Addis Ababa University (AAU) College of Business and Economics organized an international workshop on Social Protection at Eshetu Chole Hall on February 21, 2020.

The workshop was organized by AAU College of Business and Economics with the collaboration of the University of Luxembourg, Germany which focuses on “The Distributional Impact of Social Protection”.

Professor TassewWoldehanna, President of Addis Ababa University in his keynote speech addressed that Social Protection is at the heart of Ethiopia’s recent economic and social success.  Ethiopia has registered one of the strongest long-term growth rates globally and has established one of the largest social protection systems, according to the President.

Professor Tassew said, “Hence, Social Protection has played a key role in Ethiopia’s dramatic reduction of poverty and is a critical component of the country’s long term development strategy as articulated in the second growth and transformation plan.”

Tassew also noted that the government of Ethiopia has endorsed a number of key policies and frameworks for the Social Protection that chart away forward for the sector.

Professor Tassew further added that our government has plagued to finance social protection from domestic sources there by its long reliance on official development assistant is reduced;  it should not also depend on donors’ support in the future as Ethiopia aspires to reach a middle income country by 2025.

The program was detailed with panel discussions among scholars from Addis Ababa, Adigrat and Ambo Universities, University of Luxembourg, FAO, and UNU-WIDER. The discussion was focused on heterogeneous impacts of cash transfers on farm profitability and effects of social protection on intrahousehold resource allocation, unpacking the depth of informality in six African countries. Social protection and vulnerability to climate shocks, investment in social infrastructures, economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, drivers of income inequality, isolating the roles of social protection design, demography, market returns and labour market structure liaison with the promise of inclusive development in Ethiopia.

By: Netsanet Merete