Seasonality and social protection in Africa

Many problems of malnutrition and food insecurity in Africa are seasonal, in the sense that the worst effects are concentrated at certain times of year. This brief first describes the seasonal patterns of livelihoods and food insecurity in rural Sub-saharan Africa. It then reviews policy interventions that were adopted in the past to address seasonal hunger "seasonal safety nets" and contrasts these with more recent "social protection" approaches.

RHVP - September 2010