• Funding expands family allowances and disability support systems
• Reforms target digital payments, jobs, and support for vulnerable households

The World Bank said on Friday it approved $90 million in financing for Tunisia as part of its Social Development Support Project.

The funding will strengthen the country’s social protection system, with a focus on vulnerable households and children from low-income families. Authorities plan to use the funds to expand social protection.

Family allowances will be extended to about 450,000 children aged 6 to 18, aiming to reduce inequality in access to education and lower school dropout rates. The project also includes the creation of a national fund for people with disabilities to finance benefits supporting their social and economic inclusion, the World Bank said.

“This additional financing reflects our continued commitment to supporting Tunisia in building a social protection system that is more comprehensive, adaptive, and resilient,” said Alexandre Arrobbio, the World Bank’s operations manager for Tunisia. “By expanding family allowances to school-age children and strengthening support for persons with disabilities, we are helping protect vulnerable households and support better opportunities for children across the country,” he added.

The initiative also includes structural reforms. It will support the creation of a unified beneficiary registry and expand digital payments to improve the transparency and efficiency of transfers. Pilot programmes combining jobs and self-employment will be developed to strengthen the financial independence of recipients.

Tunisia’s economic growth has remained subdued since 2011, with average GDP growth of 1.7% between 2011 and 2019, compared with 3.5% previously. The unemployment rate stood at 16.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023, while food price inflation reached 10.2% in March 2024, disproportionately affecting low-income households.

In response, the government launched the “AMEN” programme, its main social protection scheme, which provides support to vulnerable populations.

The new financing builds on an initial $700 million programme implemented over the past five years. That programme delivered emergency cash transfers to more than 895,000 households and provided regular assistance to over 386,000 families. More than 150,000 children under the age of 6 also received family allowances.

Ingrid Haffiny