The SPRI Global team is currently supporting UNICEF Mali in a Social Protection System Assessment. The study will look into the strengths and weaknesses of Mali’s social protection system and programmes to guide and deliver gender-responsive, shock-responsive, nutrition- and child/adolescents-sensitive social protection interventions, including the response to COVID-19 and other shocks. It will also explore the implications for on-going and new work to strengthen the social protection system in Mali, with a focus on gender inequalities, shock-responsiveness, nutrition-sensitiveness and child-sensitiveness dimensions.

The assessment puts a strong emphasis on examining the extent to which Mali’s social protection system provides effective and equitable coverage for the poor and those who are vulnerable to poverty. It should analyse whether the system has contributed to reducing poverty, vulnerability and inequality as well as examining the extent to which it has fostered more inclusive growth, defined as improving living standards and evenly distributing the benefits of increased prosperity across social groups. This review includes non-monetary dimensions of well-being, such as employment prospects, health and nutrition outcomes, educational opportunities, gender equality or vulnerability to adverse environmental or other risk factors. Lessons learned from social protection responses during recent shocks in Mali, including COVID-19, will also be integrated.

Specifically, this assessment would examine five aspects of the country’s social protection system:

• The demand for social protection
• The coverage of existing programmes
• The effectiveness of these programmes in reaching their objectives
• The financial & fiscal Sustainability of the current system
• The coherence & level of integration of the system

The key activities to be undertaken are as follows:

1. Mapping of the Malian social protection system through its 6 building blocks;
2. Analysing the system’s intent, capacity and performance to respond to shocks of different scale and nature;
3. Analysing and examining how well the system is geared towards Gender-responsive outcomes: a) promoting equal access to benefits/entitlements, b) ensuring adequate responses to gender-specific needs; c) enhancing women’s and girls’ empowerment.
4. Examining how well the system is geared towards improving nutrition and child protection outcomes.
5. Providing a set of recommendations to feed into the ongoing national dialogue on strengthening the social protection system

The assignment is to commence in late 2022.