This paper provides an overview of the recent extension of social protection in sub-
Saharan Africa. It identifies two main ‘models’ of social protection in the region: the
Southern Africa and Middle Africa models. It then assesses the contrasting policy
processes behind these models and examines the major challenges they face as regards
financing, institutional capacity and political support. It concludes that, for an effective
institutional framework for social protection to evolve in sub-Saharan African countries, the
present focus on the technical design of social protection programmes needs to be
accompanied by analyses that contribute to also ‘getting the politics right’
Keywords: social protection, poverty, transfer programmes, sub-Saharan Africa