The Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) is a social protection program by the Government of

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

targeting food-insecure households.

Operations

Established in 2005, the objective of the program is to prevent household asset depletion and create community assets. To this end, the program provides cash or food payments against public works that build local infrastructure (e.g. roads) or protect environment (e.g. terracing). Poor and vulnerable households with limited labour capacity receive unconditional (direct support) payments. Moreover, eligible households with pregnant or lactating women or infant children are receive temporary direct support. PSNP operates in chronically food insecure districts (woredas) in six Ethiopian regions:

Afar Afar may refer to: Peoples and languages *Afar language, an East Cushitic language *Afar people, an ethnic group of Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia Places Horn of Africa *Afar Desert or Danakil Desert, a desert in Ethiopia *Afar Region, a region ...

, Amhara,

Oromia Oromia (Amharic: ) ( om, Oromiyaa) is a regional state in Ethiopia and the homeland of the Oromo people. The capital of Oromia is Addis Ababa. It is bordered by the Somali Region to the east; the Amhara Region, the Afar Region and the Benish ...

, Somali,

Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region The Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region (often abbreviated as SNNPR; am, የደቡብ ብሔር ብሔረሰቦችና ሕዝቦች ክልል, Yädäbub Bḥer Bḥeräsäbočna Hzboč Kllə) is a regional state in southwestern E ...

, and Tigray.

Notability

PSNP is the second largest social safety net program in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

(after

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

). In 2015, more than seven million people benefited from the program. PSNP is implemented by the Government of

and has been supported by several international donors, including the

Danish International Development Agency Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) is the brand used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark when it provides humanitarian aid and development assistance to other countries, with focus on developing countries. There is no dist ...

, Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs, Global Affairs Canada,

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

Irish Aid , logo = File:Irish Aid logo.jpg , picture = File:Ministry for Foreign Affairs (Ireland).jpg , picture_caption = Iveagh House in Dublin, DFA headquarters , agency_type = , logo_caption = , company_type = , formed = ...

, Royal

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Embassy,

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency The Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency ( sv, Styrelsen för internationellt utvecklingssamarbete, ) is a government agency of the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Sida is responsible for organization of the bulk of Swede ...

, UK

Department for International Development , type = Department , logo = DfID.svg , logo_width = 180px , logo_caption = , picture = File:Admiralty Screen (411824276).jpg , picture_width = 180px , picture_caption = Department for International Development (London office) (far right ...

United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to c ...

United States Agency for International Development The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

and the World Food Programme. Evaluations by the

International Food Policy Research Institute The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) is an international agricultural research center founded in the early 1970s to improve the understanding of national agricultural and food policies to promote the adoption of innovations ...

(IFPRI) show that PSNP is well-targeted towards the most food insecure and poorest households residing in the areas in which the program operates. Moreover, IFPRI-led impact evaluations show that PSNP has improved household

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

and expenditures.

References

{{Reflist Economy of Ethiopia Society of Ethiopia