1st Edition

Non-State Social Protection Actors and Services in Africa Governance Below the State

Edited By Nicholas Awortwi, Gregor Walter-Drop Copyright 2018
    196 Pages 8 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    196 Pages 8 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    For millions of Africans, the social situation is dire. Over half of the population of Sub-Sahara Africa do not have access to improved sanitation facilities, and about a quarter are undernourished. If factors such as armed conflicts in the region, the impact of climate change, or the widespread presence of a broad range of infectious agents are considered, it shows a large number of Africans living in very fragile circumstances, highly vulnerable to any kind of shock or rapid change. Small, informal community groups deliver the majority of social protection services in Africa, but most of these are disqualified from official recognition, support or integration with state systems because they do not "fit" the modern management model of accountability. The studies in this book challenge that verdict. 

    This book outlines insightful and valuable research generated by teams of established scholars. It is divided into nine studies exploring the governance of non-state actors in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda. It examines the numerous self-help groups and their effectiveness, and argues that if the modern management model is right – why do so many Africans avoid interacting with it? The book provides a warning against undermining what is possibly the single greatest social protection resource throughout Africa in the name of "reform", and suggests that the modern welfare establishment needs to adapt to (and learn from) self-help groups - not the other way around.  

    Non-State Social Protection Actors and Services in Africa will be of interest to donors, policy makers, practitioners, and students and scholars of African Studies, social policy and politics.

    1. Introduction, N. Awortwi and G. Walter-Drop

    2. Governance Characteristics and Policy Relevance of Informal Social Protection Services in Ethiopia, Amdissa Teshome, Adanech Dutu, KassaTeshager, Terefe Zeleke

    3. Governance of Non-State Social Protection Services in Ghana: Communication as Accountability Mechanisms in Mutual Aid Organisations in Wassa, Ellen Bortei-Doku Aryeetey, Stephen Afranie, Daniel Doh and Paul Andoh

    4. Social Protection and Citizenship Rights of Vulnerable Children: A Perspective on Interventions by Non-state Actors in Western Kenya, Auma Okwany and Elizabeth Ngutuku

    5. Governance Mechanisms of Burial Societies in Western Uganda, Asingwire Narathius, Muhangi Denis, Namara Rose, and Kemigisa Margaret

    6. Hedging Against Vulnerability: Associational Life as a Social Insurance Strategy by the poor in the Central Region of Ghana, Akosua K. Darkwah, Mavis Dako-Gyeke and Edward Nketiah-Amponsah

    7. Women’s Economic Empowerment in Kenya: Lessons from Non-State Social Protection Actors and Services in Nyanza Region, Akinyi Nzioki and Winnie Mwasiaji

    8. Governance of non-state social protection initiatives for addressing gendered poverty in Uganda: Beyond counting of women on governance committees? Florence Kyoheirwe Muhanguzi

    9. Governance Dynamics in the Provision of Community Based Social Protection Services in Tanzania, Kamanzi Adalbertus, Emmanuel Nyankweli, and Auma Okwany

    10. Conclusion, Implications for Public Policy and Governance Theory, N. Awortwi and G. Walter-Drop

    Biography

    Nicholas Awortwi is the Director of Research Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR), a Pan-African organisation based in Nairobi, Kenya. 

    Gregor Walter-Drop is the Managing Director of the Center for Area Studies at the Free University of Berlin, Germany.