Scientific Publication

Poverty and the role of social protection systems in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic

author(s) Abay, Kibrom - Yonzan, Nishant - Kurdi, Sikandra - Abay, Kibrom
from International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
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themes
regions
  • Western Africa
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Africa
  • World
  • Southern Africa
  • Northern Africa
  • Eastern Africa
  • Middle Africa
citation

Abay, Kibrom et al., 'Poverty and the role of social protection systems in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic', International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, 2022

Publications and datasets provided via GARDIAN

Abstract

Key messages
 The pandemic increased poverty in Africa by less than expected, approximately 1.5-1.7 percentage points in 2020.
 Countries affected by Fragility, Conflict, and Violence (FCV) experienced the greatest increases in poverty.
 An emerging literature establishes that social protection programs in Africa during the pandemic had positive impacts and was generally pro-poor, suggesting a key cushion-ing role played by the expansion of social protection on trends in poverty.
 However, delivering shock-responsive social protection in Africa continues to face im-portant challenges related to targeting, coverage, timeliness, and financing.
 Early targeting analyses for some countries during the pandemic show that targeting was broadly progressive in some countries and regressive in some other countries.

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