About Us

The World Bank helps to improve the safety net systems of developing countries through technical assistance, knowledge dissemination and direct lending. The Bank actively participates in the international dialogue on safety nets, partnering with other organizations working on the issue, and sharing its knowledge with outside agencies.

The Safety Nets Team within the Social Protection Unit of the Human Development Network supports this portfolio through knowledge management, training, and operational support. A total of eight professional staff work in the Social Safety Net Team with a broader community of over one hundred staff engaged on some part of safety nets across the Bank. The Safety Nets Team provides deep knowledge and technical expertise on unconditional cash transfers; conditional cash transfers and labor intensive public works programs, as well as expertise in the areas of food based and fee waiver programs. As part of this work, knowledge management is a particularly important contribution for safety net development across a broad spectrum of countries and contexts.

The team is responsible for the Safety Nets Primer – the generation and dissemination of policy relevant information on safety nets via publications, training, advisory services and the web site.

For more information, please contact:
The Social Protection Advisory Service
1818 H St., N.W., MSN G7-703
Washington, D.C. 20433 USA
Email: socialprotection@worldbank.org
Fax: (202) 614-0471