加速影响：萨赫勒地区适应性社会保护的性别视角

KEY MESSAGES Empowering women and girls is a strategic imperative fortackling the complex and interconnected challenges facingcountries in the Sahel.Across the region, persistent poverty,limited human capital, and entrenched inequalities are beingcompounded by increasingly frequent and severe shocks andcrises, driven by climate change and conflict. These challengesworsen vulnerability for millions of people, but women and girlsare often the hardest hit. Gender inequality and exclusion meanthat women are more likely to be poor — their work is less likelyto be remunerated and less secure, while they carry the bulkof the unpaid care work in their households. The distinct roles With gender-responsive approaches, Sahelian countries can unlockthe potential ofallpeople — to drive the inclusive growth needed Adaptive social protection (ASP) programs can advance genderequality and women’s empowerment by widening women’seconomic opportunities; enhancing their access to education,knowledge, and skills; improving their well-being, voice, andagency; and increasing their protection from GBV.When ASPprograms and delivery mechanisms are gender-responsive, theyrecognize women’s pivotal role in their households, communities,and economies, as well as their distinct vulnerabilities and risks. Theyacknowledge that poverty, climate change, conflict, and other shocksaffect women disproportionately and that these impacts can changeand accumulate across life stages — from childhood through to oldage. They set gender-responsive objectives, and they respond to Policies, programs, and institutions aimed at reducing poverty,boosting productivity, and strengthening resilience among themost vulnerable must enable the full participation of womenand girls by recognizing and addressing the distinct barriers What is Adaptive Social Protection? In the Sahel, adaptive social protection (ASP) is a strategic and cost-effective approach for addressing the region’scomplex and interconnected challenges. By integrating complementary interventions, delivered through nationalsystems, ASP comprehensively addresses the many dimensions of vulnerability. Regular support from multi-yearsafety net programs provide households, and women in particular, with a reliable foundation to meet their basicneeds — including food, education, and healthcare — ensuring they can focus on building better lives. Alongside This policy note offers actionable recommendations for enhancing the gender-responsiveness of ASP programs and deliverymechanisms in six Sahelian countries — Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal.It summarizes the findings of arecentguidance note, highlighting specific examples and good practices across ASP instruments and the social protection delivery 4.Ensure benefits are accessible to women,including byadapting accompanying measures, economic inclusionmeasures, and payment mechanisms to respond to barriers 1.Use gender expertise and analysis to identify the context-specific vulnerabilities, risks, and barriers women and girlsface in accessing and benefiting from ASP programs.This 2.Design or adapt social registries to provide opportunitiesfor equal access to benefitsby removing barriers to women’sregistration, actively promoting women’s participation in data 5.Strengthen the gender focus of monitoring and evaluationframeworks,including using gender-disaggregated data toassess ASPs contribution to women’s welfare, resilience, and 6.Build the skills of government and implementing partners required to secure support for gender-sensitive programs atthe central and community levels, implement programs in a 3.Ensure program eligibility criteria consider women’s andgirls’ specific vulnerabilities and needs,and that barriers to UNDERSTANDING THE GENDERED CONTEXT IN THE SAHEL Understanding the gendered context means examining thesocial and cultural norms, expectations, and power dynamicsthat shape the lives of men, boys, women, and girls in anygiven setting.These elements affect how ASP programs areimplemented and create distinct risks and vulnerabilities for robust gender analysis to make the gendered context and itsrelationship to poverty visible in program documentation, policydiscussions, and design processes — raising awareness, guiding Across the Sahel, gendered attitudes, roles, and practiceswithinhouseholds,communities,institutions,andorganizations limit women and girls’ rights, opportunities, and access to assets and resources compared to men and boysii. power, restricted mobility, fewer legal protections, and reducedchoice and agency, impacting their access to education, healthcare, livelihoods, and markets. Climate shocks, food insecurity,and conflict further exacerbate these vulnerabilities, deepening Recognizing the gendered context is crucial for ASP programs,as underlying inequalities affect who can benefit from support. Without addressing specific barriers women and girls face —such as restricted mobility