Social Protection in Africa

In June 2012 the Netherlands Minister for European Affairs and International Cooperation launched five Knowledge Platforms to support Dutch development cooperation, one for each of the four focal points of Dutch development cooperation - water, food security, security and rule of law, and sexual and reproductive health and rights - and an overarching Knowledge Platform Development Policies. The latter will look at ways in which economic growth in Africa can be made more inclusive and more sustainable, with a particular focus on youth employment, inclusive growth and social protection. In the Knowledge Platforms governments, business, NGOs and the research world work together to develop an agenda for knowledge and research on issues in development cooperation.

Against this background, the Library, Documentation and Information Department of the African Studies Centre Leiden has compiled the present web dossier on social protection in Africa. It contains titles available in the ASC Library and published in the past ten years. Each title links directly to the corresponding record in the library’s online catalogue, which provides further bibliographic details and abstracts, loan information, and links to full text if available. The dossier concludes with links to a number of relevant websites.

Simultaneously, ASC partner The Broker has published a dossier about social protection.

• Introduction
• Social Protection in Africa - General
• Social Protection in Africa - Country cases
• Selected websites

Introduction

Social protection is currently high on the development agenda, though it does not figure in the Millennium Development Goals. Nonetheless, it has existed in low-income countries in one form or another for a long time. In African countries both governments, NGOs, donor agencies and the private sector have been involved in social protection initiatives which run alongside local and informal mechanisms of social support. In the 1960s and 1970s food subsidies were popular, for example wheat in Egypt and maize in Tanzania. In the 1980s “social safety nets”, exemplified by public works programmes and food-for-work schemes, provided minimal social protection, and in the mid-1990s social risk management became the vogue. Ongoing social protection interventions in Africa include Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme, Kenya’s Hunger Safety Net Programme and Ghana’s Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty.

Initially social protection was conceived as a response to an emergency or a crisis situation. Increasingly the emphasis has shifted to the provision of regular and predictable support to vulnerable people before shocks occur. Current understandings of social protection mechanisms are inspired by Amartya Sen’s notion of entitlements, coupled with the notions of risk and vulnerability, the lack of ability to deal with a shock. From this perspective, social protection “offers the potential means for addressing the multiple factors causing persistent poverty and rising vulnerability” (p. 7, Frank Ellis, Stephen Devereux, Philip White, 2009). Social protection, in this broad sense, entails prevention, by reducing the occurrence and severity of shocks, mitigation, by reducing the impact of shocks when they occur, coping, by helping people deal with shocks, and revival, by helping people rebuild their lives to their pre-shock level of well-being (Horman Chitonge, 2012).

Social protection interventions range from public policy measures, such as minimum labour standards, through contributory social insurance schemes, to a wide range of social transfers in the form of cash, food, inputs or assets. The relative merits of cash and food transfers has given rise to heated debate in social protection circles, as has the issue of conditionality versus non-conditionality, the question of targeting versus universal provision, and the concern that social transfers render people dependent and therefore increasingly unlikely to “graduate” from requiring transfers.

Social protection is in essence a poverty-reducing strategy and a key policy challenge in African countries is how to align social protection with poverty reduction programmes. Even in those African countries involved in the World Bank/IMF Poverty Reduction Strategy Initiative, introduced in 1999, social protection did not feature prominently on the policy agenda. Lack of political commitment, weak institutional capacity and inappropriate social welfare models, together with inadequate financial resources, have worked against the expansion of social protection in many African countries.

However, there are signs that this may be changing. At the Livingstone Call for Action summit in March 2006, 13 eastern and southern African countries pledged to develop national social protection strategies and integrate them into their national development plans. The African Union’s Social Policy Framework, adopted in October 2008, sees social development as a goal in its own right, with social protection as one of the basic pillars. There is an emerging consensus that a minimum package of essential social protection should cover essential health care, and benefits for children, informal workers, the unemployed, older persons and persons with disabilities. In December 2012 the World Bank launched a new 10-year strategy for social protection in Africa (2012-2022), whose vision is to help governments build country-owned national social protection systems.

Africa’s economic growth notwithstanding, just under half of the people in Subsaharan Africa live on less than $1.25 a day. The recognition that risk and vulnerability have a high impact on the well-being of the poor means that social protection is no longer seen as a luxury, reserved exclusively for rich countries, but as a key element on the post-2015 agenda.

Social Protection in Africa - General

Dinâmica demográfica, pobreza e protecção social / Instituto de Estudos Sociais e Económicos. - Maputo : Instituto de Estudos Sociais e Económicos, 2013. - (Boletim Bibliográfico do Centro de Documentação ; no. 43)

Informal and formal social protection systems in Sub-Saharan Africa / Stephen Devereux & Melese Getu (ed.). - Kampala : Fountain Publishers, 2013

Special Issue: Social protection in southern Africa: new opportunities for social development / Leila Patel, James Midgley, & Marianne Ulriksen (ed.). - London : Routledge, 2013. - (Development Southern Africa, ISSN 1470-3637 ; vol. 30, no. 1)

Managing risk, promoting growth: developing systems for social protection in Africa : the World Bank's Africa Social Protection Strategy 2012-2022 / World Bank. - Washington, DC : The World Bank, 2012

Social protection and basic services in conflict-affected situations: what do we know?/ Rachel Slater, Richard Mallett & Samuel Carpenter. - London : Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium ; Overseas Development Institute, 2012. - (SLRC Briefing Paper 2)

Social protection and basic services in fragile and conflict-affected situations/ Rachel Slater, Richard Mallett & Samuel Carpenter. - London : Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium ; Overseas Development Institute, 2012. - (SLRC Working Paper 8)

Social protection challenges in sub-Saharan Africa: 'rethinking regimes and commitments' / Horman Chitonge
In: African Studies: (2012), vol. 71, no. 3, p. 323-345 : tab.

Africa: a new balance for social security : developments and trends/ Magid Fathallah & others. - Geneva : International Social Security Association, 2011

Social protection for Africa's children / Sudhanshu Handa, Stephen Devereux, & Douglas Webb (ed.). - London [etc.] : Routledge, 2011. - (Routledge studies in development economics, ISSN 1359-7884 ; 86)

Social security and social protection in the East African Community/ John Jean Barya / Kituo cha Katiba. - Kampala : Fountain Publishers, 2011

Protecção social para Moçambique : abordagens, desafios e experiências / Luís de Brito & others (ed.). - Maputo : Instituto de Estudos Sociais e Económicos, 2010

Social protection for inclusive development : a new perspective in EU cooperation with Africa/ Giorgia Giovannetti & others. - Florence : Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, 2010

Social protection in sub-Saharan Africa : will the green shoots blossom?/ Miguel Niño-Zarazúa & others. - Manchester : University of Manchester. Brooks World Poverty Institute (BWPI), 2010. - (BWPI Working Paper ; 116)

Impact of the global economic crisis on social security systems in Africa / L. George Mpedi
In: Journal of Social Development in Africa: (2009), vol. 24, no. 2, p. 123-138 : graf. , tab.

Social protection and poverty reduction in the Southern Africa Development Community / Edwell Kaseke
In: Journal of Social Development in Africa: (2009), vol. 24, no. 2, p. 37-50.

Social protection in Africa/ Frank Ellis, Stephen Devereux & Philip White. - Cheltenham [etc.] : Elgar, 2009

Social protection in sub-Saharan Africa: a regional review/ Stephen Devereux & Rachel Cipryk. - Brighton : Institute of Development Studies, 2009

Social security in religious networks : anthropological perspectives on new risks and ambivalences / Carolin Leutloff-Grandits, Anja Peleikis, & Tatjana Thelen (ed.). - New York : Berghahn Books, 2009

The "Livingstone call for action": a critical analysis/ Kirsten Hagen. - Utrecht : University of Utrecht, 2009

Migration and the portability of social security benefits : the position of non-citizens in the Southern African Development Community / Daleen Millard
In: African Human Rights Law Journal: (2008), vol. 8, no. 1, p. 37-59.

Social policy framework for Africa. - Addis Ababa : African Union, 2008

Social protection in eastern and southern Africa : a framework and strategy for UNICEF/ Lorraine Blank & Sudhanshu Handa. - Nairobi : UNICEF, Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO), Social Policy and Social Protection Section, 2008

Human rights and social development in southern Africa / Gloria Jacques, Gwen N. Lesetedi, & Kwaku Osei-Hwedie (ed.). - Gaborone : Bay Publishing, 2007

Social policy and the quest for inclusive development : research findings from Sub-Saharan Africa/ Jìmí O. Adésínà. - Geneva : UNRISD, 2007. - (Social policy and development programme paper ; no. 33)

Social policy in Sub-Saharan African context : in search of inclusive development / Jìmí O. Adésínà (ed.). - Basingstoke [etc.] : Palgrave Macmillan [etc.], 2007. - (Social policy in a development context)

African voices on development and social justice : editorials from Pambazuka news 2004 / Firoze Manji & Patrick Burnett (ed.). - Dar es Salaam : Mkuki na Nyota Publishers, 2005

Feminism and globalisation : the promise of Beijing and neoliberal capitalism in Africa / Vishanthie Sewpaul
In: Agenda / Feminist Media: (2005), no. 64, p. 104-113 : foto's.

Sécurité sociale et développement = Soziale Sicherheit und Entwicklung / Anne Mayor, Claudia Roth, & Yvan Droz (ed.). - Münster : Lit Verlag, 2005. - (Schweizerische Afrikastudien ; 7
Le forum suisse des africanistes ; 5)

A generation at risk? : HIV/AIDS, vulnerable children and security in Southern Africa / Robyn Pharoah (ed.). - Pretoria : Institute for Security Studies, 2004. - (ISS monograph series, ISSN 1026-0412 ; no. 109)

HIV/AIDS and social assistance in South Africa : a study of social assistance available in South Africa with a comparison to assistance available in Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe/ Karen Kallmann / Black Sash Trust. - [Lusaka] : SALAN, Southern African Legal Assistance Network, 2003

Social Protection in Africa - Country cases

An overview of the constitutional framework of the right to social security with special reference to South Africa / Charles Fombad
In: African Journal of International and Comparative Law: (2013), vol. 21, pt. 1, p. 1-31 : tab.

Food security, safety nets and social protection in Ethiopia / Rahmato Dessalegn, Alula Pankhurst, & Jan Gerrit van Uffelen (ed.). - Addis Ababa : Forum for Social Studies (FSS), 2013

Livelihoods, basic services and social protection in Democratic Republic of the Congo/ Bart Weijs, Dorothea Hilhorst & Adriaan Ferf. - London : Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium ; Overseas Development Institute, 2012. - (SLRC Working Paper 2)

Livelihoods, basic services and social protection in Northern Uganda and Karamoja/ Kirsten Gelsdorf, Daniel Maxwell & Dyan Mazurana. - London : Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium ; Overseas Development Institute, 2012. - (SLRC Working Paper 4)

Livelihoods, basic services and social protection in South Sudan/ Daniel Maxwell, Kirsten Gelsdorf & Martina Santschi. - London : Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium ; Overseas Development Institute, 2012. - (SLRC Working Paper 1)

Shocks and social protection in the Horn of Africa: analysis from the productive safety net programme in Ethiopia/ Christophe Béné, Stephen Devereux & Rachel Sabates-Wheeler. - Brighton : Institute of Development Studies, 2012. - (IDS working paper ; 395)

Achieving a responsive social security system in South Africa through institutional reform/ Alex Van den Heever
In: Future inheritance : building State capacity in democratic South Africa / ed.by Daniel Plaatjies.- Auckland Park : Jacana Media: (2011), p.216-235 : tab.

Beyond the enclave : towards a pro-poor and inclusive development strategy for Zimbabwe / Godfrey Kanyenze & others (ed.). - Harare : Weaver Press, 2011

Social protection for Malawian migrants in Johannesburg : access, exclusion and survival strategies / Redson Edward Kapindu
In: African Human Rights Law Journal: (2011), vol. 11, no. 1, p. 93-119.

The impact and effectiveness of the child support grant in Gugulethu, South Africa / J. Liziwe & M. Kongolo
In: Eastern Africa Social Science Research Review: (2011), vol. 27, no. 1, p. 49-66 : graf. , krt. , tab.

Civil society social development plan : discussion paper / National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations, Zimbabwe. - Harare : NANGO, 2010. - (Discussion paper series)

Code de la prévoyance sociale / United Nations Development Programme. Représentation au Tchad;Centre d'étude et de formation pour le développement. - N'Djaména : Centre d'étude et de formation pour le développement [etc.], 2010. - (Collection "Le droit par le texte" ; livre 3)

Les relations intergénérationnelles sous pression au Burkina Faso / Claudia Roth
In: Autrepart: (2010), no. 53, p. 95-110.

Loi no. 98 - 019 du 21 mars 2003 portant code de sécurité sociale. Loi no. 2007-02 du 26 mars 2007 portant modification des dispositions des articles 10, 89, 93, 94, 95 et 101 de la loi no. 98-019 du 21 mars 2003 portant Code de sécurité en République du Bénin / République du Bénin. - [Cotonou] : Editions Geocy, 2010

Questions directes, ou, Le manifeste social/ Candide Ahouansou. - Cotonou : CAAREC Editions, 2010

Securing social security for migrant workers : orthodox approaches or an alternative (regional/political) path for Southern Africa? / Terry Carney
In: African Journal of International and Comparative Law: (2010), vol. 18, pt. 1, p. 24-45.

Social policy : the integrated approach to social development/ George Zirimu Muriisa. - Kampala : Makerere University Printery, 2010

Social protection of the elderly in Tanzania : current status and future possibilities/ Thaddeus Mboghoina & Lars Osberg. - Dar es Salaam : Mkuki na Nyota, 2010. - (REPOA special paper ; 10.05)

Zanzibar : social protection expenditure and performance review and social budget / International Labour Office. Social Security Department, Geneva. - Geneva : ILO, 2010

A tale of two villages : the impact of social policy in two contrasting villages in Kenya/ Samuel Kibuchi & Roseline Wambeti. - Nairobi : Development Policy Management Forum (DPMF), 2009. - (Social policy, development, and governance in Kenya ; [7])

Extension of social security coverage to the rural population in Tanzania : lessons from India and Iran / Tulia Ackson
In: Journal of African and International Law: (2009), vol. 2, no. 1, p. 51-70.

Les stratégies de survie à Cotonou / Centre de Recherche d'Etude et de Créativité Compagnie de Jésus au Bénin. - Cotonou : Centre de Recherche d'Étude et de Créativité Compagnie de Jésus au Bénin, 2009. - (Cahiers du CREC ; no. 2)

Religion, redistribution and poverty alleviation : the case of 'Zakah' in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia/ Hania Kiar Abdu. - The Hague : Institute of Social Studies, 2009

The emerging role of the constitutional value of 'ubuntu' for informal social security in South Africa / Clarence I. Tshoose
In: African Journal of Legal Studies: (2009), vol. 3, no. 1, p. 12-19.

Women and social and economic rights / Beth Goldblatt & Kirsty McLean (ed.). - Bloomington, IN : Indiana University Press, 2009. - (South African journal on human rights, ISSN 0258-7203 ; vol. 25, pt. 3)

Code et institutions de prévoyance sociale : mise à jour au 1er novembre 2008/ Albert Aggrey / Côte d'Ivoire. - Abidjan : Juris-Editions, 2008. - (Codes et lois usuelles de Côte d'Ivoire)

Deserving individuals and groups : the post-apartheid State's justification of the shape of South Africa's system of social assistance / Jeremy Seekings
In: Transformation: (2008), no. 68, p. 28-52 : graf. , tab.

Rights, the public and the South African constitution : civil society and the performance of rights / Naudé Malan
In: Anthropology Southern Africa: (2008), vol. 31, no. 1/2, p. 58-69.

The quest for a transparent and accountable social security system in Uganda : the voices of beneficiaries and contributors to the social security and pension schemes / Platform for Labour Action (PLA), Uganda. - Kampala : Fountain Publishers, 2008

The role of informal social security in the wider context of social security in South Africa / T. Mohapi
In: Lesotho Law Journal: (2008/09), vol. 18, no. 1, p. 189-203.

The social-security function of land in Mbarara District, Uganda/ André Leliveld
In: Inside poverty and development in Africa : critical reflections on pro-poor policies / ed.by Marcel Rutten, André Leliveld, Dick Foeken.- Leiden [etc.] : Brill: (2008), p.169-200 : foto's, krt., tab.

"Tu ne peux pas rejeter ton enfant!" : contrat entre les générations, sécurité sociale et vieillesse en milieu urbain burkinabè / Claudia Roth
In: Cahiers d'études africaines: (2007), vol. 47, cah. 185, p. 93-116 : graf.

45 ans de régime congolais de pensions géré par l'Institut national de sécurité sociale (I.N.S.S.) : points de repère pour son évaluation / Faustin Toengaho Lokundo & Barthelemy Molio Elek'a
In: Congo-Afrique: (2007), année 47, no. 415, p. 307-330 : tab.

Begging and almsgiving in Ghana : Muslim positions towards poverty and distress/ Holger Weiss. - Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, 2007. - (Research report, ISSN 0080-6714 ; no. 133)

Emploi, chômage, minima sociaux / Bruno Bally & others
In: Économie de la Réunion: (2007), no. 129, p. 4-12 : foto's, graf. , tab.

Social security and social protection in Botswana/ Dolly Ntseane & Kholisani Solo. - Gaborone : Bay Publishing, 2007

South Africa's BIG debate in comparative perspective/ Stefaan Marysse & Joris Verschueren. - Antwerpen : Institute of Development Policy and Management (IOB), 2007. - (Discussion paper / Institute of Development Policy and Management ; 2007-03)

South African debates on the Basic Income Grant : wage labour and the post-apartheid social policy / Franco Barchiesi
In: Journal of Southern African Studies: (2007), vol. 33, no. 3, p. 561-575.

The dualist approach to social security in developing countries : perspectives from China and South Africa / L. George Mpedi & Barbara A. Darimont
In: Journal of Social Development in Africa: (2007), vol. 22, no. 1, p. 9-33.

The erosion of social security by HIV/AIDS in northwestern Tanzania/ Diny Joxhorst. - Leiden : Universiteit Leiden, 2007

The poverty alleviation impetus of the social security system in South Africa / Pinky Lalthapersad-Pillay
In: Africa Insight: (2007/08), vol. 37, no. 4, p. 16-26.

'We are only here for the pension, tonight we will go back to Mozambique': State welfare and development projects in communities that transcend borders / Roelie Kloppers
In: Africanus: (2006), vol. 36, no. 2, p. 154-165 : foto's, krt.

'We will eat when I get the grant' : negotiating AIDS, poverty and antiretroviral treatment in South Africa / Suzanne Leclerc-Madlala
In: African Journal of AIDS Research: (2006), vol. 5, no. 3, p. 249-256.

Disability grants or antiretrovirals? : a quandary for people with HIV/AIDS in South Africa / Chloe Hardy & Marlise Richter
In: African Journal of AIDS Research: (2006), vol. 5, no. 1, p. 85-96 : graf. , tab.

Extending social security and labour law protection to the South African informal sector : an enquiry into recent developments in the taxi sector / Letlhokwa George Mpedi
In: Recht in Afrika: (2006), Jg. 9, H. 1, p. 43-67 : tab.

Procedural fairness and reasonable administrative action within the social assistance system : implications of some settled class actions / Nick De Villiers
In: South African Journal on Human Rights: (2006), vol. 22, pt. 3, p. 405-438.

Shifting boundaries : social security in the urban fringe of Lilongwe City, Malawi = Wijkende grenzen/ Barbara Anna Rohregger. - Aachen : Shaker Verlag, 2006. - (Berichte aus der Ethnologie, ISSN 1860-2975)

Social protection in a context of HIV/AIDS : a closer look at South Africa / Nina Veenstra
In: Social Dynamics: (2006), vol. 32, no. 2, p. 111-135.

The right to social security of people living with HIV/AIDS in the context of public-sector provision of highly-active antiretroviral therapy / Marlise Richter
In: South African Journal on Human Rights: (2006), vol. 22, pt. 2, p. 197-223.

Ageing in insecurity : case studies on social security and gender in India and Burkina Faso = Vieillir dans l'insécurité : sécurité sociale et genre en Inde et au Burkina Faso, études de cas/ Willemijn de Jong & others. - Münster : Lit, 2005. - (Schweizerische Afrikastudien ; 5)

Evolving democratic governance in South Africa/ Phiroshaw Camay & Anne J. Gordon / Co-operative for Research and Education (CORE), Johannesburg. - Johannesburg : CORE, 2004

Risk, resettlement and relations : social security in rural Zimbabwe/ Marleentje Dekker. - [Amsterdam : Thela Thesis], 2004. - (Tinbergen Institute research series ; no. 331)

Digest of social security statistics ... - Port Louis, Mauritius

Globalisation and social security in low-income countries: the case of Côte d'Ivoire / Steven D'Haeseleer & Jos Berghman
In: Africa Development: (2003), vol. 28, no. 3/4, p. 1-21.

Le sécurité sociale au Tchad : plus de 30 ans après, quel progrès?/ Sindang Téria Boniface. - N'Djaména : CEFOD, 2003. - (Conférences du CEFOD)

Social exclusion and social security : the case of Zimbabwe / Edwin Kaseke
In: Journal of Social Development in Africa: (2003), vol. 18, no. 1, p. 33-48.

Selected websites

(The ASC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites)

Africa Platform for Social Protection
The APSP’s main objective is to support the development of effective national social protection policies and programmes and thereby contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the goals of the African Union Social Policy Framework  for Africa (SPF).
http://africapsp.org/

Centre for Social Protection
The Centre for Social Protection (CSP) of the IDS (Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton) supports a global network of partners working to mainstream social protection in development policy. The IDS is a leading global charity for international development research, teaching, and communications. It has projects in Burundi, Ethiopia, and Malawi, amongst other countries.
http://www.ids.ac.uk/idsresearch/centre-for-social-protection

Effective States and Inclusive Development Research Centre
Based at the Institute for Development Policy and Management (IDPM) and the Brooks World Poverty Institute (BWPI), University of Manchester, ESID aims to improve the use of governance research evidence in decisionmaking. It has research associates in Ghana, Malawi, and Uganda.
http://www.effective-states.org/

From Protection to Production
The From Protection to Production (PtoP) project is a multi-country impact evaluation of cash transfers in sub-Saharan Africa. The project is a collaborative effort between the FAO, the UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office and the governments of Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It  looks especially at household level agricultural production and labour outcomes, impacts on social networks (informal transfers) and multiplier effects in the local economy.
http://www.fao.org/economic/ptop/en/

GESS - Social Security in Africa - Overview
Africa regional profile on the website of GESS (Global Extension of Social Security), a knowledge sharing platform on the extension of social security developed and run by the ILO Social Security Department. GESS aims to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas, capture and document experiences, identify knowledge gaps, create new knowledge, and promote innovation.
http://www.social-protection.org/gimi/gess/ShowRegionProfile.do?rid=1

GESS - STEP Portugal Programme
Programme on the website of GESS (Global Extension of Social Security). The mission of STEP Portugal is “to support the extension of social protection in the framework of promoting decent work”. A product of cooperation between the Portuguese Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity, the ILO and Portuguese-speaking African countries (PALOP), STEP Portugal offers support to the Governments of Portuguese-speaking African countries to further their ambition of extending social protection and strengthening its  effectiveness.
https://www.social-protection.org/gimi/gess/ShowTheme.do?tid=2325

International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth
The IPC-IG, UNDP’s  global forum for policy dialogue and South-South learning on development innovations, has, amongst other matters, social protection and cash transfer programmes in African countries.
http://www.ipc-undp.org/PageNewSiteb.do?id=120&active=3

Social Assistance in Developing Countries Database Version 5.0 (2010)
This is a  user-friendly tool that provides information on social assistance interventions in developing countries. Compiled by Armando Barrientos, Miguel Angel Niño-Zarazúa, and Mathilde Maitrot (Brooks World Poverty Institute).
https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1672090

Social Protection in Africa
World Bank pages on its social protection projects in sub-Saharan Africa.
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/socialprotection
See also WB video ‘The Rise of Social Safety Nets in Africa’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7WsXvy73hc&list=PL59FB6C9C9D741D01&index=14

Social security country profiles
The International Social Security Association (ISSA, Geneva) web portal provides comprehensive information, news, data, and analysis on social security developments worldwide. The Country Profiles cover national social security programmes established by statute.
https://www.issa.int/en_GB/africa/introduction

Social Security  Programs Throughout the World : Africa 2011
The official website of the U.S. Social Security Administration. Contains research, statistics, and policy analysis.
http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/progdesc/ssptw/2010-2011/africa/

UNICEF  (Regional Office) Eastern and Southern Africa Social Policy
Through its social policy work, UNICEF aims to influence public policy decisions to enhance children’s survival and development opportunities. Issues addressed include child poverty, cash transfers, social budgeting, social protection, and the results for children.
https://www.unicef.org/esa/