Building Consensus for Social Protection: Insights from Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme

There is increasing evidence that social protection can have a significant impact on poverty and hunger in Africa. Yet generating the political commitment and coordinated donor response necessary to create large-scale, appropriate and sustainable social protection programmes is a major challenge. This briefing explores the policy processes that led to the creation of Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP)—the largest social protection programme in Africa. It examines the openings, hurdles and incentives Government and donors faced in forging consensus on the PSNP. It also provides insights to inform government actors, donors and anti-poverty campaigners as they advocate for social protection in other parts of Africa.