WASHINGTON, 22 October, 2009: The World Bank Thursday approved a 350 million US dollar grant and a 130 million US dollar credit from the International Development Association to Ethiopia to support an innovative program that is keeping millions of families out of extreme poverty and helping them to achieve food security.
This financing is for the third phase of the Government of Ethiopias Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) which provides transfers to 7,6 million rural citizens in 292 woredas (distrikter) in Afar, Amhara, Dire Dawa, Harare, Oromiya, Somali, Southern Nations and Nationalities (SNNP) and Tigray Regions.
Families participating in the Safety Net Program are the poorest and most food insecure in their communities. They earn a monthly transfer by working on public works projects for six months each year.
For those participants who are physically unable to work, the Program provides direct grants. Transfers are predictable and timely, thereby enabling families to plan ahead to meet their food needs and preventing the sale of productive assets.
The PSNP goes beyond providing safety nets; it aims to address the underlying causes of food insecurity. Planned within an integrated watershed management framework, the public works under PSNP are designed to reverse a long history of environmental degradation and increased vulnerability to adverse weather.
Since 2008, the Program became more flexible, able to scale-up the coverage, level, and duration of support to households in response to shocks in PSNP areas.
– Food aid to Ethiopia in the past was often too little, too late, which meant families were often forced to sell livestock, tools or other productive assets to meet their daily needs, said William Wiseman, the projects’ task team leader.
– These programs are different because they provide support that families can count on – and the infrastructure, credit, and training that they need for long-term food security, added he.
The Safety Net Program is supported by a consortium of donors, namely, the Governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States, as well as by the European Union and the World Food Program.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
