Social Safety Nets and Food Insecurity in MENA in the Time of COVID-19

Abstract

The resilience of social protection systems in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region faced significant challenges due to COVID-19. Governments and non-governmental organizations responded by expanding their social safety nets (SSNs) and/or initiating new cash transfer programs. We evaluated the impact of SSNs on mitigating food insecurity in MENA during COVID-19. This evaluation is based on data from the COVID-19 MENA Monitor Household (CMMHH) survey, a panel phone survey conducted across four MENA countries (Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, and Morocco) from November 2020 to June 2021. Using a staggered difference-in-difference (DD) technique, we found that those who received non-usual government support in Tunisia were 15 percentage points (ppts) less likely to be unable to buy their typical amount of food due to price increases than those who did not receive support. Similar associations were not observed in Egypt, Jordan, or Morocco. As for non-governmental organizations, we found that individuals who received non-usual support in Morocco and Jordan were 22 and 15 ppts less likely to report being unable to buy their typical amount of food due to decreased income, respectively. Our estimates also showed that government SSNs helped mitigate the negative effect of food insecurity on resorting to adverse coping strategies during COVID-19, especially selling assets.