Across Africa, women and girls carry a disproportionate share of poverty, violence and exclusion. Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) is not a side consideration at SDG Bridge Africa — it is central to how every one of our six strategic programmes is designed, from Livelihoods & Decent Work to Health & Well-being.
Our Social Protection programme exists to close this gap directly. Its strategic objective is to reduce social and economic disparities and close protection gaps by expanding inclusive social protection and violence-prevention systems — with women, girls, children, persons with disabilities, refugees and post-war affected populations at the centre of its design.
What Inclusive Social Protection Looks Like
- Social protection systems: support to statutory and community-based schemes, cash transfers and graduation approaches for the most vulnerable households.
- Violence prevention and response: survivor-centred referral pathways, legal aid, psychosocial support, and deliberate engagement of men and boys as allies.
- Disability inclusion and rights: assistive technology, accessibility improvements, and awareness that reduces stigma.
- Refugee and post-war inclusion: inclusive services for refugees and host communities alike, with trauma-informed psychosocial care.
- Access to justice: legal awareness, paralegal support and stronger referral and reporting mechanisms.
Climate-responsive social protection — such as shock-responsive cash transfers during droughts or floods — links this programme directly to our Climate Action & Sustainability work, recognising that climate shocks and poverty are deeply intertwined.
Real inclusion is not an add-on to development work — it is the work. Through the SAP-G Hub Model, women's groups, faith and traditional leaders, government partners and development agencies come together so that protection systems are shaped by the people who need them most.