The review of social safety nets by UNICEF and the World Bank (2010) briefly mentioned
earlier made it possible for stakeholders to realize that:
• the pilot programmes and projects are scattered and do not benefit from the synergies
that could develop among them;
• the vast majority of programmes provide assistance to the poor and vulnerable
groups on a one-off basis without prospects for sustainability;
• coverage of all poor persons is not systematic since initiatives are conducted
sometimes using the project approach to focus on a locality;
• on the whole, the establishment and financing of social safety net programmes
are dependent on funding from external sources; and
• the State should serve as the actor that organizes and consolidates/ sustains
the various components of social safety nets.
In addition to these findings, there are difficulties encountered by certain programmes,
such as the difficulty in acquiring and distributing school textbooks during efforts
to promote access to education and the difficulties in targeting the poorest individuals
and households and mobilizing resources.
This overview of social protection also makes it possible to underline that:
• the number of institutional and local actors and development partners involved
in social protection initiatives is high; and
• synergy is lacking among the various components of social protection: social insurance,
social safety nets and social welfare services.
From these realizations and findings, it is evident that the construction of a social
protection floor in Burkina Faso cannot become a reality unless several existing
challenges – which are institutional and technical, on the one hand, and economic
and financial, on the other – are addressed.