WASHINGTON, MAY 12, 2026 - The Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Program (SASPP) today announced the launch of its third phase (2025-2030), with an ambitious objective to expand sustainable national adaptive social protection (ASP) systems across the Sahel. This next phase will support Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal to reach millions with critical support to foster economic opportunity, resilience, and stability.
The Sahel faces some of the world's most complex and interconnected challenges, including rapid population growth, deep-rooted inequality, widespread food insecurity, fragility, conflict, and displacement. Adaptive social protection comprehensively addresses these challenges by leveraging national systems to deliver three complementary interventions with a focus on women and youth-social safety nets, economic inclusion, and temporary support in response to shocks. These measures promote and protect household investments in human capital, boost skills for better job opportunities, and strengthen resilience to shocks and crises.
The program's third phase will build on over a decade of engagement and impact in the region to support the efficient and sustained expansion of adaptive social protection coverage-even in fragile and conflict-affected settings. It will focus on strengthening core national systems by enhancing social registries, digital payment mechanisms, secure data platforms, and institutional frameworks that support employment, inclusion, and resilience. It will also prioritize testing proven safety nets, economic inclusion, and shock‑responsive interventions to help households stabilize, invest and engage in income-generating opportunities. In parallel, it will seek to mobilize financing and partnerships by aligning development, humanitarian, and climate resources around adaptive social protection systems to promote sustainable, predictable pathways to jobs and self‑reliance.
"The challenges facing the Sahel are immense, but not insurmountable. Adaptive social protection has demonstrated its capacity to connect the most vulnerable to real economic opportunities, building human capital and pathways to better jobs," says Marina Wes, World Bank's Director for Strategy and Operations for Western and Central Africa. "By investing in strong national systems, governments can deliver these results at scale, driving inclusive growth and supporting peace and stability through job creation."
SASPP is a multi-donor trust fund managed by the World Bank. The program is supported by the governments of Denmark, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. SASPP is hosted under the Sahel and West Africa Countries (SAWAC) Umbrella program, both administered by the World Bank. Since its launch in 2014, SASPP has allocated more than $277 million to government investments, technical assistance, knowledge, capacity, and consensus building for nationally owned ASP in the Sahel.
