The RISE Initiative in Burkina Faso and Niger aims to improve nutrition through informal social protection systems. It works with vulnerable populations experiencing chronic poverty and recurrent shocks. RISE coordinates USAID's development, humanitarian, and resilience programs to increase economic well-being, strengthen institutions and governance, and improve health and nutrition. Some results so far include over 2.5 million direct beneficiaries and over 200,000 children reached by nutrition programs. RISE utilizes informal mechanisms like livestock assets, savings groups, microcredit, food distribution, and work-for-food programs to build resilience capacities and address the immediate and underlying causes of undernutrition.

1. 12/20/2016 FOOTER GOES HERE 1
Improving Nutrition through Informal
Social Protection Systems:
Experiences from USAID’s Resilience in
the Sahel (RISE) Initiative
Shannon Rogers
FFP Regional Director for West
Africa
USAID

2. • Increases the resilience of vulnerable populations in agro-pastoral and
marginal agricultural zones of Burkina Faso and Niger
• Works with populations living at the intersection of chronic poverty and
exposure to recurrent shocks and stresses
• Represents the totality of USAID’s development and humanitarian
assets in the zone of intervention, including:
– FFP development programs
– Multi-sector resilience activity
– Value-chain activity
– Nutrition-related SBCC
– Loan guarantee to commercial banks
– FP services & information
– Ongoing learning platform
– Humanitarian assistance12/20/2016 FOOTER GOES HERE 2
RISE Overview

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• Increases resilience through:
– Increased & sustainable
economic well-being
– Strengthened Institutions
&
Governance
– Improved Health &
Nutrition
• Some results to date:
– 2.5M have benefited
directly
– 204,500 children under
five
reached by nutrition
programs
RISE Informal Social
Protection
Mechanisms

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• Building livestock
assets
• Informal saving groups
• Access to micro-credit
• In-kind household food
distribution (PM2A)
• Food/cash for assets
RISE Informal Social
Protection
Mechanisms

5. Increases
Absorptive
Capacities:
• Asset
ownership
• Cash savings
• Food stores
• Insurance
• Bonding social
capital
Increases
Transformational
Capacities:
• Access to
markets
• Access to
services
• Access to
infrastructure
• Access to
communal
natural
resources
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How Informal Social Protection Builds
Resilience…
Increases
Adaptive
Capacities:
• Livelihood
diversification
• Access to
finance
• Human capital
investments
• Exposure to
information
• Bridging/linking
social capital

6. • Addresses immediate and underlying causes of
under-nutrition
• Reduces the negative coping strategies (e.g.,
reduction in the number of meals) in the face of a
shock
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…and resilience then improves nutrition!

7. • Ensure informal mechanisms target the most
vulnerable (e.g., children under two)
• Need purposeful link between nutrition behavior
change and livelihood activities (e.g., ensure children
benefit nutritionally from livestock assets)
• Seasonality plays an important role in social
protection systems
• Social protection systems must be linked to early
warning and early action to anticipate and adapt to
shocks
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Lessons Learned and the Way Forward

8. PHOTOCREDIT:SaraPassman,USAID/Senegal
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Thank you!
FOOTER GOES HERE