Senegal social grants to reach one million beneficiaries in 2027
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Senego
Senegalese Prime Minister Al Ahminou Lo says social grants are expected to reach 400,000 beneficiaries this year and one million next year, in a country with one million poor households. The recertified National Single Register targets 469,497 families in 2026, up from 355,013 in 2024, while funding for the scheme has risen from 35 billion to 70 billion CFA francs, according to Pressafrik.
Senegal plans to increase the number of social grant beneficiaries to one million in 2027, from 400,000 in 2026, Prime Minister Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lô announced on Sunday at a press conference, Pressafrik reports.
After the recertification of the National Single Register, which identifies households eligible for assistance, the programme is set to cover 469,497 families in 2026, up from 355,013 in 2024. Funding for the grants has risen from 35 billion to 70 billion CFA francs. The prime minister announced that payment of arrears would resume in September, and Family Minister Marie Angélique Diouf said payments would be made before the end of the month.
Funding for the grants through 2029 is estimated at 490 billion CFA francs by Amadou Ba, a former prime minister, who has criticised the reliance on debt. To cushion the impact of energy inflation and support the grants, the state allocated 75 billion CFA francs to energy and 50 billion to grants through a World Bank facility. Ahmadou Al Aminou Mohamed Lô also announced that general operating expenditure by the central administration had been cut by 180 billion CFA francs. The grants’ funding, with their cost through 2029 estimated at 490 billion CFA francs, had already drawn criticism over how it would be financed.
