Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Program

AFD Group contributes to the implementation of France’s policies for sustainable development and international solidarity. The Group includes Agence Française de Développement (AFD), which finances the public sector, NGOs, research and training; its subsidiary Proparco, which is dedicated to the private sector; and Expertise France, a technical cooperation agency.

The Group finances, supports and accelerates the transitions needed for a fairer, more resilient world. With its partners, AFD is building shared solutions with and for the people in more than 150 countries, as well as in 11 French Overseas Departments and Territories. As part of the commitment of France and the French people to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, AFD teams are at work on 4,200 projects in the field. Their goal is to reconcile economic development with the preservation of common goods, such as peace, climate, biodiversity, health, education and gender equality. Toward a world in common.

As one of the three priorities of its engagement in Health and Social Protection, the AFD Group works to strengthen and reform national social protection systems. In a context of polycrisis and with a strong ambition in terms of climate finance, AFD is convinced that adaptive social protection systems are key instruments to protect individuals from life risks and external covariate shocks (economic crises, epidemics), including the shocks linked to climate change’s consequences. AFD is also convinced of the importance of supporting adaptive social protection systems to address determinants of health that lie beyond the reach of health systems. AFD is specifically co-financing SASPP activities in Mauritania (parallel co-financing) and is active with other donors in the technical exchanges organized by the World Bank team under the regional research agenda of the SASPP.

For German development policy, social protection is of core interest. BMZ supports its partner countries in developing adaptive social protection systems and promotes social programs in low-income countries affected by protracted or recurrent crises. In the Sahel region, BMZ is investing in large-scale multilateral social protection programs with the overall aim of strengthening poor and vulnerable people´s resilience against multiple and overlapping shocks. These programs combine the delivery of critical social assistance support, e.g. in the form of monetary transfers and accompanying services in nutrition and employment promotion, with activities aimed at strengthening national social protection systems in the longer term, for example through technical support and advice to national actors. The World Bank, through the SASPP, is one of BMZs major partners for social protection in the region, along with WFP and UNICEF. BMZ is promoting close cooperation between its key partners both at country and regional level with a particular emphasis on strengthening coordination and learning on adaptive social protection.

FCDOs contribution to SASSP is part of the UK Shock Response Programme, which aims to build resilience of vulnerable populations against future crises by ensuring governments and communities can better respond to conflict, climate and food security shocks. The objective of the programme is to strengthen the reach and responsiveness of country systems to provide cash and community-level support to households that are poor and vulnerable to (or affected by) shocks; and to accelerate progress made on financing and use of climate information and data in driving an early response to identified shocks. The programme is delivered in partnership with the World Bank and the Centre for Disaster Protection.

The Danish programme on Climate Change, Conflict, Displacement and Irregular Migration (CCDMP) in the Sahel region seeks to integrate a climate-sensitive prevention focus when addressing compound risks that drive fragility, conflict, displacement and irregular migration in the Sahel region. The Danish CCDMP programme provides support that integrates a longer-term preventive, climate-sensitive approach to underlying risks and wishes to address the consequences of climate change for the poorest, most fragile and most conflict-affected countries. Social protection, particularly linked to climate change and other shocks in the region, is highly relevant in the Sahelian context, where there are high and increasing levels of vulnerability. SASPP complements the Danish CCDMP and the focus to address the need for social protection to be expanded to help poor and vulnerable households become more resilient to the effects of climate change through the design and implementation of adaptive social protection programs and systems. 

Fragility and Migration (um.dk)

CGAP and SASPP collaborate to explore how adaptive social protection programs can enhance climate resilience and long-term adaptation by leveraging financial services as key enablers. This partnership is also examining the potential of social protection as a channel for climate funding to individuals and households. By investigating the roles of both formal and informal financial tools, CGAP and SASPP aim to strengthen adaptive capacities for communities in the Sahel and beyond. Together, they seek to demonstrate how inclusive financial services can fortify safety nets, shield vulnerable populations from climate shocks, and foster sustainable productivity and long-term resilience. CGAP is a global partnership of over 35 leading development organizations dedicated to advancing financial inclusion for people living in poverty, particularly women.

SASPP, UNICEF, and the World Food Programme (WFP) have built a robust partnership in the Sahel, with a common vision to strengthen the adaptive dimensions of national social protection systems. Both the SASPP and the UNICEF-WFP Social Protection in the Sahel Joint Project recognize that the expansion of adaptive social protection relies on strong and coherent actions of social protection, disaster risk management, climate, and humanitarian actors to tap into each other’s expertise and networks. We see opportunities to strengthen and build on nascent social protection systems, not only to make them more responsive to shocks, but also to prioritize investments in resilience and human capital, which stand to drive economic inclusion and foster social cohesion.

Under this partnership, we use a common conceptual framework to structure our joint and complementary support to the building blocks of national social protection systems, with the aim of strengthening their shock-responsive/ adaptive capacity. By aligning our support, our shared objectives are to enhance the relevance, quality, and coherence of technical support provided to countries and facilitate convergence of support to strengthen social protection systems across the Sahel. 

As partners, we have focused on shared analyses, applying the Stress Test Tool among others, to better understand the state of adaptive social protection in the region, and prioritize support across system building blocks that include policy and governance, finance, programme design, and delivery mechanisms. We have organized further analysis and technical workshops to address critical elements such as operationalizing social registries or developing national safety net programs. Knowledge exchanges and joint learning have improved the efficiency and effectiveness of each of our teams and include a new research initiative on social protection and social cohesion in the Sahel. 

As the partnership deepens, we acknowledge a desire to translate regional collaboration more systematically to the country level. This will be key to institutionalize the agenda and develop synergies, by further deepening joint efforts and understanding the respective contributions and unique value and expertise of each of the agencies in support to governments. This is critically relevant in the region which is marked by conflict and fragility, requiring innovative approaches and partnerships to push forward the social protection agenda. 

SASPP collaborations in the region aim to embed core adaptive social protection principles and instruments in regional and country-level dialogues. We collaborate closely with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), OECDs Club Sahel, the Sahel Alliance, UNHCR, and local and international nongovernmental organizations among others.

SASPP and BMZ co-lead the Sahel Alliance’s Temporary Coordination Group on adaptive social protection. The Sahel Alliance, currently under German presidency, is an international coordination platform bringing together 27 organizations and countries. Founded in 2017, this initiative aims to provide more and better support for development initiatives in the Sahel. 

SASPP participates in the annual technical and policy dialogues on food security, led by the Permanent Interstate Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) with support from the Sahel and West Africa Club of the OECD.

SASPP and our partners work closely with the ECOWAS divisions charged with social protection to identify their main priorities in social protection and opportunities for convergence in the longer-term.  

Last Updated: December 18, 2024