"Social Protection Programs for Africa’s Drylands explores the role of social protection in promoting
the well-being and prosperity of people living in dryland regions of Sub-Saharan Africa, with a
specifi c focus on the Sahel and the Horn of Africa. Based on a review of recent experience, it argues
that social protection policies and programs have an important role in promoting the resilience of
the people residing in these areas. Social protection programs, when well designed and carefully
implemented at scale, can reduce vulnerability to droughts and other shocks and promote coping
capacity.
If present trends continue, by 2030 dryland regions of East and West Africa will be home to an
estimated 429 million people, up to 24 percent of whom will be living in chronic poverty. Many
others will depend on livelihood strategies that are sensitive to the shocks that will hit the region
with increasing frequency and severity, making them vulnerable to falling into transient poverty.
Social p
