Ethiopia
From the early 1970s until the mid-2000s, emergency food aid dominated food insecurity solutions in Ethiopia. As a result, approximately one-third of the country’s 100 million people still suffered from chronic malnutrition. The Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) was introduced in 2005. The program was scaled up quickly to requiring coordination between the government and international donors. Regional and local administrators selected beneficiaries, administered food and/or cash transfers, conducted the public works programs, and fostered linkages for beneficiaries to other social programs run by NGOs. According to World Bank data, since the Urban Productive Safety Net Programme (UPSNP) was launched in January 2016, there have been nearly 450,000 direct project beneficiaries.
RESEARCHERS
Rachel Bryce
Jillian Sprenger
Jillian Sprenger was part of the Ethiopia team from the 2017/18 Reach cohort. She is majoring in Global Health, and minoring in Contemporary Asian Studies and Immunology. Jillian is currently interning at the Antimicrobial Resistance Secretariat at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Her previous research has focused on innovations to address child malnutrition in Myanmar, sustainable environmental governance models in Ecuador, and strategies to address antimicrobial resistance in Taiwan. She has also worked for the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health on several projects pertaining to newborn health in rural Pakistan. In her spare time, Jillian loves travelling, running, and photography.
Siobhan Bradley
Siobhan Bradley recently graduated from the Master of Global Affairs program at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. As part of the 2017/2018 Reach cohort, Siobhan researched Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Program, a cash and food transfer program designed to alleviate chronic food insecurity. She has also supported projects on the innovation ecosystem in Taiwan, social technologies in Israel, and mental health in East African diaspora communities. As a Junior Policy Officer at the Embassy of Canada in Thailand, Siobhan worked with civil society organizations on human rights and gender equity projects. Siobhan also holds a Honours B.A. in Political Science from Queen's University.
Sydney Piggot
Sydney Piggott is the Manager of Programs and Projects at YWCA Canada and a recent graduate of the Master of Global Affairs program at the University of Toronto – Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. She holds an undergraduate degree in International Development Studies from McGill University and has professional experience in gender advocacy, corporate social responsibility, and education policy. Sydney has been a panelist and area expert at several national and international conferences including the Canadian Gender Equality Network Inaugural Meeting and the United Nations 62nd Commission on the Status of Women. She was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Inclusive Innovation Scholarship in 2017 to complete education intervention work in low-income communities around Cape Town, South Africa. Her research interests include social protection in the Global South, comparative politics, and the politics of ethnicity, identity, and marginalization in post-colonial contexts.
