Social protection among Afar pastoralists in Ethiopia

In 2015, the Ethiopian Government introduced the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) in pastoral areas of the country, such as Afar Region. As part of the Social Protection for Inclusive Development in Afar (SPIDA) project, a study was made of the programme’s contribution to reducing poverty, improving food security and providing better social services. It identifies PSNP implementation difficulties and assesses the overall socio-economic situation among the Afar pastoralist communities. The paper “Social protection among the Afar pastoral and agro-pastoral communities in Ethiopia: critical reflections on the multi-partner efforts, achievements, challenges and some lessons learnt” (2017, 30pp) by Zeremariam Fre and Naomi Dixon of the CELEP member organisation PENHA (Pastoral and Environmental Network in the Horn of Africa) was published in the SPIDA Working Paper Series.

See also the 2018 blog “Beyond survival – rethinking safety nets for pastoralists in Ethiopia” and the 2017 paper on this topic by Bereket Tsegay: Critical reflections on safety net policies and practices with respect to social protection among pastoral peoples in Sub-Saharan Africa (SPIDA Working Paper Series – ADU/PENHA/DPU-UCL SPIDA/WPS/103/2017 – 25pp).

Posted on 11 June 2018 in Pastoralism & Services, Pastoralist Livelihoods & Nutrition