Employment-Intensive Investment in Madagascar

Current EIIP Involvement

Today, in Madagascar, the ILO is recognized for its expertise in applying the Employment Intensive Investment (EII) approach, which promotes the efficient use of local labour in infrastructure construction. Thanks to its extensive experience, the ILO has successfully trained companies and consulting firms, enabling them to acquire essential skills to implement this method. The ILO also ensures the integration of international best practices, both in capacity building and employment, while promoting sustainable development. This contributes not only to job creation but also to improving the quality of infrastructure in local communities.

Despite the Covid-19 context, in the period from July 2019 to December 2022 alone, the ILO, through its EII projects, was able to rehabilitate 52 km of rural roads, creating 1,018 direct jobs. A total of 29 SME executives, 25 construction engineers, 31 site managers, 10 design offices, and 16 construction supervisors were trained as part of the project. In addition, a total payroll of USD 462,745 (or MGA 1,751,014,000) was paid, representing 33.78% of the total contract.

© Zoll Rabe/ILO

© Zoll Rabe/ILO

Overview of ongoing and upcoming projects applying the Employment-Intensive Investment (EII) approach

Partnership with MINAE/DEFIS Program

Since December 2023 the ILO has been implementing a partnership project with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MINAE) / DEFIS Program, titled "Partnership with the ILO for HIMO (High Labor Intensity) works on perimeters and roads, and capacity building of management structures." This project operates in three regions of Madagascar: Atsimo Atsinanana, Amoron'i Mania, and Haute Matsiatra.

The main objectives are as follows:

• To strengthen the qualifications and skills of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Design Offices (DOs) trained by the project, particularly in promoting Occupational Safety and Health, studies, design, planning, implementation, monitoring, control, and supervision of rural road rehabilitation and hydro-agricultural development projects using the EII approach (known as HIMO in French), through the establishment of training sites and application sites
• To strengthen the capacities of municipalities as key local development actors, and to support local associations or organizations to ensure the sustainability of the infrastructure established during the first phase of the project.

Partnership with the DEFIS Program

Since August 2024, with funding from IFAD, the ILO has been implementing the second phase of its partnership with the DEFIS Program of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock of Madagascar. The initiative focuses on carrying out EII works on irrigated perimeters and access tracks, as well as strengthening the capacity of management structures. The project has a budget of USD 8,195,000 and will run for 3.5 years in the regions of Amoron'i Mania, Androy, Anosy, Fitovinany, Haute Matsiatra, Ihorombe and Vatovavy. It consists in the implementation of the following activities:

1. Rehabilitation of 137 km of rural roads including 25 km in the Androy region, 42 km in the Atsimo Atsinanana region, and 30 km in the Vatovavy region, in selected sites; and development works through manual cleaning and repair of small structures across 38 irrigated areas, covering a total of 8,423 Ha in the regions Amoron'i Mania, Androy, Anosy, Fitovinany, Haute Matsiatra, Ihorombe and Vatovavy;
2. Training of 10 municipalities and 38 associations or organizations responsible for maintenance in infrastructure management; and
3. Support to the same 10 municipalities and 38 associations or organizations in implementing a maintenance system, including the gradual phasing out of project support.

Partnership with the FSRP

Since March 2025, as part of the Madagascar Food Systems Resilience Project (FSRP) led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, with financing from the World Bank, the ILO has been providing technical assistance to the Ministry for the implementation of a project aimed at strengthening the capacities of key stakeholders and supporting rural road maintenance through the EII approach. The project has a budget of USD 983,600 and will run for a period of 4 years. For this project, the ILO’s technical assistance aims to:

1. Contribute to the planning and scheduling of activities related to the rehabilitation of road infrastructure under the FSRP, including assistance with the procurement of design firms and contractors for the road works.
2. Strengthen the capacities of stakeholders (including design firms, contractors, local authorities, and communities) involved in the study, construction, maintenance, and monitoring of road works.
3. Ensure the coordination, management, and scheduling of rehabilitation activities in the regions of Vakinankaratra, Itasy, and Analamanga. This includes overseeing the implementation of studies and construction works, while ensuring effective integration of environmental and social measures in accordance with the relevant environmental and social standards for project activities.
4. Ensure the implementation of systems to guarantee the sustainability of road infrastructure. This includes the creation of Management and Maintenance structures at the fokontany level (such as Komity Ifoton’ny Lalana - KIL, or Associations of Track Users - AUP, or Track Maintenance Groups - GMP, Road Maintenance Group - RMG, etc.); training in management and accounting (including the maintenance of accounting records); management of rain barriers; training communities in track maintenance techniques; and provision of manuals to communities (easily understood, or even written in the local language) to support community ownership.
5. Ensure the rehabilitation of key social infrastructure through the EII approach, including the Regional Reference Hospital Center in Ambovombe (Androy Region) and the Youth Corner of the Vocational Technical High School in Majunga (Boeny Region).

Partnership with UNFPA

The ILO is in the process to sign a new one-year agreement with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) amounting to USD 125,883.This partnership project, titled "Rehabilitation of the Regional Reference Hospital in Ambovombe, Androy Region, and the Youth Corner of the Vocational Technical High School in Majunga, Boeny Region, using the labor-intensive approach" aims to contribute to the development of Madagascar and improve the living conditions of young people and women. The overall objective is to strengthen access to reproductive health information and services, including family planning and gender-based violence (GBV), while also promoting decent work. More specifically, the partnership aims to rehabilitate youth-friendly health centres and youth corners.

Partnership with WFP

The ILO is currently negotiating a partnership with the World Food Programme (WFP), for an initiative titled "Construction of buildings and development of irrigated areas through community projects using the labour-intensive approach” to be implemented across six regions of Madagascar. The overall objective of this partnership is to contribute to food security, decent work promotion, economic growth, and poverty reduction by strengthening the resilience of production and market infrastructure in the agricultural sector. More specifically, the partnership aims to build artisanal production units (UPA), semi-industrial production units (UPSI) and storage facilities as well as develop irrigated areas using a structured labour-intensive approach.

© Zoll Rabe/ILO

© Zoll Rabe/ILO

Historical Information

Since 1992, the ILO has been collaborating with several Agencies, including UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), the WHO (World Health Organization), EU/CARE, UNCDF (United Nations Capital Development Fund), and others, to implement a large-scale rehabilitation and reconstruction programme following multiple destructive cyclones on the east and south coasts of Madagascar. The ILO's contribution consists of (i) training and capacity building for small and medium-sized labour-based contractors of the building sector, and (ii) promoting contracting systems and procedures that improve contractors’ access to public markets and ensure better working conditions for workers. The programme has been expanded to the education sector, and potentially to the health sector, with financial support from NORAD.

This is how a multisectoral community investment programme, funded by UNDP, UNCDF and the EU was set up in the late 1980s as a "Social Dimension of Adjustment" aimed at alleviating poverty and stabilizing employment in specific areas of the country. Work was carried out both by small contractors and beneficiary communities, following participatory approaches. The positive results achieved under this programme led to the inclusion of an "investment for the poor" component in a forthcoming countrywide poverty alleviation initiative developed by UNDP. The establishment of technical support units at a decentralized level proved very effective in promoting cost-effective, productive, and socially beneficial investments as well as providing training to the private sector and community-based organizations. UNDP’s support for the technical assistance team came to an end in June 1999.

The first phase of the NORAD-supported labour-based road rehabilitation and maintenance demonstration project in the Antsirabe Region was successfully completed. The project included elements of small contractor training, policy advice at central level and maintenance by road users. Contractor personnel of more than 50 firms (chefs d'entreprise, chefs de chantier and chefs d'équipe) and core staff of the Ministry of Public Works received extensive practical and theoretical training in contract management and in the effective running of labour-based road sector projects.

In the phase started in 1995, financed by NORAD/EU/GTZ/World Bank, the project focused on the development of training manuals and contract documentation suitable for labour-based road works. By the end of 1997, the labour-based road training centre in the Antsirabe Region had been transformed into a non-profit organization dedicated to training small contractors in labour-based road works. In May of that year, an Association of Labour-Based Small and Medium Size Contractors was established. Furthermore, the ILO initiated a study with the Ministry of Labour to develop appropriate working conditions of the labour force, in particular temporary village workers. A series of training manuals for labour-based SMEs was published in June 1999. A new phase of the programme was prepared in 1999, covering the years 2000 to 2003, supported by NORAD.

© Zoll Rabe/ILO

© Zoll Rabe/ILO

Madagascar Urban Infrastructure Upgrading 1993-1998

Investment programmes based on the optimal use of manpower and local resources are operational across various sectors in Madagascar, particularly in rural roads, public buildings (such as schools and health centres), the hydro-agricultural sector, and municipal facilities in both urban and rural areas.

These programmes have demonstrated their technical feasibility and profitability, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Their results, recognized by the Government and donors, include high quality and cost-effective outputs, effective training of technicians and managers of SMEs, strengthened public-private partnerships, enhanced support to decentralized and local communities in planning, implementing and maintaining infrastructure, and improved efficiency of contracting procedures, among other benefits.

The HIMO Projects were funded by the Norwegian Government and the Government of Madagascar, and were implemented in collaboration with several key ministries, including the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry in charge of Decentralization & Regional and Municipal Development. Training was provided for staff of line ministries and municipalities, as well as for technicians and managers of SMEs and engineering consultants. Training focused on the use of local resource based (LRB) approaches in the design, construction and maintenance of basic infrastructure as well as on the preparation and supervision of contracts and the application of effective procurement procedures. This process also helped strengthening partnership arrangements between the public and the private sector, including local communities.

These projects began in 1993-1994, with the establishment of a World Bank-funded Social Fund known as SECALINE, consisting of four components:

1. an Investment Fund for Development (FID),
2. an urban labour-intensive poverty alleviation component (HIMO Urban),
3. a nutrition and health component, and
4. an awareness/information component.

At the request of the World Bank, the ILO prepared the objectives, principles, rules and regulations for the FID, which involved the execution of public works in rural areas of two provinces by private contractors. The FID operated as a private sector agency; there was no further direct technical assistance from the ILO. However, FID was sending contractors and consulting engineers to the HIMO Routes Training Centre in Antsirabe.

The HIMO Urban component was directly executed by the ILO. The objective of the project was to reach poverty groups too vulnerable to be able to find employment through the private sector development strategy. As a result, the project was implemented through force account, although community contract maintenance works were also promoted. The project had an important impact as a "safety net" for the poorest, providing support both in terms of minimum income, food/nutrition and health. Notably, two thirds of the project’s employees were women. Support from the WB/SECALINE ended in December 1998. A new programme proposal, covering 6 cities, was subsequently prepared for submission to the EU.

HIMO Urban projects 2006-2009

The goal of the newer HIMO Urban Project during this period was to reduce poverty in the Anosy region by supporting the government in strengthening decentralized governance and employment creation through the following key objectives:

• Improving local governance by reinforcing the capacity of the municipalities in Anosy to serve as platforms for participatory economic and social development in the areas of local public revenue generation, contractual procedures, management of local development funds and inter-communal cooperation;
• Reinforcing the capacity of local economic actors (including small-scale contractors, consulting engineers and community-based organizations) to develop basic social and economic infrastructure and creating local employment through LRB (Local Resource Based) approaches;
• Building and / or rehabilitating rural tracks, irrigation canals, schools, urban roads, public toilets and water points (sinks);
• Strengthening the technical capacities of operators in the Anosy region in the areas of design, monitoring, controlling and executing the construction orrehabilitation of social and economic infrastructure.

HIMO Rural projects 2008-2012

This phase of the HIMO project supported the implementation of the "Education for All" programme using LRB approaches, in collaboration with all national and international actors. It responded to priority needs related to the provision of educational facilities and the strengthening of private-sector capacity, as well as the capacity of parents' associations in school management and routine maintenance. The project included the creation of jobs and the empowerment of local players in the regions benefiting from the intervention.

Under the “Education for All” framework, the Employment-Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP), in partnership with UNICEF and with funding from Norway, provided technical assistance to the Government of Madagascar to optimize job creation in the building sector through the use of LRB construction technologies. The strategy of the project, known as “HIMO- Bâtiment”, aimed to enhance the capacity of small and medium-size building contractors, consulting engineers, and government agencies in charge of contracting. It also supported the participation of local actors and promoted decent working conditions through improved procurement procedures and contract documentation.

Between October 2001 and March 2011, the project achieved the following results:

• three decentralized offices of the Ministry of National Education and 22 local government offices were trained in the contract management and implementation of school construction projects,
• 623 parents’ associations were trained in school maintenance schools practices.
• 234 small-scale contractors and 96 supervisors were trained in the use of LRB techniques for school construction and maintenance, strengthening the capacity of local actors from the private sector
• 1590 classrooms were constructed and maintained, generating approximately 1,339,505 worker days.

The ILO was actively involved in joint donor thematic consultations on the education sector, often led by the World Bank. Thanks to the high quality of works delivered by the ILO-trained contractors, other donors were inspired to adopt the same approach, using standard designs for primary school buildings jointly developed by the Ministry of Education and the ILO.