ERD 2010

The European Report on Development 2010 focuses on the issues of poverty, inequality and social protection, with a focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. Many African countries are stuck in a situation of chronic poverty and are increasingly vulnerable to external shocks. Climate change and food and fuel price volatility, together with the negative impact of the recent financial crisis are undermining progresses towards the Millennium Development Goals, increasing the demand for new and more substantive social protection programs in many African countries. Social protection – which is increasingly recognized as an effective tool to protect people from risks and reducing vulnerability – is thus rapidly becoming a priority in the development agenda of both donors and local governments.

ERD2010, with the aim of enhancing the resilience of Sub Saharan countries, focuses on the role of formal and informal mechanisms of social protection both in responding to shocks (short term) and in addressing structural vulnerabilities and poverty traps (long term). Specific interventions, targeting the most vulnerable sector of the populations, are increasingly considered necessary complements of more traditional pro-growth policies, especially in face of emerging unstable global socio economic scenarios.

Social protection is usually defined as the set of public and private mechanisms that prevent individuals and households from suffering the worst consequences of some negative shocks and/or chronic need. It is often considered a double-dividend policy for development: it is an effective input for economic growth and directly reduces poverty making growth more pro-poor.