Implementing social protection in pastoralist areas in Ethiopia

Widespread poverty and vulnerability in pastoralist areas highlight the need to extend the provision of social protection to these populations. In the paper “Implementing social protection in pastoralist areas: low local distribution structures moderate PSNP outcomes in Ethiopia” (2011, 56pp), Rachel Sabates-Wheeler et al show that a programme design predicated on experiences in agrarian areas – Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Nets Programme (PSNP) – does not readily transfer to pastoral areas because of the nature of distributional channels in these localities. They focus on three: practices of sharing within mutual support networks, the important role of informal authority structures in targeting and appealing decisions, and gendered dimensions of livelihoods and decision-making. They show how these have substantial implications for the design, delivery and outcomes of standard social-protection programmes that aim to build the assets of chronically food-insecure households.

A revised version of this paper was published in 2013 in World Development 50:1-12.

Posted on 18 March 2018 in Pastoralism & Services, Pastoralism, Gender & Youth, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition