Publication: Cameroon : Social Safety Nets
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Date
2012-06
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2012-06
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This report responds to the Government of Cameroon's strong interest in strengthening its social safety net system to support the poorest and most vulnerable households during crises. It is grounded in extensive discussions with government counterparts in a collaborative and inclusive process. The report incorporates detailed comments received from the government as well as important donors and partners through two participatory stakeholder workshops. In addition, it is a part of the World Bank's rapid social response program to support the Government of Cameroon in making its system of safety nets more comprehensive, flexible, and suitable to the country's economic and social conditions. In this context, the objective of this report is to lay the ground for a social safety net system that can address the needs of the poor in Cameroon. The high level of chronic poverty and high levels of malnutrition (especially in the northern regions of the country) call for targeted social safety net program. Therefore, the objective of this report is to: (i) assess the evolution and extent of poverty levels; (ii) provide a detailed, updated inventory of existing social safety net programs; (iii) identify their shortcomings; and (iv) propose suggestions, based on international experience, for improving the coverage, efficiency, relevance and financial sustainability of the most relevant programs to set the basis for a coherent safety net system.
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“World Bank. 2012. Cameroon : Social Safety Nets. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/11912 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
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Publication Malawi : Social Protection Status Report(Washington, DC, 2007)Malawi is in the process of moving away from safety nets programming towards more long-term predictable social protection programming that helps poor households deal with risk and shocks through a more institutionalized and coordinated approach. This report provides a stocktake of social protection in Malawi for the period 2003-2006, and, in partnership with the development of a Malawi Social Protection Framework, aims to help Malawi move towards a long-term social protection policy and program. The report answers two specific questions: do the range, goals and coverage of existing social protection interventions (inventory) match up with the existing profile of poverty, risk and vulnerability? Do the current institutional and financing arrangements match up with the need for institutionalized social protection in Malawi? In order to answer these questions, we begin by describing the poverty, vulnerability and risk profile in Malawi and by developing a profile in Section 2 against which the coverage of existing interventions discussed in Section 3 can be matched. Section 4 matches the profile of poverty and vulnerability with the array of interventions implemented as safety nets interventions. In Section 5, the current institutional arrangements for delivering social protection in Malawi are assessed. Section 6 presents broad program options in terms of funding and directions for social protection, including lessons for the design and implementation of social protection programs and pilots. Section 7 raises a set of issues and challenges and provides conclusions and recommendations.Publication Cameroon Social Safety Nets(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-06)This report lays the groundwork for a safety net system that can address the needs of the poor in Cameroon. Cameroon does not have a coordinated system of safety nets; rather, small, isolated interventions which together do not address the needs. Moreover, food and fuel price subsidies which mainly benefit the rich cost around 2 percent of GDP/year much more than total safety net spending. There is a need for a social protection strategy and an effective safety net system to address chronic poverty and food insecurity in Cameroon. This strategy should identify risks and vulnerabilities so they can be addressed by appropriate programs. Investments in human capital and in geographic areas most affected by poverty the North and Far North should be priority.Publication Liberia : A Diagnostic of Social Protection(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-12)Safety Nets are limited in Liberia and, although as a share of GDP, expenditures are higher than the regional average, the average benefit amount is equal to only 7-20 percent of the poverty line. The current system focuses on the country s most vulnerable populations but that the system is fragmented. Food insecurity is mainly addressed through food transfers aimed at preventing starvation and malnutrition. Unemployed people, including the large portion of the population engaged in informal employment, are targeted primarily by public works. Scaling-up Liberia s safety nets would require significant investments, which are not viable at the moment given the country s financial constraints. Efforts should hence focus on improving the overall safety net system within the existing budget.Publication Burkina Faso - Social safety nets(World Bank, 2011-01-31)Burkina Faso is a poor landlocked country with a narrow natural resource base and a rapidly expanding population of 15.8 million. This report, with the technical support of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), provides a detailed, updated inventory of the existing social safety net programs and suggests policy measures that could improve their coverage, efficiency, relevance, and financial sustainability. This report shows that the scope and coverage of the existing social safety net system is too limited and that most interventions are fairly small in scale and designed as temporary programs. On average, excluding fuel subsidies, spending on social safety net programs was about 0.6 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 2005 to 2009 - from 0.3 percent in 2005 to 0.9 percent in 2009, while about 20 percent of the population is food insecure and lives permanently in chronic poverty. Universal fuel subsidies are very expensive (0.7 percent of GDP in 2007) and have a very limited impact on the poorest docile (84 percent of the benefits go to the non poor). Among the remaining programs, food transfers are the main form of social safety net programs in Burkina Faso, accounting for 69 percent of total Social Safety Net (SSN) spending and over 80 percent of all estimated SSN beneficiaries in 2009 (excluding fuel subsidies). However, most of the financing for social safety net programs comes from external resources.Publication Burkina Faso Social Safety Nets(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-01)This report provides an inventory of safety net programs in Burkina Faso and suggests policy measures that could increase their coverage, efficiency, and sustainability. It shows that the scope and coverage of the existing safety nets is too limited. Most interventions are small and temporary. On average, excluding subsidies, annual spending on safety nets constituted only 0.6 percent of GDP while about 20 percent of the population is food-insecure and chronically poor. Food transfers are the main safety net program, accounting for 69 percent of total spending and over 80 percent of all beneficiaries. Most of the financing for safety nets is external. The report recommends developing a safety net system that adequately responds to the needs of the poor.
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