This policy guide focuses on role of social protection policies and programmes in preventing households from falling into poverty or in preventing their impoverishment. In doing this, it:

• Brings together evidence about the drivers of impoverishment and the role and effectiveness of social protection in preventing descents into poverty.
• Provides guidance for national policy-makers, their donors and other development partners on the design and implementation features of social protection policies, programmes and allied investments in order to minimise the likelihood of people falling into poverty.

The guide also investigates how, or through which transmission channels, social protection (specifically social assistance and social insurance) can minimise the likelihood of people falling into poverty. It highlights the potential trade-offs that policy-makers, programme designers and implementers face in using social protection to prevent impoverishment.