Strategy
Key Issues Recent Developments
In Sub-Saharan Africa where there are fewer risk management instruments, the social protection strategy concentrates on analytic work (AAA), capacity building for staff and clients, and innovative lending to reach vulnerable groups. The programs conducted in the region suggest that the Bank SP outputs impact poverty reduction and consequently the attainment of the MDGs. An increasing number of SP lending operations focus on attacking chronic poverty. Last fiscal year the AFTHD staff reacted in time with advice and lending to the call for emergency humanitarian assistance issued by the Ethiopian government following another severe drought. The sector also responded to the increasing threat of AIDS and prepared an emergency operation to mitigate the consequences of the Cote d'Ivoire conflict and its impact on the regional economy. Nine African countries undertook risk and vulnerability analysis. To help in achieving the MDGs, the AFTHD family incubated two new product lines, disability, and children and youth. Owing to the lack of information about disabled individuals, especially those with HIV/ AIDS, the Africa region started a series of country studies on the situation of disabled people. In addition, the human development staff in the region continues to mainstream the Bank's work on orphans and other vulnerable children in SSA.. The region has also showed renewed interest in SP technical assistance and lending motivated by the understanding that good social protection policies are crucial for poverty reduction and development. The World Bank undertook a three year program of technical assistance, training and capacity building for country-based social protection strategies. Twenty-two African countries were invited to join the process of mainstreaming SP in their respective PRSPs, and nine have progressed to a second phase of this effort, where they will produce a SP strategy and the accompanying action plan. Several of the countries are already designing follow up investment operations that will be a component of future PRSCs. Lending for Social Protection increased over the past few years from US$203 million in 2002 to US$355 million in 2003 and US$482 million in 2004. As of August 2004, there were 18 social protection projects under supervision, with commitments totaling US$776 million. The Social Protection unit in the Africa Region comprises Community Driven Development (CDD), Social Funds, Early Childhood Development (ECD), risk & vulnerability assessments (RVAs), orphans & vulnerable children (OVC), Pensions, Safety Nets, and Emergency Recovery topics. In 2004, The SSA Social Protection team conducted 9 out of 14 Risk and Vulnerability Assessments (RVAs). These RVAs and SP strategies informed the policy dialogue, which will encourage new and innovative lending. In Ethiopia, a risk and vulnerability assessment built support for a major safety net reform program, being supported by Bank lending. The program envisions major changes in the way donors program and provide their assistance, to enable support of a set of three complementary programs in the poorest and most drought prone areas of the country. In these areas a conditional cash transfer will require households to use schooling and preventive health care services for their children, in order to build their human capital. A reformed public works program will both provide income support to the needy and build infrastructure of use to the community. Targeted social assistance will help the elderly in need and the disabled. Orphans & Vulnerable Children constitute one of the most vulnerable segments of African population today, largely as a result of the AIDS pandemic, as well as displacement because of civil conflict, wars, drought and tropical diseases. The total number of orphans reported in Africa in 2001 was about 34 million, representing a very large proportion of the 0-15 year old group. One of the main consequencesof orphaning is withdrawal from school. The most important assistance to OVCs is access to schooling to ensure that these children will get a chance for a better future. Several countries have now embarked on scaling-up assistance to orphans and vulnerable children through targeted assistance to access schooling. The development community is now looking for interventions that would bring relief, and assistance to this vulnerable group, and many countries are now trying to include education assistance through bursaries, and conditional transfers. The school grants schemes on capitation basis represents one class of such interventions that has potential for reaching large numbers of orphans in Africa. The attractiveness of this scheme is its ability to be scaled-up quickly because it is based on existing organizational infrastructure of schools that usually reach the most remote areas. School-based programs also offer the advantage of established procedures and implementing mechanisms like the school and parent committees. Finally, phasing-in of other interventions, which, based in schools (such as school feeding, school health, and psychosocial support) could potentially help in cost-effective assistance to this group. A recent publication "Reaching Out to Africa's Orphans: A Framework for Public Action" (2004) was released . This study represents an important effort to present a coherent framework for public action to provide aid, particularly where most needed. The study examines the costs, strengths, and weaknesses of various actions by governments and donors to address the needs of orphans and lessen the risks they face. The study assesses the types of interventions most likely to work in a given country context and discuss ways in which successful interventions can be extended and replicated. Youth. Africa's 135 million youth (15-24 years-or 20% of the population) form a formidable asset for its economic transformation. Today, however, this is not realized because of high unemployment and low skills base of this age cohort. 41% of all unemployed in Africa belong to this 15-24 years age group. Against the backdrop of the AIDS pandemic, these groups are even at greater risk of becoming breadwinners and heads of households with the high adult mortality in many parts of the region. For the coming fiscal year 2005, the region will embark on a study to understand youth in the Sub-saharan labour markets. , The study will provide an empirical analysis of the various dimensions of poverty of this group in order to draw policy for youth empowerment, employment and inclusion in the economic and social spheres and will support programs to achieve substantial development impact on MDGs for poverty reduction, particularly affecting the youth groups. the study will likely generate substantial development impact particularly on the MDGs. This empirical work will fill the gap in knowledge on the policy vacuum on youth in the labor market, disempowerment, education, health and exclusion in our client countries. Results will provide empirical grounding for policy and intervention options for youth-specific programs.  Â Operations Evaluation
 SP Projects
MDGs
 The Contribution of Social Protection to Millennium Development Goals(PDF)  Africa Region Publications
 SP Documents & Reports Africa Publications  Africa Region Working Paper Series
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