Realizing the Full Potential of Social Safety Nets in Africa

Despite a period of strong economic growth and improvements in many dimensions of welfare, extreme poverty remains a pervasive and complex phenomenon in Sub-Saharan Africa (referred to as Africa in this report). Part of the agenda in recent years to tackle poverty in Africa has been the launching of social safety nets programs. The number of programs has skyrocketed since the mid-2000s, though many programs remain limited in size. For Africa to fully realize the potential of social safety nets and bring its poorest and most vulnerable to a point where they can seize economic opportunities, this report discussed the decisive shifts which need to occur in three critical spheres: political, institutional, and fiscal.