Institute of Development Studies
you are here: Home \ New approach to social protection in Africa announced
New approach to social protection in Africa announced
8 September 2010
We need a better understanding of the politics of social protection in Africa, including why governments have particular preferences and why there is more enthusiasm for some programmes rather than others.
The recommendation, along with four other new approaches, is outlined in a joint statement about social protection in Africa, released today by IDS' Centre for Social Protection, along with other research partners.
The statement explores a range of options for people engaged with social protection, whether as donors, consultants, researchers or NGO staff. It aims to enable these different development partners to do a better job at helping to advance the social protection agenda in Africa.
The paper sets out five approaches to effective programme development and policy interventions. These are:
1. Start from government programmes, seeking to understand better the politics of social protection
2. Work through appropriate institutions, both nationally and regionally
3. Learn lessons from national implementation, not from pilot projects
4. Encourage a broader social protection agenda that is more responsive to the range of needs and threats that poor and vulnerable people face
5. Look for new levers of change and accountability by engaging with key national stakeholder groups.
The five approaches build on ten guiding principles which are proposed to shape future development partner engagement with national social protection policy processes in Africa.
These were first suggested in an earlier paper by the same authors. This version incorporates comments and suggestions from a range of colleagues that were made in response to the paper.
About the statement
The statement was jointly produced by The Centre for Social Protection (CSP) at IDS, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the School of International Development at the University of East Anglia (UEA-DEV), and the Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme (RHVP).
Read the joint statement: Social Protection in Africa - A Way Forward
Partners
