The South-South Learning Forum (SSLF) is the flagship event of the World Bank Group's Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice. Since its launch, the event has brought together more than 1,300 policy makers and practitioners from more than 100 developing countries to share and advance global knowledge and practice on social protection.
The SSLF 2018 focused on “Building Resilience through Adaptive Social Protection” and was held from February 19-22 at the InterContinental Hotel in Frankfurt, Germany. The concept of “Adaptive” Social Protection (ASP) has emerged in recent years, which places an enhanced focus on better enabling social protection to address the impacts of all manner of shocks on households – including natural disasters and climate change, economic and financial crises, conflict and displacement, among others. A nascent area, ASP has begun to crystalize around two interrelated approaches:
The Forum provided an occasion for country practitioners to come together and discuss their thinking, approaches and experiences in adapting social protection in the face of such formidable challenges.
Forum Agenda in
Adaptive Social Protection: Framing the Issues
Khaled Bajes Theeb Abukhattab is the Deputy Director General of Poverty Alleviation at the Palestinian Ministry of Social Development. In this position, he is in charge of managing social transfers, including cash, food aid, health insurance, fee waivers, emergency transfers, and on quality assurance of procedures and the services delivery system. Prior to this, he was Director of the Ramallah Social Affairs District Office, and his main responsibilities were management of the office and supervision of social workers, as well as steering psycho-social interventions to the poor and vulnerable.
Lamis Al-Iryani has a master’s degree in Public Administration and International Development and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Policy & Program Evaluation. She has been working for 20 years in the Yemen Social Fund for Development, where she held several senior management positions related to strategic vision formulation, communication and advocacy, and resource mobilization. She established and headed the Monitoring and Evaluation unit, and she led SFD’s major program evaluations, monitoring activities, and strategic planning processes; and provided technical support to SFD’s sector units in articulating their plans and work results. She has been responsible for liaising with SFD’s main stakeholders and donors, and represented SFD in negotiation funding agreements and other important occasions.
Virginie Baikoua has been serving as the Minister of Social Affairs and National Reconciliation since April 2016, which became the Ministry of Humanitarian Action and National Reconciliation in September 2017. In 2016, she was coordinator of the ruling party during the presidential elections in the Bangui region. She has been a political activist since 2003, when she became President of the Solidarity Against AIDS Association (SOLISIDAC) in the Central African Republic. Founded by Mrs. Baikoua, the Association helped people affected by HIV/AIDS in Europe, Africa, and especially in the Central African Republic. Ms. Baikoua began her political career in 1986 in France, where she obtained political asylum following her exile from CAR. From 1986 to 1988, she served in several territorial administrations. Ms. Baikoua has long been involved in campaigns in support of democracy and women’s rights in Africa. She received an award by the Forum of Migrant International Solidarity Organizations (Forum des Organisations de Solidarité Internationale des Migrants) in 2014.
Mahmuda Begum is the Additional Secretary of the Economic Relations Division of the Government of Bangladesh. She is responsible for facilitating development assistance from the World Bank Group and currently serves as an Alternate Governor of MIGA. Ms. Begum has extensive experience with foreign aid harmonization, coordination and programming with several international development partners including DFID, IDB, IFAD and WFP, and bi-lateral partners in Africa, Europe and the Middle East. During her career in the civil service she has been involved in the development, design and implementation of numerous foreign aided projects including social protection programs. Ms. Begum joined the Bangladesh Civil Service in 1986 and has served in various capacities in different districts throughout Bangladesh, working on a range of issues spanning criminal justice, local government institutions, land administration, among others. She has a Masters in Zoology from Dhaka University (Bangladesh) and a Masters in Rural Management Studies from University of Sydney (Australia).
Anush Bezhanyan is the World Bank Group’s Practice Manager for Strategy, Operations, Knowledge, Learning and Partnerships in Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice. The unit she is heading covers broad spectrum of social protection issues, including social assistance and social services, cash transfers, public works, youth and pension issues. Prior to this position she was a Lead Social Protection Specialist and Cluster Leader for 15 countries in South and East Africa. Before moving to the Africa Region she was Human Development Sector Coordinator for Moldova, Ukraine and Belarus in the Europe and Central Asia Region and regional coordinator for the Roma inclusion program. In her 20 years at the World Bank she has worked on many projects and technical assistance programs on a variety of issues relating to social safety nets, social inclusion, community development etc. She has also been focusing on institutional development and administrative reforms in social protection sector. Prior to joining the World Bank, Anush Bezhanyan worked in the State Department for Refugee and Migration in the Government of Armenia and different international organizations and NGOs working on micro-finance and community development programs. She holds a Master's degree in Economics and Project Management from the State Technical University in Yerevan.
Sarah Coll-Black is a Senior Social Protection Specialist at the Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice in the World Bank. She has over ten years of experience working on social protection in Africa. Sarah has managed the design and delivery of safety nets, including links to disaster risk management and humanitarian response, risk financing, and youth employment. She coauthored the World Bank’s Social Protection Strategy for Africa (2012–22), led the World Bank’s support to the Productive Safety Net Program in Ethiopia and is currently focusing on West Africa. Prior to joining the World Bank, she worked in the Philippines with international organizations to extend basic services to the poorest people in Asia and the Pacific. She holds an MPhil from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, and an Economics Degree from Dalhousie University.
Maryanne E. R. Darauay is Director of the Social Development Staff of National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Central Office in the Philippines. Prior, she was the Acting Chairman of Regional Development Council II since 1998. NEDA is the country’s premier socioeconomic planning body, highly regarded as the authority in macroeconomic forecasting and policy analysis and research. It provides high-level advice to policymakers in Congress and the Executive Branch. Mrs. Darauay holds an Msc in Regional & Urban Planning from University of South Australia, and a graduate degree on Development Economics from University of the Philippines, School of Economics.
Carlo del Ninno is a lead economist in the Africa Unit of Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice at the World Bank, working on safety net policies and programs. He is the Manager of the Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Program. Over the past 15 years, he has worked on analytical and operational issues on safety net programs covering several countries in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Before joining the World Bank, he worked on food security policy for the International Food Policy Research Institute in Bangladesh, and on poverty analysis in several countries for the Policy Research Division of the World Bank and Cornell University. He received a PhD from the University of Minnesota and has published on safety nets, food policy, and food security.
Victoire Dogbe Tomegah is Minister of Grassroots Development, Crafts, Youth and Youth Employment for Togo. She works to implement the Government's vision for community development programs such as basic infrastructure, income generating activities and social safety nets programs. Mrs. Dogbe Tomegah earned a Master's in Governance and Development at UNDP/Jones international University (New York, USA, 2002), a Post Master's in General Management and Finance at Jutland Technology Institute (Denmark, 1988) and a Master's in Economics and Business Administration, University of Benin (Lome-Togo, 1982).
Rupeni Fatiaki is the Director of the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) in Fiji. He first joined the civil service in 1988 as a Prison Officer with the Fiji Correctional Facility (FCF). After serving 12 years with the FCF, Mr. Fatiaki joined the DSW in 2001 as a Social Welfare Officer working his way up the Department until he was appointed Director in 2012. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Psychology from the University of the South Pacific.
Juan Eduardo Faúndez Molina is a Vice Minister at the Ministry of Social Development. He is Sociologist, educated at the University of Chile and the Complutense University in Madrid, where he obtained a Master in Sociology of Population, Territory and Migration from. He also holds postgraduate degree in "Design and Evaluation of Projects and Social Programs" at the University of Chile. He has worked as a researcher in various institutions, and has been a consultant for the Inter-American Institute for Agricultural Cooperation (IICA) of the Organization of American States and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UNECLAC). From 2006 to 2010, he served as the National Director of the National Institute of Youth of the Government of Chile (INJUV), after which he has done various consultations for international organizations. His political career began in the University of Chile as President of the School of Sociology and later between 2003 and 2006, where he assumed the Presidency of the Youth arm of the Party for Democracy (PPD).
Harapan Lumban Gaol is Director of Social Protection for Victims of Social Disasters, in the Indonesian Ministry of Social Affairs. After working for the Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH), or Indonesian Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) since January 2008, he was appointed as Director of Social Protection for Social Disasters in January 2017. In this new position, Mr. Gaol works to ensure that victims of (social) disasters are socially protected and empowered and works alongside the related directorates within the Ministry, including Natural Disasters, Family Social Assurance.
Jaime Gutiérrez Casas is currently the General Director of Planning and Monitoring of the PROSPERA social inclusion program - the conditional cash transfer program of the Mexican government - where he has established planning strategies and relevant monitoring activities for the program. Previously, he was tied to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico as General Director of Foreign Administration and Real Estate. In his 25 years of service at both the public and private sector, Mr. Gutiérrez Casas has had different assignments in the Federal and Local Government of Mexico. Among his major responsibilities at strategic positions, he had duties in the Ministry of Communications and Transportation, the National Electoral Institute of Mexico (formerly Federal Electoral Institute), the National Bank of Foreign Commerce (BANCOMEXT), Rural Financial and the Ministry of Finance in the estate of Mexico as well as the Social Security Institute. Mr. Gutiérrez Casas received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at the prestigious Technological Autonomous Institute of Mexico (ITAM). Additionally, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Public Administration at National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and he recently received his master’s degree in Public Administration at the University of Guanajuato.
Stéphane Hallegatte is a lead economist with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) at the World Bank. He joined the World Bank in 2012 after 10 years of academic research. Mr. Hallegatte was a lead author of the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He is the author of dozens of articles published in international journals in multiple disciplines and of several books. He also led several World Bank reports including Shock Waves in 2015, and Unbreakable in 2016. He was the team leader for the World Bank Group Climate Change Action Plan, a large internal coordination exercise to determine and explain how the Group will support countries in their implementation of the Paris Agreement. Mr. Hallegatte holds an engineering degree from the Ecole Polytechnique (Paris) and a Ph.D in economics from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Paris).
Keith Hansen is the Vice President for Human Development at the World Bank Group, overseeing the Global Practices for education; health, nutrition, and population; and social protection and jobs. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Hansen was one of the co-vice presidents for all of the Global Practices responsible for the setup and oversight of the Bank Group’s new operating model, which aimed at bringing together the best expertise from across the institution and from partners to help tackle countries’ most complex development challenges. In that role, he was also responsible for the oversight of the Cross-Cutting Solution Areas, which focus the WBG's efforts and resources on achieving ambitious targets in key priority areas such as gender and jobs. Mr. Hansen also served as acting vice president for the World Bank’s Human Development Network. He was the human development director for Latin America and the Caribbean, responsible for the Bank's activities in education; health, nutrition, and population; and social safety nets in the region. Previously, in his role as head of the AIDS Campaign Team for Africa, Mr. Hansen spearheaded the Bank's renewed approach to the epidemic. He holds a master of public affairs degree from the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton University, a law degree from Stanford University, and a bachelor's degree in political science from Yale University.
Momodu Kargbo is the Minister of Finance and Economic Development of Sierra Leone with almost 40 years of experience in the Public and Private Sectors. Mr. Kargbo is the Chair of the g7 + Group of Fragile States and Co-Chair of the International Dialogue on Peace building and State building. Prior to his appointment as Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr. Kargbo served as the Governor of the Central Bank of Sierra Leone and is credited to have significantly improved Foreign Exchange and Reserve Management. In his previous term at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of Sierra Leone, he served as Deputy Minister and Minister of State responsible for Expenditure Control and Management, Revenue and Tax Policy Administration and Public Financial Management Reforms. Mr. Kargbo holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and an MSC in Agriculture Economics from Rutgers University USA. He also holds an MBA from Prairie View A&M University, USA.
Christof Kersting is Director of the Global Alliances for Social Protection Program for GIZ. In 2002, he began working for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ, formally GTZ) in Bolivia as advisor for the Program "Support for Decentralized Management and Fight against Poverty”, continuing in 2005 as GIZ advisor for the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Department for Combating Poverty and Social Protection in Bonn, Germany. Afterwards he was head of the GIZ working group on "Programs Based Approaches" and in 2010 he continued as Senior Advisor for Social Protection. Since 2013 he is Director of the GIZ Program "Global Alliances for Social Protection", commissioned by the BMZ. Before GIZ, he accumulated experiences as a consultant, an integrated expert (CIM/GIZ) in Bolivia, a project officer and deputy director of UNFPA in Brazil and Mexico, as well as an employee of German and Bolivian NGOs. He obtained a degree in Social Work (community development) in Germany and a Graduate Diploma (Population and Development) at the Institute of Social Studies (Den Haag, The Netherlands).
Mustafa Sencer Kiremitçi is a social policy expert at the Turkey’s Ministry of Family and Social Policy. He has been working at the General Directorate of Social Assistance since 2009. He is intensively working on the improvement of social assistance effectiveness, such as Turkey’s Integrated Social Assistance System (ISAS), an e-government system that electronically facilitates all steps related to the management of social assistance, including application, eligibility, delivery, and auditing. From 2003 to 2009, he worked in the private sector. Mr. Kiremitçi is earning a Master of Arts in International Relations from Ankara University, Social Science Institution. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from Ankara University.
Phillippe Leite is a Senior Social Protection Economist at the Social Protection & Jobs Global Practice of the World Bank Group. He works on determinants of poverty and inequality, poverty maps methodology, evaluation, design of social protection system and programs, and micro-econometric simulation models.
Barry Maher is a qualified actuary with experience in the Lloyds of London insurance market, the carbon and renewable energy markets, financial inclusion as well as disaster risk financing. From a Lloyds of London reinsurance syndicate, to an insurance agency to the UN, he now works for the Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance Program of the World Bank. Key activities include leading policy dialog and developing customized financial solutions with Ministries of Finance to improve their financial resilience to disaster shocks; leading the development of analytical tools which support Ministries of Finance in their selection of financial instruments, including insurance, to protect their fiscal position against disaster risk. Currently, he is focusing on developing disaster risk finance solutions to support shock-responsive safety nets and agriculture insurance programs. Barry holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Actuarial and Financial Studies from the University College of Dublin and a Masters in Statistics from the University of Oxford.
Marvi Memon is Minister of State and Chairperson of the Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) in Pakistan. After schooling from Karachi, Paris and Kuwait, she graduated from the London School of Economics with a B.Sc (Econ) Honors in International Relations in 1993. She started her career as a banker at Citibank Pakistan where she specialized in marketing and quality management. Later, Ms. Memon launched Trakker, Pakistan’s first satellite tracking fleet management company, which established her as an entrepreneur and the youngest woman CEO of a multinational firm at the time. She served as member of Parliament for the first time from March 2008 to June 2011. In her second tenure in parliament from June 2013 to date she was initially the Chairperson of the Information Committee of Parliament and was subsequently appointed Chairperson of BISP in February 2015. Her last assignment within parliament was Chairperson for the National Assembly Committee for Information, Broadcasting and National Heritage and Member of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on Foreign Affairs. She has authored Pakistan's first Parliamentary Diaries and her ground-breaking Acid legislation was the subject of an Oscar-winning documentary.
Vitalii Muzychenko is Director General of the Family and Community Social Support Directorate for the Ministry of Social Policy in Ukraine. He manages the Family and Community Social Support Directorate as a structural unit of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine. The purview of the Directorate includes the issues related to the implementation of the public policy in the field of the reform of the social assistance, housing subsidies and preferences system, the establishment and the operation of the social inspectorate.
Marie-Pierre Nicollet was born on October 15, 1964. She graduated from the Paris ‘Institut d’Etudes Politiques’ (Master in Public Affairs) in 1989 and the ‘Ecole Normale Supérieure of Fontenay-Saint-Cloud’ (an elite French grande école specialising in the arts, humanities and social sciences). She also attended lectures in the ‘Institut des Hautes Etudes de la Défense Nationale’ in 2000/2001. After a first experience as a teacher in an underprivileged suburb of Paris, she decided to specialize in development and joined the French Development Agency (Agence française de développement - AFD) in 1989. In 1997, she was appointed Chief of Staff of the Director General Office, position she held until 2001. During this period she supported the expansion of the AFD Group’s operations in Maghreb and contributed to the discussions that preceded the expansion of AFD’s geographical mandate. From 2002 to 2006, she served in Cambodia and Viet Nam - mostly as secondment in the fields of engineer training and promoting France. In December 2006 Marie-Pierre NICOLLET was tasked to create an AFD Office in Brasilia and to participate in defining an intervention strategy for the AFD Group in Brazil. In 2009 she was named Chief for the Strategic Management Division at AFD’s headquarters in Paris. She took an active part in managing the results of the AFD Group’s interventions in its new geographical areas, and streamlining the internal strategic and operational programing processes. From 2010 to 2015 she was Director of the Mediterranean and Middle-East Department, dealing with countries impacted by the pro-democratic protests of the Arab Spring. In April 2015 she was appointed Director of the Human Development Department (converting health, education, vocational training, jobs and social protection) which became in 2017 the Demographical and Social Transition Department.
Kenichi Nishikawa is a Senior Social Protection Economist at the Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice. Prior to the Bank, Kenichi worked as the Director of Implementation for three programs in the Mexican Ministry of Social Development which included a non-contributory pension program for the elderly, a public works program, and a migrant farm-worker social-care program. Kenichi was also a in charge of developing and implementing the multi-agency strategy for initial assessment/relief to affected households during his tenure in the Mexican Government and has participated in similar projects as a consultant in Nepal and Jamaica.
Martin Owor has 26 years’ experience in Public Administration and Management. Currently, he is the Commissioner for Relief, Disaster Preparedness and Management of The Republic of Uganda. He served in the United Nations from 2006 to 2009 as The Head of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Deduction (UNISDR) for Africa Region. He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration and Management; a Master’s Degree in Business Administration; a Post Graduate Diploma in Disaster Risk Management and a post graduate Diploma in Poverty Alleviation. The World Bank / Government of Uganda Disaster Risk Financing (DRF) Program in the Eastern part of Uganda is one of the portfolios under his leadership.
Luis Felipe Puente Espinosa was born in the Municipality of Atizapan de Zaragoza, in the State of Mexico. After studying tourism and gaining private sector experience, he worked in various positions as a public servant. He served as Mayor of Atizapan de Zaragoza from 1994 to 1997. Having transitioned to the federal administration, he currently holds the position of National Coordinator of Civil Protection in the Ministry of the Interior, to which he was appointed by the President of the United Mexican States, Mr. Enrique Peña Nieto. During his tenure, the National Civil Protection System has become nationally and globally renowned, giving Mexico the opportunity to host the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in 2017. This year he was unanimously appointed by the members of the Consultative Group as Co-chair of the World Bank's Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery.
Md. Zillar Rahman, a career civil servant, currently serves as Secretary, Ministry of Social Welfare, which administers some of the largest social protection programs in the country addressing particularly vulnerable groups such as children-at-risk, persons-with-disabilities, and the elderly among others. Throughout his 30 year career in Government, he has served as Divisional Commissioner of Dhaka where he was responsible for the administration and development of the country’s largest division, as well as in various capacities at the ministries of Finance, Environment & Forests, Housing & Public Works, and Health & Family Welfare. Mr. Rahman holds an MBA from the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia) as well as a Masters and Bachelors in Law from the University of Rajshahi (Bangladesh).
Rindra Rakotoarisoa is the Regional Director of the FID (Fonds d’Intervention pour le Développement), responsible for the large southern region of Madagascar. The FID is the country’s primary implementation agency for social safety net programs and disaster response and recovery. A Finance and Accounting specialist by training, she joined the FID 17 years ago. In 2016, she became the Director for the new drought emergency response program in the South of the country, called FIAVOTA which provides cash transfers, nutrition services and livelihood recovery grants to 65,000 households (more than 400,000 beneficiaries) over three years.
Colette Roberts Risden has been the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, since January 2, 2015. Throughout her career, her main area of specialization has been social development. She has participated in numerous local courses, workshops and represented Jamaica at several international conferences in social development and identity management. She was instrumental in the design and implementation of the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH). PATH is Jamaica’s premiere social protection program.
Nemesio Roys is currently serving as General Director at the Department for Social Prosperity of the Government of Colombia. In his capacity, Mr. Roys leads and coordinates the implementation of policies, programs and projects targeted to alleviating poverty as well as to promoting social inclusion, reconciliation, environmental restoration, and redress to victims of violence. Previously, Mr. Roys held several positions in both public and private sector. Under the Presidency of the Republic, he served as Coordination for Anti-Corruption Regional Strategy, and as Adviser for State Modernization, Efficiency and Transparency. In the private sector, he worked as Director for Planning and Development for Cemex Colombia; Deputy President for Human Resources and Social Enterprise Responsibility in Ladrillera Santafé; and Director for Human Resources in Condimientos El Rey. Mr. Roys graduated from the Business Administration Program at the Kellogg Business School, Northwestern University. He obtained a certificate in strategic negotiation from Yale University and in management of human resources from Michigan University. He also graduated as an industrial engineer from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and earned his MBA from Oxford University. He completed a post-degree program in Business Management in Berkley.
Michal Rutkowski is the Senior Director for Social Protection and Jobs – overseeing the World Bank Global Practice responsible for protecting poor and vulnerable from shocks through improving their job opportunities, earning capacity, and social insurance and social assistance (safety net) coverage. Until July 2016, he was the Director for Multilateral Organizations, and prior to that the Country Director for the Russian Federation and the Resident Representative in Moscow for three years. In the period 2004-12, he was Sector Director for Human Development in the Middle East and North Africa and then South Asia regions of the World Bank. Before 1996, after a brief period of work on Africa and China, Mr. Rutkowski worked extensively on social insurance and labor market issues in transition economies and as a country economist for Russia and after taking a leave from the Bank, returned as Sector Manager for social protection between 1998-2004, where he led a team of professionals working on pensions, labor market and social assistance reforms in 28 countries of Central and Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union, as well as in Turkey. During his leave from the World Bank in the period 1996-98 he helped design and implement the new Polish pension system while serving as the Director of the Office for Social Security Reform. He also taught at the Institute of Economic Policy at the Warsaw School of Economics.
Yahaya Saadatou Mallam Barmou is the Deputy Executive Assistant to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Niger since 2016. She holds a Master's degree in Private Law from the Faculty of Economic and Legal Sciences of Abdou Moumouni Dioffo University in Niamey and a Master in Project Management from the ESCAE in Niamey. Ms. Barmou served as Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Niger, then Communication Officer and Humanitarian Diplomacy for the ICRC delegation covering Niger and Mali between 2004 and 2011. In 2011 she was appointed by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Niger as Special Adviser in charge of Humanitarian and Social Affairs, and between 2012 and 2016 she was the coordinator of the Humanitarian Coordination Unit. During this period, the Unit coordinated the humanitarian response to the Libyan crisis, returning refugees, displaced persons and refugees from the Malian conflict and the Boko Haram sect, migrants in distress, flood disaster victims and other victims of violence. In 2012 Ms. Barmou was appointed by the Secretary General of the Nations as a consultative member of the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).
Waseem Sherazi is a Project Management Professional currently working as Deputy Director Projects at Pakistan's National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA). Having his master's degree in Computer Sciences and certifications in Project Management, Mr. Sherazi has more than 15 years diversified experience in deploying and managing social safety net programs for affected population of natural and man-made disasters. So far, he has successfully managed 14 cash transfer programs referred as G2P (Government to Public) Payments, launched by the Government of Pakistan to provide financial assistance to Internally Displaced Persons. Over 7 million affected families received around US$ 2 billion through these programs. He has given a new dimension to social protection programs with the use of technology in beneficiary targeting and biometric verification of citizens through national database. Mr. Sherazi also has a unique experience of managing refugee registration programs and has successfully registered 2.15 million refugees for a cash compensation by UNHCR.
Ms. Sherburne-Benz is a Director, Social Protection and Jobs Global Practice, Human Development Vice Presidency. She came to this role after three years as a Senior Regional Advisor and 6 years as Sector Manager for Social Protection in Africa. Previously, she has also held the following positions at the World Bank: Advisor to the Managing Director, Operations; Acting Director of Strategy and Operations for the East Asia and Pacific Regions; Sector Manger of Social Protection in the Human Development Network; Country Program Coordinator for the Southeast Asia Countries of Cambodia, Lao DPR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar and Thailand; and has worked in the Africa Region, Human Development Central Vice Presidency, among other positions. Prior to joining the World Bank, Ms. Sherburne-Benz worked on agricultural research projects in Niger and Madagascar. Ms. Sherburne-Benz received her Masters and PhD in International Trade, International Finance, and Development Economics from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and her Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Vanderbilt University. Ms. Sherburne-Benz is the co-author of a book on Evaluating Social Funds: A Cross-Country Analysis of Community Investments. She has also written articles on social protection and poverty reduction, including: Social Risk Management: The World Bank’s Approach to Social Protection in a Globalizing World, Robert Holzmann, Lynne Sherburne-Benz, Emil Tesliuc. Washington, DC: The World Bank 2003; and Poverty Reduction and the World Bank: Progress and Challenges in the 1990s. Washington, DC: World Bank 1996.
Thomas Silberhorn was appointed Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development in February 2014. Prior to this, he was Deputy Chairman of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the German Parliament (Bundestag). The focus of his work as Parliamentary State Secretary is on core development issues for the future: human rights and good governance, education, health, poverty reduction, water supply and sanitation, energy and resources. Mr Silberhorn also concerns himself with globalisation and trade issues and the new agenda for United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Thomas Silberhorn was born on 12 November 1968 in Kemmern, Germany; he is married with two children. He has been a Member of the German Bundestag since 2002, representing the constituency of Bamberg-Forchheim. At the parliamentary elections in 2013, he won 52.2 per cent of first votes in his constituency.
Shoichi Tawaki is Director of the Crisis Management Department for Sendai City, Japan. Sendai City experienced a devastating earthquake and Tsunami in 2011 and is now known for the "Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction" - the global disaster risk management framework adopted by the city in 2015. Mr. Tawaki is responsible for crisis and disaster management, including the development of city's strategy for supporting vulnerable populations. During his career of over 20 years, he has responded to multiple disasters, and provides emergency management support for other cities in Japan. Mr. Tawaki also serves as a committee member for disaster relief and cross-support among cities at the national government level.
Julio Manuel Valera Piedras is General Director of Outreach and Operations for PROSPERA in Mexico. For 20 years, he held various positions in the Ministry of Public Education. Throughout his professional career, he served as Delegate of the Secretariat of Public Education in the states of Hidalgo and Tabasco, and at Faculty of Political and Social Sciences of the Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from the Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo and another in International Relations from the Autonomous University of Mexico. He also holds a Masters in Comparative Public Policy from the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLASCO).
Hugo Vila is an Agronomist graduated from the National Agrarian University “La Molina” of Peru, with postgraduate studies in Agrarian Innovation for Rural Development, Development Planning and Social Management at the Higher School of Public Administration (ESAP), the Latin American Institute of Economic and Social Planning (ILPES), as well as the Inter-American Institute for Social Development – INDES, of the Inter-American Development Bank (Washington, DC). Hugo has training and experience in the design and management of rural development programs and projects and productive development projects aimed at strengthening family agriculture in mountain ecosystems; planning, monitoring and evaluation of public investment programs and projects. He has worked in several agencies of the Peruvian Government such as the Ministry of Women and Social Development and the Ministry of Agriculture. Currently, he serves as Senior Advisor to the Executive Director of the Cooperation Fund for Social Development - FONCODES.
Ghada Waly is the current Minister of Social Solidarity in Egypt. Prior to her appointment in 2014, Minister Waly was appointed in 2011 by the Prime Minister of Egypt as Managing Director of the Social Fund for Development (SFD) mandated to focus on youth employment and expand SMEs access to finance. Before the SFD, Minister Waly was Assistant Resident Representative at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Poverty Reduction and Job Creation Team Leader, and the Millennium Development Goals focal point. While at UNDP, Minister Waly led the Development of the Governorate Human Development Reports and Egypt’s Millennium Development Goals Reports.
Heiko Warnken, a lawyer by training, is the Head of the Division for Health, Social Protection and Population Policy in the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In this function he serves as focal point for Germany’s engagement in G7 processes related to health and social protection. Warnken leads the strategic planning and oversight of Germany’s initiative on rights-based family planning and maternal health, the 2015 newly established Rapid Deployment Team for Health Risks, and recently the Healthy Systems – Healthy Lives initiative, launched by Chancellor Merkel at the 2015 SDG Summit and co-led by WHO and German Development Cooperation.
Berhanu Woldemichael is an agricultural economist. He graduated from the Alemayehu University in 1977. He has some 30 years of working experience in Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture, serving as a planning and programming professional at both regional and federal level. Mr. Berhanu is currently working as the director of the Food Security Coordination Directorate (FSCD), under the Rural Job Creation and Food Security Sector (RJC&FS) of the Ministry of Agriculture. In his capacity as director of FSCD, Mr. Berhanu is coordinating the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) of the Government of Ethiopia.
Ruslan Yemtsov is a Lead Economist in the Social Protection and Labor Global Practice of the World Bank Group. He is coordinating the work of the Global Solutions Group in the area of Social Safety Nets. Prior to his current position, he worked as a lead poverty economist in the Middle East and North Africa region, and in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia regions. His experience includes, leading and co-authoring publication on social safety nets and targeting, including major flagship reports on the state of social safety nets in the world, leading South-South Learning Fora and global training programs on poverty, data analysis, social protection and labor, conducting country poverty assessments (Egypt, Georgia, Serbia, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia, Turkey and others), working on targeting and social assistance projects (Morocco, Russia, Croatia), managing fuel subsidy reform dialogue (Morocco) and leading regional flagship reports on poverty, subsidy reforms, and spatial disparities in development. He has also worked on country projects focused on food crisis response (Djibouti), structural adjustment credits (Georgia), energy sector reform (Serbia, Egypt, Tunisia and Russia), social funds (Georgia and Egypt), and social welfare delivery systems (Croatia and Russia). He is the author and co-author of over 25 research papers, articles, book chapters and monographs.
Vivi Yulaswati currently is the Director for Poverty Reduction and Social Welfare, at the Indonesia’s Ministry of Planning (BAPPENAS). Her responsibility is to develop policy strategies and programs in poverty reduction and welfare, as well as set up its budget, regulatory framework and governance. She has been a major contributor in designing Indonesia’s community driven development, conditional cash transfer, and other social safety net programs. She is now leading the transformation of integrated social assistance and subsidy reform, and integrated service and referral system to support comprehensive social protection. She has been involved in the development of the national social security system, National Strategy for Financial Inclusion, big data research and National Action Plan for SDGs. She holds a PhD in Planning and Development from the University of Southern California (2004), a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA (1999) and a Bachelor’s from the University of Indonesia (1991).
Giuseppe Zampaglione is a Lead Social Protection Specialist at the World Bank. He has more than 25 years of international experience in local development, social protection and human development issues, of which 20 at the World Bank, specifically on fragile and conflict affected countries. He holds a BA in Economics and a M.Sc. in International relations from the London School of Economics. Prior to the World Bank, he has worked on local development projects with prominent Italian development institutions. He has also worked for the UN and the EU. He has extensive operational experience in the design, implementation, management and evaluation of more than 30 operations in fragile countries and he is the Social Protection Focal point for Fragility, Conflict and Violence. On these issues, he is the author of various articles and papers. Currently he is working on Guinea, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Chad.
