Social Protection in Africa: Beyond Safety Nets?

World Development

This paper provides an overview of the recent extension of social protection in sub-Saharan Africa. It identifies two main 'models' of social protection in the region: the Southern Africa and Middle Africa models. It then assesses the contrasting policy processes behind these models and examines the major challenges they face as regards financing, institutional capacity and political support. It concludes that for an effective institutional framework for social protection to evolve in sub-Saharan African countries, the present focus on the technical design of social protection programmes need to be accompanied by analyses that contribute to also 'getting the politics right'.

2010

This paper provides an overview of the recent extension of social protection in sub-Saharan Africa. It identifies two main 'models' of social protection in the region: the Southern Africa and Middle Africa models. It then assesses the contrasting policy processes behind these models and examines the major challenges they face as regards financing, institutional capacity and political support. It concludes that, for an effective institutional framework for social protection to evolve in sub-Saharan African countries, the present focus on the technical design of social protection programmes needs to be accompanied by analyses that contribute to also 'getting the politics right'

In the last years, social policy has been rediscovered and reappraised as a important tool to address poverty and social inequality in development contexts. After decades of structural adjustment policies and cutting back of national social programmes, international organizations such as the World Bank, the ILO and UNDP increasingly recognize social protection as a main contributor to social cohesion and development. However, there are few studies that systematically analyse the link between formal and informal social protection mechanisms in developing countries and their contribution to the social protection level of the population. In this article we analyse the interplay between formal and informal social protection institutions and their contribution to the shaping of the welfare mix of sub-Saharan African countries. We look at the wide range of social protection mechanisms available in sub-Saharan countries, namely formal social security arrangements, the provision of basic social goods and informal, community-and family-based social protection mechanisms. In analysing their strengths and weaknesses, we assess how these different mechanisms can complement each other and can contribute to the overall level of social protection of the population. Our analysis illustrates that, although each of the discussed mechanisms has its pitfalls, they largely complement each other and in this way are able to protect the livelihoods of the major part of the population. Furthermore, we argue that the sub-Saharan African welfare mix not only is characterized by the interplay between formal and informal mechanisms, but also by the interplay between different actors (e.g. the government, international organizations, NGO's, communities, family, etc.). This intensive collaboration is needed to safeguard the effectiveness and efficiency of the available social protection mechanisms. Only a fruitful interplay between these actors and different forms of social protection mechanisms can effectively change the miserable living conditions, by which people living in the South have to cope daily.

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 02255189 2011 647441, 2012

Abstract The experience of sub-Saharan Africa with social development in the period between 1981 and 2005 has been grim, indeed. Over the period, policy focus has turned from a wider vision of social policy to narrow social protection concerns. This is what we refer to as the social protection paradigm (SPP). We offer an assessment of the paradigm. In its place,

Income Inequality Trends in sub-Saharan Africa, 2019

The World Bank (2015) reports that, in 2014, almost 1.9 billion individuals in the developing world – roughly one-third of the population in these countries – benefitted from social protection programmes. This is disproportionately driven by the size of the programmes in large countries such as China and India. The World Bank estimates that nearly one-third of individuals in the developing world receive benefits from a social protection programme. This compares favourably with the estimated average coverage rate of 25.0 per cent in SSA. The latter suggests that approximately 250 million individuals in SSA are beneficiaries of some form of social protection programme, almost equivalent to the number of beneficiaries of India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA).

Critical Social Policy, 2021

In this themed section, we explore the links between contemporary social protection approaches and inequality in developing countries, focusing on political economy drivers and the role of actors and institutions in recent reform and implementation processes. This introduction article establishes some common ground by introducing context, concepts and questions. Reducing inequality is identified as a key condition for achieving inclusive and sustainable development as aspired in the Sustainable Development Goals governments committed to in 2015. The introduction situates the three articles in this issue, two studies of pro-poor cash transfers in the Philippines and Kenya, and an analysis of the new national minimum wage policy in South Africa, in a context of contested globalisation, increasing inequality and the social turn, a come-back of social policy as a key development instrument. After identifying the limitations and opportunities of this social turn, the article discusses th...

2012

Social protection in Africa: A review of social protection issues in research v Contents Contents v Tables, figures & boxes vi Acronyms vii Executive summary viii 1 Introduction 1 2 Defining social protection: Analysis of key trends 4 2.1 Defining social protection in Africa 4 2.2 Ideological underpinnings to social protection approaches 3 Does social protection policy translate into practice? 3.1 Social protection instruments 3.2 Social protection fiscal commitment 3.3 Scale of social protection programmes 3.4 Summary 4 Existing research on social protection in Africa: Knowledge and gaps from a governance perspective 4.1 Institutional arrangements and structures influencing social protection design, implementation and impacts 4.2 Political, social and economic factors influencing social protection design, implementation and impacts 4.3 Research gaps 5. Conclusion References Social protection in Africa: A review of social protection issues in research vi Tables, figures & boxes Boxes Box 1: Types of social protection Box 2: Examples of social protection policy statements Box 3: Trends in social protection across African contexts 1 A significant amount of information used in the compilation of this section has been drawn from a review of the following documents: (1) "

Social Policy is generally considered as an issue of the developed or the developing nations. In this paper, it is attempted to explore the applicability of social policy mechanisms in Africa with especial emphasis to the role of social policy in reducing poverty. In other words, it is argued that social policy is affordable in even lower-income economies like Sub-Saharan Africa by presenting the mechanisms that could be employed in levying the finance needed for sustainable social policy. In this regard, the potential revenue sources like taxation, aid, remittance are discussed. From a theoretical perspective, social policy is taken within its wider context of production, redistribution, protection, reproduction, social cohesion or nation-building. Thus, in the paper social security measures, as part of social policy, are not presented as a sufficient tool in reducing poverty. Other aspects of social policy like reducing inequality and promoting social justice are also given importance.