Support project for the social safety net system in Mauritania
This project supports the establishment of the main pillars of the national social protection system in Mauritania, the provision of cash transfers to targeted poor households. More specifically, it provides support to the Mauritanian government in the deployment of the Social Register, the TEKAVOUL social transfer programme, and the shock-responsive social safety net programme, ELMAOUNA.
The Social Register is a tool for identifying the poorest households in Mauritania, currently numbering around 175,000 registered households. This tool helps target social interventions more effectively. For example, the Social Register has made it possible to reach the most remote populations of the country as part of the response to the COVID-19 health emergency.
About 43,000 households (260,000 individuals) facing extreme poverty have benefited from cash transfers under the TEKAVOUL programme. In total, 94.5% of the beneficiaries of this project participated in social promotion activities, which cover important issues such as hygiene, nutrition and child protection.
The project provided a framework for reflection towards the establishment of the ELMAOUNA programme, a permanent mechanism for prevention, early warning and response to food and nutritional insecurity shocks. This system makes it possible to better anticipate crises and avoid emergency responses. In 2019, 3,800 households benefited from cash transfers during the lean season (June to September 2019) using social protection tools (Social Register, TEKAVOUL payment platform).
Female leadership was encouraged through a pilot programme to promote female entrepreneurship. Thus, more than 2,000 women were able to receive technical support (training) or financial support. A second part of the “Social safety nets” project will be implemented from 2020 to 2025.
