -h geographic ti -g non-income mdgs ti -m1, m2, etc. the project is classified as a general intervention, focusing on implementing productive livelihood pathways programs and transformative gender graduation programs for the youth, especially young women, addressing social and gender norms that inhibit econo mic empowerment among youth and building the capacity of government and civil society organizations to implement and strengthen youth programs.c. poverty and social analysis 1 key issues and potential beneficiaries. the primary beneficiaries of this project will be the youth of the republic of the marshall islands, mainly those youth aged 15 -29 years, which comprised 41 of the country's population as of 2019. in the same y ear, about 41 of youth were not in education, employment, or training, with higher rates for young women 45 and those in outer islands 45.f the employment status of those employed is not permanent, and most are seasonal and subsistence employment. in addition, migration from the outer islands to the urban areas for those seeking job opportunities and better living conditions has proven to be p roblematic d ue to limited education, training, and skills, with most youth ending up unemployed or in low -paying jobs, contributing to increased levels of substance abuse and crime . as such, there is often a shortfall in qualified applicants for the alread y limited urban commercial activities in trade and tourism. this project will address livelihood and skills development by introducing interventions that support livelihood pathways for youth, particularly young women, and marginalized youth. 2. impact ch annels and expected systemic changes. the project will have three outputs that focus on i implementing interventions supporting productive livelihood pathways for youth, particularly young women, and marginalized youth; ii reducing harmful gender n orms that inhibit young women's economic empowerment; and strengthening the capacity of the government and csos to implement youth programs. these outputs are innovative solutions to address unique challenges faced by marshallese youth, particularly young women and marginalized youth, to achieve economic empowerment. 3. focus of and resources allocated in the transaction ta or due diligence. due diligence will be undertaken to assess the project's potential impact on poverty reduction and soc ial aspects, including gender -related violence, teenage pregnancy, early marriage, dropout rates, in -country migration, and youth unemployment. a series of consultations and workshops will be conducted during project preparation and any issues arising from the assessment, workshops, and consultations will be addressed through measures in the project design. 4. specific analysis for policy -based lending . not applicable. 2 ii. gender and development 1. what are the key gender issues in the sector andor subsector that are likely to be relevant to this project or program labor force participation is low particularly for working aged women. patriarchal social and gender norms place women in a subordinate cultural role which negatively influenced their labor force participation. despite high impact on women, decisions about households spending, including education of children, are often the concern of men in the family or community. gender -based violence is also prevalent in the rmi with 69 of ma rshallese women reported that they had experienced physical andor sexual violence in their lifetime. many young women are unable to finish education and leave employment due to early marriage and teenage pregnancies. this is more common among youth in low -income and poor households, especially those in the outer islands. young mothers often experienced pressures and their mental wellbeing is a growing concern.key issues that will be studied under the ta for the project preparation will include i gender dimensions of labor and employment provisions; ii social and gender norms affecting young women's labor force participation, limited participation in decisi on-making related to livelihood, skills training, and capacity building; and women's role in the community behavioral changes. 2. does the proposed project or program have the potential to contribute to the promotion of gender equity andor empowerm ent of women by providing women access to and use of opportunities, services, resources, assets, and participation in decision -making yesno a gender action plan will be prepared to mitigate any negative impact and support positive design measures to enhance women's economic empowerment and livelihood pathways and gender equity of the project areas. 3. could the proposed project have an adverse impact on women andor girls or widen gender inequality yesno risks during construction, such as sexual, exploitation, abuse and harassment, hivaids and human trafficking will be mitigated through safeguards and the gender action plan. 4. indicate the intended gender mainstreaming category: gen gender equityegm effective gender mainstreaming sge some gender elements nge no gender elements . participation and empowering the poo r 1. who are the main stakeholders of the project, including beneficiaries and affected people explain how they will each participate in the project's design . the main stakeholders are the young people of the rmi, especially young women and marginalized youth. youth representatives will be identified and trained to gather key qualitative data needed to inform the project' s design. the ministry of finance and ministry of culture and internal affairs, including both the youth bureau and gender division will be supported by technical consultants to design the project. meetings and workshops will be held with the ministry of education, sports and training, national training center, college of the marshall islands, and university of the south pacific, as well as civil society and other development partners. a consultative process will be carried out with a stakeholder communicat ion strategy and consultation plan prepared for the project's design stage . 2. who are the key, active, and relevant csos in the project area youth council of the marshall islands, youth to youth in health, waan aelon in majel canoes of the marshall islands , jibron ae entrepreneurs , jo-jikum your home youth centre, and women united together marshall islands are the key active csos in the cou ntry. 3. are there issues during project design for which participation of the poor and vulnerable is important  yes  no if yes, what are these issues poor and marginalized youth are the main beneficiaries of the project, hence it will be important to engage with them concerning all aspects of the project's design to help ensure they are able to access and benefit from the project's components. 4. how w ill the project ensure the participation of beneficiaries and affected people, particularly the poor and vulnerable andor csos, during project design to address these issues a meaningful youth engagement program will be implemented during the project de sign stage. a stakeholder communication strategy and consultation plan will be prepared and implemented to inform engagement activities with all stakeholders, in order to help ensure that the poor and vulnerable and in particular youth are allowed to speak freely without fear of intimidation or coercion. 5. what level of cso participation is planned during the project design h information generation and sharing h consultation l collaborationl partnership 3 iv. social safeguards a. involuntary resettlement categorya b c fi 1. does the project have the potential to involve involuntary land acquisition resulting in physical and economic displacement yes no 2. what action plan is required to address involuntary resettlement as part of the transaction ta or due diligence process resettlement plan resettlement frameworksocial impact matrix environmental and social management system arrangement none b. indigenous peoples category a b c fi 1. does the proposed project have the potential to directly or indirectly affect the dignity, human rights, livelihood systems, or culture of indigenous peoples yes no 2. does it affect the territories or natural and cultural resources indigenous peoples own, use, occupy, or claim, as their ancestral domain yesno 3. will the project require broad community support of affected indigenous communities yes no 4. what action plan is required to address risks to indigenous p eoples as part of the transaction ta or due diligence process indigenous peoples plan indigenous peoples planning framework social impact matrix environmental and social management system arrangement none v. other social issues and risks 1. what other social issues and risks should be considered in the project design creating decent jobs and employmentadhering to core labor standardslabor retrenchment spread of communicable diseases, including hivaidsincrease in human traffickingaffordability increase in unplanned migrationincrease in vulnerability to natural disasters creating political instability creating internal social conflicts others, please specify 2. how are these additional social issues and risks going to be addressed in the project design the poor and marginalized youth, especially women will be consulted to better understand these constraints and solutions and mitigating measures against adverse impacts will be included in the project design. vi. transaction ta or due diligence resource requirement 1. do the terms of reference for the transaction ta or other due diligence contain key information needed to be gathered during transaction ta or due diligence process to better analyze i poverty and social impact, ii gender impact, participation dimensions, iv social safeguards, and v other social risks are the relevant specialists identified yes no 2. what resources e.g., consultants, survey budget, and workshop are allocated for conducting poverty, social, andor gender analysis ; and the participation plan during the transaction ta o r due diligence gender, social safeguards and youth and stakeholder engagement specialists will be engaged under the ta to conduct the poverty, social and gender analysis and implement a stakeholder communication s plan. adb = asian development bank, cso = civil society organization, rmi = the republic of the marshall islands, ta = technical assistance.a government of the marshall islands. 2021. national youth policy 2021 -2025 . majuro. b government of the marshall islands. 2020. national strategic plan 2020 -2030. majuro. c government of the marshall islands and secretariat of the pacific community. 2016. national gender mainstreaming policy of the republic of the marshall islands . noumea. d adb. 2021. pacific approach 2021 -2025 . manila. e adb.2018. strategy 2030: achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable asia and the pacific . manila. f government of the marshall islands. 2021. the marshall islands labour market monograph --hies 2019 -2020: draft report outline . majuro. sources: asian development ban k.

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Youth Skills Development and Employment Project: Initial Poverty and Social Analysis

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