After 3 years of continuous degradation, the Sahel is facing the worst food and nutrition crisis in a decade. The Horn of Africa is experiencing the driest conditions recorded since 1981, with severe drought leaving an estimated 13 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia facing severe hunger in the first quarter of this year. The number and intensity of these crises in these regions are increasing. Therefore, it is important to tackle the structural and systemic issues in these regions as well as responding to the immediate crises that are occuring. Across these regions efforts have been made over last number of years to scale up social protection supports, and many of these schemes have been designed to address crisis conditions such as these. This webinar therefore aimed to explore efforts to link humanitarian cash and social protection schemes in these regions both in the past and in the current response. 

Speakers: 

• Carlos Estevez Reyes, Economist, Markets and Trade Division (EST), FAO 
• Hélène Pasquier, Head of Food Security & Livelihoods (FSL), Action Against Hunger 
• Mira Saidi, Social Protection Specialist, World Bank Group 

Moderator: Rachel Sabates-Wheeler, Research Fellow, Institute for Development Studies (IDS)