Event Information

Africa has the world’s largest proportion of poor and hungry people, but the lowest rate of coverage by social protection programs. Demand for social protection is growing in Africa, reflecting faster economic growth, rapid urbanization, and more open and pluralistic societies. In the 2014 Malabo Declaration, African leaders called for integrating social protection with measures to increase agricultural productivity to help achieve the goal of ending hunger by 2025.

The 2017–2018 Annual Trends and Outlook Report: Boosting Growth to End Hunger by 2025—The Role of Social Protection takes an in-depth look at the state of social protection in Africa. Seminar speakers will discuss findings and recommendations on successful implementation, filling knowledge gaps, and policy implications for the design and roll-out of social protection programs in Africa.

The report is produced by the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System, a program that provides data and analyses to inform the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).

Welcome

• Rajul Pandya-Lorch, Director of Communications and Public Affairs & Chief of Staff in the Director General's Office, IFPRI

Speakers

• Natalia Winder Rossi, Senior Adviser and Social Protection Team Leader, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• Fleur Wouterse, Senior Research Fellow, Africa Regional Office; and Co-Editor of the 2017-2018 Annual Trends and Outlook Report, IFPRI

Discussants

• Rob Vos, Director of Markets, Trade and Institutions Division, IFPRI
• Sudhanshu (Ashu) Handa, Lawrence I. Gilbert Distinguished Professor, Department of Public Policy, University of North Carolina (UNC)

Moderator

• Ousmane Badiane, Director for Africa, IFPRI

Light lunch will be available starting at 11:45am. Event begins promptly at 12:15pm.