Type 1 – shock provoking a temporary drop in incomes and consumption of essential goods exogenous shocks (market, drought, flooding, earthquake, political instability) leading to a drop in incomes and food consumption for households Reaction / Mitigation crisis management program or early recovery support program general food distribution supplementary nutrition programs emergency cash transfers highly labor-intensive public works post-crisis post-crisis recapitalization support (e.g. livestock or voucher distribution, occasional input distribution) importing or mobilizing a buffer stock to: temporarily subsidize food products sell at moderate prices Type 2 – chronic low incomes and consumption of essential goods and services endogenous factors (illness or death), or individual circumstances (handicap, old age) temporarily or permanently lessening households’ ability to met their needs; contributes to vulnerability to exogenous shocks Mitigation / Prevention institutionalized social welfare benefits for vulnerable people, the elderly, the handicapped, orphans, etc. basic services free for certain segments of the population state of chronic poverty that limits the capacity to access essential goods and services such as food, primary health care and education; contributes to vulnerability to endogenous and exogenous shocks Mitigation / Prevention / Transformation preventive social safety nets highly labor-intensive public works targeted food vouchers school meal services cash transfers conditional on the consumption of targeted services (education, health care) Type 3 – chronic inability to invest (in production factors, training, etc.) limited access to productive inputs and low investment capacity due to poverty and/or dysfunctions in the input and credit markets Prevention / Promotion grants or transfers of targeted productive factors subsidized and targeted inputs input distribution, inputs for work grants or vouchers aiming to foster investment training schemes, and transfers conditional on the use of training schemes Source: Based on Devereux & Macauslan, 2006.
Table 3: Examples of Predictable Regional Safety Nets Country Program Name Type of Program Launch Year Target Population(s) Objectives Pursued Burkina Faso School Meal Services school meal program 2005 children between the ages of 6 and 16 attending school in the Sahelian region combat hunger, improve childhood nutrition, and increase school attendance Burkina Faso conditional financial transfers vs. unconditional financial transfers pilot program 2008 households with children under the age of 15 improve access to education and health for vulnerable households and orphans Cape Verde Minimum Social Protection Program targeted pension 2006 people who are permanently or temporarily unable to work assist non-productive populations Ghana Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) conditional financial transfers 2008 farmers and fishermen, poor elderly people, orphans and vulnerable children, poor people, and pregnant or breastfeeding women affected by AIDS improve access to health care and education to break the transmission of poverty, help vulnerable households manage risks, and assist little productive households Ghana Ghana Homegrown School Feeding Program school meal program 2005 children attending primary school combat hunger, improve childhood nutrition, and increase school attendance Ghana National Youth Employment Program vocational training, financial support 2006 young people between the ages of 15 and 35 reduce unemployment among young people Nigeria In Care of the Poor (COPE) conditional financial transfers 2008 isolated women, elderly parents, physically diminished individuals, chronically poor households, households affected by AIDS reduce poverty by targeting vulnerable households and providing them with incentives to improve access to health care services, education, and administrative registration Nigeria Kano Conditional Cash Transfer Program (pilot) conditional financial transfers to young girls 2010 young girls attending schools in grades 5 and 6 in Kano State increase school enrollment and scholastic success among young girls Senegal social financial transfers targeting children unconditional financial transfers 2009 children under the age of 5 living in vulnerable zones lessen food and nutritional insecurity among children under the age of 5 and build long-term human capital Senegal social financial transfers targeting vulnerable children affected by AIDS conditional financial transfers 2008 children between the ages of 2 and 18 directly or indirectly affected by AIDS, orphans lower childhood vulnerability Sierra Leone Unconditional Cash Transfer for the Old and Needy unconditional financial transfers 2007 elderly people unable to work and without incomes improve the nutrition of the small children in their care
Program Financing Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6 Year 7 Year 8 ECOWAS Financing ECOWAS Share of Co-Financing Needed Outcome 1: At least half the states in the region shall have tested the use of preventive social safety nets within their crisis prevention and management systems. Activity 1.1 – Establish a network to pool experience and information on the regional level. means of communication, publications 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 125,000 100 0 annual meetings (including information sharing workshop) 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 250,000 50 250,000 Total Activity 1.1 375,000 250,000 formulation of priority orientations 25,000 25,000 100 0 Activity 1.2 – Co-finance innovative operations involving social safety net programs implemented in the region. prepare call for proposal dossiers and implement the selection procedure, including the work of the selection commission 50,000 50,000 50,000 150,000 100 0 co-financing grants 5,000,000 10,000,000 15,000,000 49,850,000 30 116,316,667 Total Activity 1.2 50,000,000 116,316,667 Activity 1.3 – Co-finance analysis and documentation initiatives and impact assessments covering social safety net programs implemented in the region. identify priority subjects and approaches, in consultation with members of the regional network 25,000 25,000 100 0 prepare call for proposal dossiers and implement the selection procedure, including the work of the selection commission 25,000 25,000 50,000 100 0 co-financing grants 300,000 300,000 300,000 900,000 50 900,000 symposium presenting the program’s outcome 100,000 100,000 50 100,000
publication of the program’s outcome 50,000 50,000 50 50,000 Total Activity 1.3 1,125,000 1,050,000 Activity 1.4 – Set up a capacity building program for state actors to design, steer, coordinate and implement social safety net programs and policies. identify priority subjects for the training program, in consultation with the stakeholders involved 25,000 25,000 100 0 elaborate the training program, prepare supporting documents 100,000 100,000 200,000 50 200,000 implement the program, at the request of the states in the region 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 400,000 50 400,000 Total Activity 1.4 625,000 600,000 Total Outcome 1 52,125,000 118,216,667 Outcome 2: ECOWAS shall have established regional standards for the design and implementation of social safety net programs and shall have tested an incentive scheme to promote them. Activity 2.2 – Establish a SSN Task Force with the mandate of establishing regional standards on the design of social safety nets. organize Task Force meetings, run and report on its work 50,000 50,000 100,000 50 100,000 draft a document on regional standards based on the work done by the Task Force 50,000 50,000 50 50,000 Total Activity 2.1 150,000 150,000 Activity 2.2 – ECOWAS activates a mechanism by which to co-finance national social safety net programs. prepare call for proposal dossiers and implement the selection procedure, including the work of the selection commission 50,000 50,000 100,000 100 0 co-financing grants 10,000,000 35,000,000 35,000,000 150,000,000 15 850,000,000 Total Activity 2.2 150,100,000 850,000,000 Total Outcome 2 150,250,000 850,150,000