Frank Ellis - Evolving social protection in Africa Presentation given at conference on 17/18 November in honour of Sir Richard Jolly

1. Evolving Social Protection in Africa

2. • Informal insurance
• Safety nets
• Poverty targeted transfers
• Categorical (‘universal’) transfers
4 Main Strands

3. Directions of Change
1980s 1990s 2000s1980s 1990s

4. Summary Key Strands
4
1) Diminishing capacity of informal insurance
2) Safety nets: transient, no entitlement
3) Poverty targeted transfers: focus on chronic
extreme poverty; externally driven
 But, difficulty moving beyond pilots
4) Categorical transfers: social pensions and child
grants; legislated rights

5. Achievements to Date
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o chronic rather than transient extreme poverty
o shift emergency response to routine transfers
o shift food to cash transfers
o local food sourcing when food unavoidable
o large-scale programmes in specific countries
o pensions and child grants, some countries
o OVC frameworks and programmes
o pilots and lessons from them
o innovative and secure means of delivering cash

6. Limitations to Date
o ‘social protection’ term confuses governments
o confusion SP as outcome vs SP as specific
responsibility towards the weakest
o lack of political traction poverty-targeted SCTs
 may even have adverse political fallout
 divisiveness in contexts of prevalent poverty
o donor failures:
 to support categorical provision
 to address concerns about dependency
 addiction to pilot schemes
 bypassing government structures