1. www.fanrpan.org Social Protection and Livelihoods Thematic Area FANRPAN Partners’ Meeting 13 June 2011, Pretoria, South Africa

2. www.fanrpan.org Background Failure of agriculture in Africa to secure livelihoods for 70% of its population that depends on it for survival 1/3 of population suffering from chronic poverty and malnutrition Continent not on course to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger (MDG1)

3. www.fanrpan.org Social Protection A framework for public and private initiatives that: provide income or consumption transfers to the poor; protect vulnerable populations against livelihood risks; and enhance the social status and rights of marginalized populations.

4. www.fanrpan.org Why Social Protection? Increasing poverty and vulnerability in Africa due to factors that include: –Changing climate –Poor macro-economic performance –Escalating food prices –Diseases (e.g., HIV and AIDS) –Social unrest and civil strife Effective social protection contributes to fair growth, social stability and enhanced productivity But, who are the vulnerable?

5. www.fanrpan.org Why Social Protection? Households have varying degrees of vulnerability There is need to quantify the vulnerability levels of households Data on household vulnerability is often not available at local levels to inform the implementation of development, relief and advocacy programmes Baseline surveys are based on samples –they are fragmented and not longitudinal Lack of reliable evidence to inform policy processes and practice

6. www.fanrpan.org What has FANRPAN done? YearWhat was donePartners Involved 2005Seven-country study on relationship between HIV and AIDS and agricultural productivity at household level. Household Vulnerability Index (HVI) tool developed EU, SADC 2008Follow-on initiative to scale up and test the utility of the HVI tool Southern Africa Trust 2008 - 2010HVI Pilot Project in Lesotho, Swaziland and Zimbabwe World Vision Int., Southern Africa Trust 2010Analysis of agriculture input distribution systems and policies in Malawi (a country study) Bunda College of Agriculture, University of Malawi 2011 - 2012To integrate HVI livelihood databases with climate and crop models and cost/benefit analysis to inform policies (SECCAP project) Universities (Cape Town, Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland and Venda); World Vision; IFPRI

7. www.fanrpan.org The Household Vulnerability Index

8. www.fanrpan.org The HVI Tool The HVI is a composite index used to assess a household’s access to five livelihoods capitals, namely: –Natural assets such as land, soil and water; –Physical assets such as livestock, equipment and fixed assets; –Financial assets such as savings, salaries, remittances or pensions; –Human assets such as farm labour, gender composition and dependents; and –Social assets such as information, community support, extended families and formal or informal social welfare support A total of 15 variables (called dimensions) are assessed together, and a statistical score is calculated for each household.

9. www.fanrpan.org Household vulnerability categories The HVI places households in one of 3 categories: Low vulnerability – those able to cope without external assistance Moderate vulnerability – those ordinarily able to cope, but require assistance when affected by a temporary shock, e.g. drought High vulnerability – those that always depend on external assistance to survive (the chronically poor or food insecure)

10. www.fanrpan.org The HVI Pilot Project Aim –To improve the quality of programme design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation Objectives – developing livelihoods databases for pilot sites in each of the three participating countries –institutionalise and scale up the HVI tool Output –Livelihoods databases on asset ownership by rural communities to inform policy and practice

11. www.fanrpan.org The HVI Pilot Project Summary of HVI Pilot DurationJuly 2008 and September 2010 Focal Countries Lesotho Swaziland Zimbabwe Funding partners World Vision International (WVI) Southern African Trust (SAT) Implementing partners World Vision national offices University of Venda Development Data

12. www.fanrpan.org HVI Pilot Sites

13. www.fanrpan.org Results from HVI Pilot

14. www.fanrpan.org Vulnerability Levels: Comparison

15. www.fanrpan.org Country Profiles: A Comparison of HVI Dimensions

16. www.fanrpan.org Human Capital

17. www.fanrpan.org Human Capital

18. www.fanrpan.org Financial Capital

19. www.fanrpan.org Financial Capital

20. www.fanrpan.org Physical Capital

21. www.fanrpan.org Social Capital

22. www.fanrpan.org Social Capital

23. www.fanrpan.org HVI Pilot Outcomes Improved targeting and prioritisation due to availability of empirical data Community participation, enhancing bottom- up learning Linking research to practice - partnership with local universities Monitoring of impact of interventions Evidence-based programming and policy advice

24. www.fanrpan.org CAAP Alignment Pillar 4 Research, technology dissemination and adoption Pillar 1 Natural resource management Pillar 2 Rural infrastructure and trade- related capacities Pillar 3 Increasing food supply and reducing hunger

25. www.fanrpan.org Panel Discussion

26. www.fanrpan.org Panellists World Vision Lesotho: Thato Lepele World Vision Swaziland: Dalton Nxumalo

27. www.fanrpan.org Conclusion

28. www.fanrpan.org Take home message You cannot change what you cannot measure! HVI provides an objective tool for assessing household vulnerability Results from HVI assessments are useful in informing policy processes and programming (baselines, targeting, monitoring, evaluation) Cost of HVI assessment: less than $15 per household (incl. data collection, analysis, GIS mapping, etc.) Opportunities for development and funding partners to support roll out of the HVI beyond the pilot sites and pilot countries

29. www.fanrpan.org “Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made, and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. And overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.” Nelson Mandela