This Working Paper examines how access to social assistance is reconfigured during conflict in Niger’s Tillabéri and Diffa regions.
Using social network research, we find that traditional solidarity mechanisms have been eroded while fragmented ecosystems of formal, semi-formal, and informal actors have emerged.
Access to social assistance reflects entrenched social patterns: agriculturalist majority groups have better access, while pastoralists and internally displaced persons (IDPs) are often sidelined. Intermediaries channel aid but can introduce new gatekeeping and accountability gaps.
The study’s policy implications underscore the importance of inclusive, community-responsive social assistance, and the need for policy actors to consider the impact of social assistance on social cohesion.
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