THE UNITED NATIONS WORLD FOOD

Published purpose

The Productive Safety Net Program is an initiative targeting some of the underlying causes of food insecurity in Ethiopia. Led by the Government of Ethiopia, with the support of CIDA and other donors, the goal of this program is to reduce the vulnerability of chronically food insecure people and enable them to progress towards more resilient livelihoods. The program is designed to provide predictable, multi-year transfers of either food or cash to chronically food insecure people. Food or cash resources are provided to beneficiaries in exchange for their labour on public works projects designed to create productive community assets. These projects include activities such as: terracing and afforestation to improve soil conservation and restore degraded watersheds; water harvesting schemes; small-scale irrigation schemes and the construction of infrastructure such as rural roads, schools and health centres. Food is also provided directly to those beneficiaries who are unable to participate in public works such as orphans, pregnant and lactating women, households with only elderly residents, young children and mothers in female-headed households, and people living with HIV/AIDS. CIDA support to this program is provided through the World Food Programme and the World Bank. CIDA's support also includes a technical assistance component. All CIDA disbursements for this project have been completed and the results of our investment are outlined below.