View article

The problems of acute and lasting poverty have long been recognised. There has recently been a significant increase in interest in social protection strategies to assist those who are unable to raise sufficient from their livelihood to address their basic needs. Nevertheless, there remain considerable problems in implementing and financing such schemes. Notable issues include the difficulties of targeting and the issue of financing particularly for the poorest countries. However, even if such problems can be overcome, it is evident from existing experiences that such assistance does not necessarily solve the problem of chronic poverty and social exclusion. The social protection schemes in the North offer basic material support but do little to empower the poor to improve their situation and secure a greater range of development options. A further question is whether or not such social protection programmes create dependency among the poor, and hence create constraints preventing upward social and financial mobility.

This paper looks at one strategy to support the elderly that addresses some of the practical problems of financing and targeting and which seeks to overcome issues of exclusion and dependency. The strategy is of further interest because of the way in which the local community is willing and able to take over control of the programme with joint contributions in respect of financing. Rather than seeing the old as beneficiaries in need of support, they are viewed as active agents with a primary responsibility for determining effective safety nets for their own well-being. The strategy is located within the broader institutional context of the …