Northeast Ethiopia/ ESA via Flickr ; CC BY-SA 2.0

Social protection in the Afar region

Social protection for inclusive development in the Afar region of Ethiopia

Led by Dr. Zeremariam Fre, University College London (UCL), United Kingdom

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About the research group

The Government of Ethiopia has implemented a number of development and poverty interventions such as the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP). These interventions led to high rates of economic growth of about 10.6% per year in 2004/05 – 2011/12 and poverty reduction at the national level. However, some areas of the country, such the Afar Region, registered lower poverty reduction compared to other regions. The Afar region is prone to drought and livelihoods in the region are dominated by pastoralism. Because studies show divergent results regarding PSNP’s contribution to people’s asset growth and poverty reduction, this study evaluates the effectiveness of PSNP on poverty, food security and livelihood in the Afar region.

Consortium
  • University College London (UCL), United Kingdom
  • Adigrat University (ADU), Ethiopia
  • Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa (PENHA), United Kingdom and Horn of Africa
Main question
  • What type of social protection practices are available in the study area and how are they applied to differ-ent population groups? What is their effectiveness? What is the current level of poverty in the study area? How vulnerable are different population groups to poverty? Why has poverty remained high compared to other regions of the country?
  • What has the impact of social protection programmes been? What was the impact of PSNP on poverty reduction (income) and risk minimisation?
Country focus
  • Ethiopia