Social Safety Nets Key to Helping Poorest in Burkina Faso

African policymakers focused on policies to protect the most vulnerable

Burkina Faso committed to comprehensive safety net system

IMF and partners helping to develop and advocate for targeted welfare programs

In Burkina Faso, as in many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, social safety nets—which can range from cash transfers to individuals for food, education, or health needs, to public works programs that create employment—have been playing an increasing role in protecting the most vulnerable.

In an interview with IMF Survey, Isabell Adenauer of the IMF’s African Department explains why these safety nets are so essential to a country like Burkina Faso.

IMF Survey: Why does Burkina Faso need safety nets?

Adenauer: The country suffered a series of shocks, which started in 2008 with a food and energy price shock. Later, the country was hit by floods, a drought, and suffered from social unrest. Typically, what happens in these circumstances is that the poor are hit first.

On top of this, the country had to absorb more than 100,000 displaced persons from Mali who are, in turn, hit disproportionately by these shocks. Therefore, I think there is a great need in sub-Saharan Africa to protect the most vulnerable.

The Bretton Woods institutions, and particularly the IMF, are realizing that generalized or universal subsidies are often not very well targeted, and are not good instruments to reach the poor. Recently, there has been a strong interest in developing better-targeted programs.

IMF Survey: How would you describe the current state of social safety nets in Burkina Faso?

Adenauer: I can refer to a study on social safety nets in Burkina Faso recently conducted by the World Bank. It found that there is already a very large number of individual programs. However, these programs are very fragmented, not very well targeted to the poor, not comprehensive, and do not have a coherent approach to them. Moreover, they are quite costly.

The Burkina Faso government has asked for help from the IMF, and particularly the World Bank, to design a more comprehensive and cohesive social safety net system. This new system tries to identify the poor directly, then transfer monies to individuals in need, rather than disbursing funds through universal subsidies.

IMF Survey: Can a country like Burkina Faso afford social safety net programs?

Adenauer: It is often said that poor countries are not equipped, both financially and logistically, to...