The Impact of the Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) programme on multidimensional poverty of refugees in Turkey

This seminar is organised jointly with the Institute for International Economic Policy at George Washington University and the UNDP Human Development Report Office. This seminar will be held online, registration on: gwu-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAqdOqhrzIiHdwB9tVBGv8n0ru6Moah0MJG.

In 2019, the World Food Programme in Turkey designed a multidimensional poverty index (MPI) based on data collected in wave 3 of its Comprehensive Vulnerability Monitoring Exercise (CVME), the CVME MPI. The purpose of the CVME MPI was to support programme targeting, to monitor programme outcomes, and to provide evidence-based recommendations for Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) programmatic adjustments. As part of the meta-analysis of the ESSN programme in Turkey, this talk provides a short review of the multidimensional measure used for the vulnerability analysis and its relationship with the ESSN programme’s targeting approach, and analyses the potential adjustments needed to create a refugee-specific MPI, a so-called Refugee MPI. The talk will further explore how the programme has affected refugees’ lives in areas like employment, fertility decisions, social cohesion, economy at macro and micro level by comparing beneficiaries, non-beneficiaries and host society. The ESSN’s hypothetical impact on non-applicants is also assessed and the study provides results on how multidimensional poverty among refugees would have been if refugees, who did not apply to the ESSN, had applied to receive the assistance.

Nils Grede assumed the position of World Food Programme Representative (WFP) for Turkey in September 2017. Before arriving to Turkey, he was the Representative in El Salvador.
Prior to his current position, Mr. Grede gained experience as WFP Deputy Director in Jakarta, Indonesia (2013-2014). He temporarily served as WFP Interim Deputy Director in Brazzaville, Congo (2013) and WFP Interim Country Director in Mbabane, Swaziland (2012-2013). Before that he was Deputy Chief of Nutrition and HIV/AIDS Policy at WFP’s Headquarters. Prior to joining WFP, he was Director of International Recruitment Marketing at Boston Consulting Group (2008 and 2009) and Principal Director at Boston Consulting Group in Los Angeles, California (2001-2005).
Mr. Grede is a German national and is fluent in eight languages: German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, Hebrew. He is quickly working on improving his Turkish. He holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Islamic and Middle Eastern Sciences received from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. Grede has also received an MBA from Stanford University.

Discussant:
Felix Schmieding, Senior Statistician from the Joint Data Center on Forced Displacement. His earlier work includes assignments with UNHCR, UNDP, and the UN Statistics Division. Felix has implemented or provided technical assistance to numerous statistical activities in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean–including living conditions surveys, labour force surveys, population censuses, and administrative registers. He has worked closely with the National Statistical Offices and National Statistical Systems of various countries, building technical and institutional capacity. He has also held key roles in global processes aiming at the development of international statistical standards under the auspices of the UN Statistical Commission. Felix holds an M.Sc degree from the University of Oxford.