P180561_Rethinking Poverty Reduction Building an Effective Safety Net in Cameroon

This policy note examines the role of social safety nets in addressing persistent poverty and inequality in Cameroon. Building on over a decade of implementation, Cameroon’s main safety nets initiative—the Projet Filets Sociaux (PFS)—has laid important foundations but remains limited in scale and reliant on external financing. Using administrative data and the 2021–2022 ECAM5 household survey, the analysis assesses PFS performance along key dimensions: expenditure, coverage, adequacy, and effectiveness. The findings show that while PFS has reached over 370,000 households, its poverty reduction impact is constrained by fragmented coverage, low benefit levels, and time-bound support. Microsimulations indicate that increasing both the size of transfers and the number of beneficiaries could substantially reduce poverty and help close the gap toward national targets. The note outlines five actionable recommendations to support the development of a national safety nets program: (1) establish a permanent institutional structure, (2) secure predictable financing, (3) expand coverage, (4) improve benefit adequacy, and (5) modernize delivery systems. These reforms would strengthen Cameroon’s ability to protect vulnerable populations, foster economic inclusion, and accelerate progress toward its development goals.