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Background

Despite political stability and security, Senegal suffers from high poverty and severe climate shocks. Nearly half of the Senegalese population can be considered poor and the Human Capital Index stands only at 42 percent, which is lower than the average for Senegal¡¯s lower middle-income group (though higher than the average for Sub-Saharan Africa).

Climate change exacerbates the situation, causing more frequent shocks and disasters that affect the Senegalese population. Droughts, floods and fires are the most prevalent climate-related shocks. The country¡¯s vulnerability to drought is due to its heavy reliance on rain-fed agriculture, especially in the arid and semiarid regions of Northern Senegal. About 70 percent of households are still practicing agriculture and 40 percent are engaged in livestock rearing, making them vulnerable to climate variability. In a context of limited use of technology and improved practices, rainfall deficits lead to decrease in food production and food intake of the household¡¯s members. Recent estimates suggesting that Senegal could lose up to 8% of its gross domestic product by 2030 due to climate change.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected Senegal¡¯s economy and population and is reinforcing vulnerability related to climate shocks. The crisis halted years of strong economic performance and threatens to reverse half of the last decade¡¯s poverty reduction.

SASPP Activities

SASPP activities in Senegal are anchored in the Senegal Adaptive Social Safety Net project, which follows on from the Safety Net project that was implemented from 2014 to 2024 and made a major contribution to the establishment of the safety net system. The project aims to strengthen the core delivery systems for social protection, support economic inclusion programs for the chronic poor (Yokk Koom Koom and the agricultural resilience programs), finance shock-responsive assistance for vulnerable households in particular for climate-induced shocks and provide institutional support and capacity building for the social protection sector.

Senegal social registry is one of the core tools of the adaptive social protection system in the country that is supported by the project. The social registry has achieved national coverage of over 540,000 households and aims to expand to 1 million households by summer 2024, with the goal of including all poor and vulnerable households in the country to ensure an adequate response to climate shocks. Besides the registry, the project also supports the strengthening of the payment system and the enhancement of the grievance and redress mechanisms.

Senegal has established a range of safety net programs designed to cater to the needs of different groups. Programs include : (1) the National Cash Transfer Program (Programme National de Bourses de S¨¦curit¨¦ Familiale, PNBSF), which delivers quarterly cash transfers and accompanying measures to chronically poor households; (2) Yokk Koom Koom (YKK), which provides a comprehensive productive inclusion package to boost climate resilience; (3) the Agricultural Resilience Program (PRA), which reaches smallholder farmers in rural areas with a cash grant and agricultural extension services provided by the Ministry of Agriculture and (4) a number of shock-specific cash transfer programs in response to floods, fires, and food insecurity.

The project aims to reach about 130,000 beneficiaries with economic inclusion programs such as the Yook Koom Koom and the agricultural resilience programs that are respectively designed to boost the creation of non-farm income generating activities and the generation of agricultural income. Besides, the project supports the delivery of assistance to about 51,000 households affected by climate-related shocks.

With the support of the SASPP and of the Safety Net Project, significant progress has been made in the ability to respond to shocks. The SASPP contributed to the Government¡¯s exceptional cash transfer operation aiming to reach all 550,000 households in the Single National Registry (Registre National Unique, RNU) to help poor households cope with the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp inflation crisis. This response was rolled out using the ASP systems, demonstrating its importance for both regular and shock-responsive programs. Also, for the third consecutive year, relief to flood-affected and fire-affected populations was delivered during the 2022 rainy season by the ASP system based on a rigorous assessment of damages and with a differentiated compensation depending on the inclusion of households in the RNU. Support to shock-response is also focused on the strengthening of the National Solidarity Fund (Fonds de Solidarit¨¦ Nationale, FSN) and its ability to use a satellite-based trigger to provide early assistance to drought-affected households.

Project Duration: FY23 - Ongoing

Financing:

¡¤  Financing of $100 million from IDA in FY23