In almost every country in the world, hunger is declining as it persists and even increases in the Sahel. This situation directly questions the effectiveness of public policies in these countries as well as the effectiveness of development aid. The recurrence of crises (climatic, economic, social and political) and the rise of crimes and insecurity require that new responses to the problems of poverty and its ultimate corollary, hunger, be invented without delay. It is in this context that the practice of distributing cash to vulnerable populations (Cash Transfer) has multiplied in recent years, first and foremost during crisis through the humanitarian community, and more and more regularly and institutionalized via public administration.

In order to contribute to the reduction of hunger in West Africa and the Sahel, ECOWAS, with the financial support of the Spanish Cooperation and through the Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food, has funded a project on the contribution to the standardization of social safety nets in West Africa (NFSSA) implemented by Oxfam in partnership with Inter-Réseaux.

The capitalization of the achievements of this project has made it possible to publish factsheets on social safety nets at regional level and in 3 countries, namely Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali.

The preparation of these fact sheets is based on the actions on the ground that support the implementation of the Regional Support Program for National Social Security Nets in West Africa initiated by ECOWAS.