SOCIAL SAFETY NETS UNDER PRESSURE: DOES ASSISTANCE REACH THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST?

From Eligibility to Real Impact: Examining Access, Targeting and Effectiveness of Social Protection in Tunisia

ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media & Development
Prepared and Published by: Mohamed Chaieb Barhoumi
Research, Reporting and Development Analysis
Updated: September 2026

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Introduction

Social protection is one of the most important instruments available to governments to protect vulnerable households from poverty, unemployment, economic shocks and social exclusion. Cash transfers, child benefits, subsidized healthcare, education assistance and income-generation programmes can help families survive periods of economic hardship and, when properly designed, create pathways toward greater resilience and economic inclusion.

But the existence of a social protection programme does not automatically mean that every person who needs assistance can access it.

The central question is therefore not simply how much money is allocated to social protection or how many households are officially registered as beneficiaries.

The more important question is:

Does assistance actually reach the people who need it most, at the right time, in an adequate form, and with a measurable impact on their lives?

This question is particularly relevant in Tunisia, where the AMEN Social programme has become the country's principal social assistance mechanism. According to the World Bank, AMEN Social provides monthly cash transfers to more than 333,000 poor households and combines financial assistance with healthcare support and other forms of social protection.

In March 2026, the World Bank approved an additional US$90 million to strengthen Tunisia's social protection system. The new financing is intended to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of the system while expanding family allowances and support for vulnerable children and persons with disabilities.

These developments demonstrate the scale and importance of the system.

They also raise a fundamental development question:

How effectively does the social protection system transform public resources into real improvements in people's lives?

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1. Beyond the Number of Beneficiaries

One of the easiest ways to measure a social protection programme is to count its beneficiaries.

The number of registered households is important, but it tells only part of the story.

A programme can have hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries and still face problems related to:

• exclusion of eligible households;
• delays in registration;
• incomplete information;
• administrative barriers;
• geographic inequalities;
• difficulties accessing services;
• insufficient awareness of available benefits;
• irregular payments;
• weak coordination between social services;
• inadequate monitoring of outcomes.

For this reason, social protection should be evaluated not only through coverage, but also through access, adequacy, equity and impact.

The World Bank has identified the improvement of targeting and regional equity as continuing priorities for Tunisia's social protection system.

The difference is important.

Coverage asks: How many people receive assistance?

Equity asks: Are the people receiving assistance those who need it most?

Access asks: Can vulnerable people actually enter the system?

Adequacy asks: Is the support sufficient to respond to basic needs?

Impact asks: Does the intervention improve household welfare?

A serious assessment needs to examine all five dimensions.

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2. Who Is Considered Vulnerable?

The first test begins with identification.

Governments need mechanisms to determine which households are poor or vulnerable. Tunisia's AMEN Social programme uses a proxy-means testing approach that considers different household characteristics associated with living standards and multidimensional poverty.

Such systems are necessary because governments have limited resources and need transparent methods to target assistance.

However, poverty is not static.

A household that was relatively stable yesterday may suddenly become vulnerable because of:

• loss of employment;
• illness or disability;
• death of a household breadwinner;
• rising household expenses;
• drought or agricultural losses;
• family separation;
• loss of informal income;
• housing problems;
• a major economic shock.

This creates an important policy challenge.

Can social protection systems respond quickly enough when household circumstances change?

A targeting system that relies heavily on existing administrative information may face difficulties identifying newly vulnerable families.

This is why dynamic updating of beneficiary information is essential.

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3. The Administrative Access Gap

A person can be legally eligible for assistance but still face practical barriers to receiving it.

This is what can be described as the administrative access gap.

The Ministry of Social Affairs lists several requirements for applications to the AMEN Social programme, including application documents, birth certificates and identity documents for family members, among other requirements.

Such procedures are understandable from an administrative perspective.

However, the most vulnerable households may also be the households least able to navigate complicated administrative procedures.

Some may have:

• limited access to information;
• difficulty travelling to administrative offices;
• limited digital skills;
• incomplete documentation;
• difficulties understanding administrative procedures;
• limited ability to challenge a decision;
• insufficient knowledge of their social rights.

This creates an important research question:

Does administrative capacity influence access to social protection?

If two households have similar levels of poverty but one has better information, documentation and administrative capacity, they may not experience the social protection system in the same way.

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4. Geographic Inequality

Social protection is national in scope, but access to services can vary significantly between territories.

Urban households may live closer to administrative offices, healthcare facilities, schools and transport networks.

Rural households may face longer distances and higher costs to access services.

This is particularly important in regions where poverty, unemployment and weak infrastructure overlap.

A strong assessment should therefore examine differences between:

Urban areas → peri-urban areas → rural communities → remote rural communities.

The objective is not simply to determine how many beneficiaries exist in each governorate.

The deeper question is:

Are vulnerable households receiving comparable access to social protection regardless of where they live?

This is where local development journalism can contribute important evidence.

A national programme can appear successful in national statistics while some communities remain poorly connected to the delivery system.

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5. Children and Social Protection

Children are one of the most important dimensions of the social protection system.

UNICEF reported that, by October 2025, Tunisia had institutionalized a monthly child benefit of 30 Tunisian dinars for more than 420,000 vulnerable children aged 6–18. Combined with support for younger children, nearly 600,000 children aged 0–18 from vulnerable families were covered. UNICEF described this as a 443% increase in child-benefit coverage since 2020.

These figures represent a major expansion.

But coverage is only the first part of the story.

The next questions are:

• Does the benefit improve children's nutrition?
• Does it help families keep children in school?
• Does it improve access to healthcare?
• Does it reduce household financial pressure?
• Does it prevent school dropout?
• Does it contribute to better long-term opportunities?

Evidence cited by UNICEF indicates that child benefits supported through AMEN Social have contributed to improvements in diet diversity, school retention, access to health services and household well-being.

This demonstrates why monitoring outcomes is as important as monitoring expenditure.

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6. Women and Social Protection

Women can face particular economic vulnerabilities.

Women may be responsible for unpaid care work, depend on unstable household income or face barriers to employment and productive assets.

A social transfer can provide immediate relief, but long-term social protection should also consider economic empowerment.

The question therefore becomes:

Can social protection help women move from dependency toward greater economic security?

This requires connecting social assistance with:

• vocational training;
• employment opportunities;
• entrepreneurship;
• access to finance;
• market opportunities;
• childcare;
• transport;
• digital skills;
• social insurance.

The ultimate objective should not be simply to maintain households at a minimum survival level.

Where possible, social protection should help people build greater resilience and income security.

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7. From Assistance to Economic Inclusion

Cash transfers can protect households from immediate hardship.

But sustainable development requires more.

A strong social protection system should ideally create connections between:

Social assistance → skills → employment → income → economic independence.

The World Bank has emphasized the importance of connecting social protection and labour policies, particularly by strengthening pathways toward employment and livelihoods.

This creates an important opportunity for Tunisia.

Some vulnerable households may require permanent income support.

Others may need temporary assistance combined with:

• training;
• employment services;
• small-business support;
• agricultural activities;
• local economic opportunities;
• digital work;
• cooperatives;
• social and solidarity economy initiatives.

The policy challenge is to distinguish between these different situations rather than treating all vulnerable households in exactly the same way.

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8. Are the Benefits Adequate?

Another critical question is the adequacy of assistance.

Receiving a transfer does not necessarily mean that the household's needs are adequately covered.

The value of a benefit must be considered in relation to:

• food prices;
• housing costs;
• transportation;
• education expenses;
• healthcare;
• energy;
• household size;
• inflation;
• regional differences in living costs.

A transfer that provides meaningful support to one household may have a very different effect on another.

Therefore, evaluation should consider the real purchasing power of assistance rather than simply its nominal value.

This is particularly important during periods of inflation and economic pressure.

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9. From Funding to Impact

Development programmes increasingly emphasize the importance of measuring results rather than simply measuring spending.

For social protection, the chain can be represented as:

Public resources → programme → targeting → registration → transfer → household use → immediate outcome → long-term impact.

At every stage, problems can occur.

Money can be allocated without reaching the intended population.

Eligible families can remain outside the system.

Beneficiaries can receive assistance without obtaining complementary services.

And a household can receive support without escaping long-term vulnerability.

Therefore, the real measure of success should be the distance between resources invested and lives improved.

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10. Accountability and the Right to Complain

An effective social protection system also requires mechanisms through which citizens can question decisions.

A household that is rejected should know:

• why it was rejected;
• whether it can appeal;
• where it can submit a complaint;
• how long the process should take;
• whether its information can be reviewed;
• what happens after a complaint is filed.

The World Bank has highlighted efforts to strengthen communication channels with beneficiaries, improve information systems and digitize and simplify procedures within the AMEN delivery system.

This is important because accountability is not simply an administrative principle.

It is a development instrument.

People who receive social assistance are citizens with rights, not merely recipients of charity.

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11. A Field-Based Research Method

A strong investigation into social protection should combine official data with field evidence.

ATEP MED could structure the research around four levels.

Level 1 – National data

Collect:

• number of beneficiaries;
• number of vulnerable households;
• annual expenditure;
• value of transfers;
• child-benefit coverage;
• healthcare coverage;
• geographic distribution;
• evolution over time.

Level 2 – Administrative pathway

Document:

Application → assessment → decision → payment → complaint/appeal.

Level 3 – Community evidence

Interview, without publishing unnecessary personal information:

• beneficiaries;
• vulnerable households not receiving assistance;
• social workers;
• local civil society organizations;
• local development actors.

Level 4 – Outcome analysis

Ask:

What changed after assistance was received?

This is the point at which journalism becomes development research.

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12. The Social Protection Gap

Based on this framework, the investigation can introduce an analytical concept:

THE SOCIAL PROTECTION GAP

The gap can be represented as:

People in need

↓

People potentially eligible

↓

People who apply

↓

People accepted

↓

People who receive assistance

↓

People who receive assistance regularly

↓

People whose living conditions improve

The further we move down this chain, the more important it becomes to measure actual outcomes.

A successful social protection system should aim to reduce the gap at every stage.

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Conclusion

Tunisia has made significant progress in developing a more comprehensive social protection system. The expansion of AMEN Social, child benefits and other forms of assistance demonstrates a growing institutional commitment to protecting vulnerable households. The World Bank's additional US$90 million financing approved in 2026 further underlines the strategic importance of strengthening social protection in Tunisia.

But the success of social protection cannot be measured only by the amount of money allocated or the number of people registered.

The real test is whether the system identifies vulnerable households accurately, reaches them without unnecessary barriers, provides adequate and timely support, protects children and vulnerable adults, and creates pathways toward greater resilience and economic inclusion.

The central question therefore remains:

Does assistance reach those who need it most?

Answering that question requires more than statistics.

It requires listening to communities, examining administrative processes, comparing regions, analysing public data, following the path of resources and measuring what changes in people's lives.

For development institutions, the objective should be clear:

No vulnerable household should be invisible simply because it cannot navigate the system.

And for development journalism, the responsibility is equally clear:

Do not only count beneficiaries. Follow the journey from vulnerability to assistance, and from assistance to impact.

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ATEP MED Research Focus

Social Protection | Poverty | Children | Women | Vulnerability | Local Development | Public Policy | Evidence-Based Journalism | Monitoring & Evaluation

ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media & Development
Prepared and Published by Mohamed Chaieb Barhoumi
September 2026

                               

Basic Health Services in Marginalized Areas: Between Official Coverage and Real Access

Introduction

Access to basic health services is recognized as one of the fundamental rights of every human being. Around the world, governments have developed national health systems, expanded public hospitals, created health insurance programs, and established primary healthcare networks to ensure that citizens can receive essential medical assistance. However, despite official policies and institutional commitments, a significant gap remains between the existence of healthcare services on paper and the ability of vulnerable populations to actually benefit from them.

In marginalized areas, particularly rural regions, remote villages, and disadvantaged urban neighborhoods, healthcare access continues to face multiple challenges. The presence of a health facility does not always mean that people have effective access to quality healthcare. Distance, poverty, transportation difficulties, shortage of medical professionals, lack of equipment, and social inequalities often prevent communities from receiving timely and adequate treatment.

The real question is therefore not only whether healthcare services exist, but whether they effectively reach those who need them most.

The Difference Between Official Coverage and Real Access

Many countries report significant progress in expanding healthcare coverage. Official statistics may show the number of hospitals, health centers, vaccination programs, medical staff, or insured citizens. These indicators are important, but they do not always reflect the daily experiences of populations living in vulnerable areas.

Healthcare coverage refers mainly to the formal availability of services: the existence of infrastructure, government programs, and administrative mechanisms. Real access, however, involves the practical ability of individuals to use these services when they need them.

For a poor family living in a remote village, a health center located several kilometers away may technically represent available coverage. Yet, if transportation costs are too high, if there is no regular public transport, or if the medical center lacks doctors and essential medicines, healthcare remains inaccessible in reality.

This difference between formal availability and effective access represents one of the major challenges facing health systems in developing and middle-income countries.

Geographic Barriers and Rural Inequalities

Geographical isolation is one of the most important factors affecting healthcare access. Rural populations often experience greater difficulties compared with people living in major cities. Health facilities are frequently concentrated in urban areas where infrastructure, specialists, and medical resources are more available.

In remote regions, residents may have to travel long distances to consult a doctor or receive specialized treatment. For elderly people, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, and families with limited income, such journeys can become a serious obstacle.

In some communities, emergency situations become particularly dangerous because medical assistance cannot arrive quickly. Delays in diagnosis and treatment may transform simple health problems into serious conditions.

Reducing geographical inequalities requires not only building more health facilities but also ensuring that these facilities have qualified personnel, necessary equipment, and sustainable resources.

The Challenge of Human Resources in Healthcare

A health center cannot function effectively without healthcare professionals. One of the most common problems in marginalized areas is the shortage of doctors, nurses, and specialized medical staff.

Many healthcare professionals prefer to work in large cities because of better professional opportunities, higher living standards, and easier access to education and services for their families. As a result, rural and disadvantaged communities often face difficulties in attracting and retaining qualified staff.

This imbalance creates a situation where some health facilities exist physically but operate with limited capacity. Patients may find buildings without permanent doctors, insufficient consultation hours, or long waiting periods.

Investing in healthcare personnel is therefore essential. Governments and institutions must create incentives for professionals to work in underserved areas, including better working conditions, professional development opportunities, and adequate social support.

Poverty as a Hidden Barrier to Healthcare

Economic inequality remains a major factor influencing access to healthcare. Even when medical services are officially free or subsidized, many vulnerable families continue to face indirect costs.

Transportation expenses, medication purchases, medical examinations, and the loss of income caused by taking time away from work can create a heavy burden for low-income households.

Poor families often postpone medical consultations because they cannot afford these additional costs. This delay can worsen health conditions and increase future healthcare expenses.

Health inequality is therefore closely connected to social inequality. Improving healthcare access requires broader policies addressing poverty, employment, education, and social protection.

Quality of Care: Beyond Physical Availability

Access to healthcare is not only about reaching a medical facility. The quality of services received is equally important.

A community may have a health center, but if patients experience long waiting times, lack of medicines, poor communication with healthcare providers, or inadequate facilities, the effectiveness of the system remains limited.

Quality healthcare requires respectful treatment, accurate diagnosis, availability of essential medicines, and continuity of care. For chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and respiratory illnesses, regular monitoring is essential. Without continuous healthcare support, patients face increased risks of complications.

Therefore, measuring healthcare success should include not only the number of facilities but also the quality and reliability of services provided.

Digital Health and New Opportunities

Digital transformation offers new possibilities for improving healthcare access in marginalized communities. Telemedicine, electronic medical records, and online health information platforms can help reduce some geographical barriers.

Through digital health solutions, patients in remote areas may consult specialists without traveling long distances. Health workers can also receive professional support and updated information through digital networks.

However, digital healthcare requires reliable internet access, technological equipment, and digital skills. In many disadvantaged communities, digital inequality remains another challenge that must be addressed.

Technology can support healthcare systems, but it cannot replace the need for strong local services and human resources.

The Role of Communities and Local Initiatives

Improving healthcare access requires the participation of local communities. Residents understand their own needs and challenges better than external actors. Community organizations, local associations, and civil society groups can play an important role in identifying problems and developing practical solutions.

Health awareness campaigns, prevention programs, maternal and child health initiatives, and support for vulnerable groups can strengthen the relationship between communities and healthcare systems.

A successful healthcare strategy should not only provide services to people but also involve them as active partners in protecting their own health.

Conclusion

Basic healthcare services in marginalized areas remain a major development challenge. Although many countries have expanded official healthcare coverage, millions of people still experience difficulties accessing effective and quality medical services.

The gap between formal availability and real access reveals deeper issues related to geography, poverty, inequality, human resources, and infrastructure. Addressing these challenges requires a comprehensive approach that combines public investment, social protection, community participation, and innovative solutions.

Healthcare should not be measured only by the number of hospitals or health centers built. Its true success depends on whether a child in a remote village, an elderly person in a poor neighborhood, or a vulnerable family can receive timely, affordable, and respectful medical care.

Ensuring universal access to healthcare is not only a medical objective; it is a fundamental step toward social justice, human dignity, and sustainable development.

                        

FOOD SECURITY STARTS IN RURAL AREAS: CAN LOCAL COMMUNITIES BUILD RESILIENCE?

Rural Communities, Agriculture, Climate Change and the Future of Food Security

ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media & Development
Prepared and Published by Mohamed Chaieb Barhoumi
Research, Reporting and Development Analysis
September 2026

Introduction

Food security is often discussed at the national and international level through statistics on agricultural production, food imports, prices, reserves and national consumption. Yet behind these figures are millions of rural households whose daily lives depend directly or indirectly on agriculture, livestock, water resources, land and local markets.

For many rural communities, food security is not an abstract concept. It is directly connected to the ability of families to produce food, generate income, access water, maintain agricultural activities and survive periods of drought, economic pressure and environmental change.

This raises a fundamental development question:

Can rural communities continue to provide food and maintain their livelihoods under increasing economic, social and environmental pressure?

The question has become increasingly important as climate change, water scarcity, rising production costs, land degradation, market instability and rural poverty place additional pressure on agricultural communities.

Food security therefore begins not only with national food policies. It begins where food is produced: in rural communities, farms, fields, livestock holdings and local agricultural systems.

Rural Communities at the Heart of Food Security

Rural areas play a central role in national food systems. Farmers and agricultural workers produce cereals, vegetables, fruits, livestock products, milk and other essential foods. At the same time, rural communities provide labour and local knowledge that sustain agricultural production.

However, the people who contribute to food production are not necessarily protected from food insecurity themselves.

Small farmers can face low and unstable incomes, high production costs, limited access to financing, weak bargaining power and difficulties reaching profitable markets. Agricultural workers may depend on seasonal employment and irregular wages.

This creates a paradox.

A community can contribute to feeding the country while many of its own households remain economically vulnerable.

Understanding this contradiction is essential when analysing food security.

Climate Change and Rural Resilience

Climate change is transforming the conditions under which rural communities produce food.

Higher temperatures, irregular rainfall, prolonged droughts, water scarcity and extreme weather events can reduce agricultural productivity and increase production risks.

For small farmers, one failed agricultural season can have serious consequences. A farmer who loses a harvest may not only lose food but also lose income, seeds, livestock resources and the ability to finance the following agricultural season.

This is why resilience has become a central concept in rural development.

A resilient community is not one that never experiences a crisis. It is a community that has the capacity to anticipate risks, absorb shocks, adapt to changing conditions and recover without losing its long-term productive capacity.

Water: The Foundation of Rural Food Security

Water is one of the most important resources determining the future of agriculture.

In water-scarce regions, competition for water can increase between households, agriculture, industry and other users. Declining rainfall and groundwater pressure can make traditional agricultural practices increasingly difficult.

For rural communities, water security and food security are therefore closely connected.

When water becomes scarce, farmers may reduce cultivated areas, change crops, abandon agricultural activities or increase dependence on costly irrigation.

The consequences extend beyond individual farms.

Reduced production can affect local markets, household incomes, food prices and employment.

Improving rural water management should therefore be considered a central component of food-security policy.

Rainwater harvesting, efficient irrigation, groundwater protection, water-saving technologies and community-based water management can all contribute to resilience when appropriately designed and maintained.

Small Farmers and the Cost of Production

Another major challenge is the increasing cost of agricultural production.

Farmers may need to pay for seeds, fertilizers, animal feed, fuel, machinery, irrigation, transport and labour.

When production costs rise faster than farm-gate prices, small farmers can find it increasingly difficult to remain economically viable.

This problem is particularly serious for households with limited financial reserves.

A large commercial farm may be able to absorb a temporary increase in costs. A small family farm may not have the same capacity.

Access to affordable credit, technical assistance, agricultural insurance and reliable market information can therefore make a significant difference.

Food security policies should not focus exclusively on increasing production.

They must also consider whether producers can continue producing sustainably and profitably.

Access to Markets

Producing food is only one part of the agricultural system.

Farmers also need access to markets where they can sell their products at fair and predictable prices.

In some rural areas, weak transport infrastructure, limited storage capacity and dependence on intermediaries can reduce the income received by producers.

When farmers cannot store products, they may be forced to sell immediately after harvest, even when market prices are low.

Investment in local storage, processing, transportation and producer organizations can help communities capture more value from agricultural production.

This can also create local employment and strengthen rural economies.

A tomato, olive, cereal crop or livestock product should not necessarily leave the rural community as an unprocessed commodity.

Local processing can create additional economic opportunities.

Cooperatives and Collective Action

Individual farmers often have limited negotiating power.

Collective organization can help producers purchase inputs, share equipment, access markets, improve storage and negotiate better prices.

Cooperatives and producer organizations can also facilitate training, technical assistance and access to financing.

However, collective organizations need effective governance, transparency and accountability.

A cooperative cannot become sustainable simply because it has been formally created.

Its members need clear objectives, transparent management, appropriate financial systems and access to markets.

The success of rural collective action should therefore be measured by real economic results rather than by the number of organizations established.

Women and Rural Food Systems

Women are essential actors in rural food systems.

They participate in agricultural production, livestock activities, food processing, household nutrition, water management and care work.

Yet much of this contribution remains invisible in official economic statistics.

Women may face additional barriers related to access to land, finance, equipment, training, markets and decision-making.

Supporting rural women can therefore strengthen both household resilience and food security.

When women have greater control over productive resources and household income, the benefits can extend to children's nutrition, education and overall household welfare.

Rural development policy should therefore recognize women not only as vulnerable beneficiaries but as economic actors and food-system contributors.

Youth and the Future of Rural Areas

Another major challenge concerns young people.

Many rural young people face limited employment opportunities and may see agriculture as a low-income or insecure occupation.

This contributes to rural-to-urban migration and, in some cases, international migration.

If younger generations leave rural communities without replacement, agricultural knowledge and productive capacity can gradually decline.

Attracting young people to rural economies requires more than encouraging them to become traditional farmers.

Modern agriculture can involve technology, digital platforms, agricultural services, food processing, logistics, renewable energy, agricultural tourism and new business models.

Young people can become entrepreneurs across the food system rather than simply agricultural labourers.

Food Loss and Waste

Food security is also affected by what happens after production.

A significant quantity of agricultural products can be lost because of inadequate storage, transportation, processing and marketing.

Reducing food losses can increase food availability without necessarily requiring an equivalent increase in agricultural production.

Improving cold chains, storage facilities, packaging, processing and market coordination can therefore become an important food-security strategy.

For rural communities, reducing post-harvest losses also means protecting income.

A product that reaches the market in good condition has greater economic value than one that is lost before reaching consumers.

Local Food Systems and Community Resilience

Strong local food systems can provide communities with greater resilience during economic or environmental shocks.

Local production, local markets, community storage, farmer organizations and small-scale processing can create networks that reduce dependence on distant supply chains.

This does not mean that rural communities should become completely isolated from national or international markets.

Instead, the objective should be to create stronger connections between local production and wider markets while maintaining local capacity to respond to crises.

A diversified local economy is generally more resilient than one dependent on a single crop, one employer or one market.

Measuring Rural Food Security

To understand whether rural communities are becoming more resilient, policymakers and researchers need more than agricultural production statistics.

A broader monitoring framework should examine:

• household income;
• agricultural productivity;
• food prices;
• water availability;
• land use;
• access to finance;
• access to markets;
• agricultural employment;
• women's economic participation;
• youth employment;
• food losses;
• climate risks;
• access to agricultural services.

The most important question is not simply:

How much food is produced?

It is:

Can rural households continue producing, earning, accessing food and maintaining their livelihoods when faced with economic and environmental shocks?

This distinction is essential.

From Vulnerability to Resilience

Building rural resilience requires a long-term approach.

Emergency assistance can protect households during crises, but resilience requires investment before the crisis occurs.

This includes:

better water management, climate-smart agriculture, soil protection, agricultural diversification, rural infrastructure, financial services, insurance, training, market access and social protection.

Social protection and agricultural policy should also work together.

A rural household affected by drought should not necessarily be forced to sell productive assets simply to survive until the next agricultural season.

Well-designed social protection can provide temporary income security while productive policies help households recover.

The Role of Local Governments and Communities

Rural development cannot be designed entirely from the national level.

Local authorities and communities understand local resources, agricultural practices, infrastructure problems and social conditions.

Participatory planning can help identify which investments are most urgent.

A community may prioritize water storage, another may need road improvements, while another may require agricultural processing facilities or market access.

Development resources are more likely to generate sustainable results when local communities participate in identifying priorities, monitoring implementation and evaluating outcomes.

Conclusion

Food security begins in rural areas because rural communities remain at the heart of food production and agricultural livelihoods.

But these communities are facing a combination of pressures that cannot be addressed through agricultural production policies alone.

Climate change, water scarcity, poverty, rising production costs, weak market access, rural unemployment, migration and inadequate infrastructure can undermine the capacity of rural households to remain productive and resilient.

The future of food security therefore depends not only on how much food a country produces, but also on whether rural communities have the resources, knowledge, infrastructure and economic opportunities necessary to continue producing it.

A resilient rural community is one where farmers can earn a sustainable income, women can participate fully in economic life, young people can see a future locally, water resources are managed responsibly, agricultural products can reach markets, and families can survive economic and environmental shocks without falling deeper into poverty.

The central question should therefore move from:

“How much food do we produce?”

to:

“How resilient are the communities that produce our food?”

Answering this question requires reliable data, local evidence, community voices and long-term monitoring.

For development institutions, governments and civil society organizations, the priority should be to strengthen rural communities before crises become disasters.

For development journalism, the responsibility is to document what happens beyond national statistics: to enter rural communities, listen to farmers and families, follow the flow of resources, examine agricultural policies, compare promises with results, and show whether investments are actually creating resilience.

Food security is ultimately not only about food.

It is about people, livelihoods, water, land, income, dignity and the capacity of communities to withstand an uncertain future.

ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media & Development

Research Focus: Food Security | Rural Development | Agriculture | Climate Resilience | Water Security | Poverty | Women | Youth | Local Development | Sustainable Livelihoods | Evidence-Based Journalism

Tackling Rural Poverty in Tunisia

                             

Tackling Rural Poverty in Tunisia: From Social Vulnerability to Sustainable Livelihoods

A Practical Framework for Poverty Reduction, Economic Inclusion and Community Resilience

Prepared by: ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media & Development
2026

Executive Summary

Rural poverty in Tunisia is not simply a question of insufficient income. It is a multidimensional challenge shaped by unemployment, seasonal work, limited access to markets and finance, inadequate infrastructure, unequal access to essential services, environmental pressures, and limited opportunities for sustainable economic participation.

For many rural households, vulnerability is intensified by dependence on a small number of income sources. A drought, loss of employment, rising production costs, health emergency, or disruption in local markets can rapidly transform economic fragility into severe hardship. Poverty must therefore be understood not only as a lack of income, but also as a condition in which households have limited capacity to absorb shocks and recover from them.

An effective poverty-reduction strategy must consequently move beyond short-term assistance. It must create pathways toward sustainable livelihoods, economic inclusion, and community resilience. The central development pathway proposed in this study is based on a progressive transition from protection and stabilization toward skills, productive assets, employment, market access, sustainable livelihoods, and ultimately resilience.

The approach places rural communities at the centre of development planning. It seeks to connect vulnerable households with employment opportunities, entrepreneurship, agricultural value chains, finance, skills development, social protection, and local development initiatives.

Introduction

Rural communities make an important contribution to Tunisia's economic and social development. Agriculture, livestock, local commerce, handicrafts, tourism, and community-based activities provide livelihoods for thousands of households and contribute to the vitality of rural territories.

Nevertheless, many rural areas continue to experience structural constraints. Limited employment opportunities, weak infrastructure, inadequate transport, restricted access to markets, insufficient investment, water insecurity, digital exclusion, and limited access to financial services interact with one another and reinforce existing vulnerabilities.

These challenges cannot be considered separately. Poor transport infrastructure, for example, can restrict access to employment and markets. Low household income can prevent families from making productive investments, while weak investment can limit local job creation. Environmental pressures can further weaken livelihoods that are already fragile.

For these reasons, rural poverty should be addressed through an integrated territorial approach capable of connecting social protection, economic opportunity, productive investment, infrastructure, skills, markets, and environmental resilience.

Chapter One: Understanding Rural Poverty

Rural poverty has several dimensions that must be considered together. Economic poverty may involve low or unstable household income, high living costs, and indebtedness. Employment vulnerability can result from seasonal work, informal employment, low wages, and a shortage of stable employment opportunities.

At the same time, rural households may experience deprivation in access to healthcare, education, transport, water, sanitation, digital services, and social protection. Productive vulnerability may arise from limited access to land, equipment, technology, finance, and markets. Social vulnerability can involve exclusion, limited participation, weak social networks, and unequal opportunities.

Environmental vulnerability represents another important dimension. Drought, water scarcity, soil degradation, climate variability, and declining productivity can directly affect household livelihoods.

A comprehensive assessment of rural poverty must therefore examine all these dimensions rather than focusing exclusively on household income.

From Poverty to Vulnerability

Poverty describes an existing condition, whereas vulnerability refers to the risk of becoming poorer or being unable to recover after a shock.

A household may have a modest but relatively stable income and still remain highly vulnerable if its livelihood depends entirely on seasonal agricultural work. Similarly, a small farmer may enjoy economic stability during a favourable agricultural season but face severe difficulties following drought, crop failure, or a sudden increase in production costs.

This distinction highlights the importance of income diversification, savings, productive assets, skills, social protection, access to services, and community networks. The objective should not simply be to help households survive a crisis, but to strengthen their ability to withstand future shocks.

The Rural Poverty Cycle

Rural poverty can become a self-reinforcing cycle. Limited opportunities lead to low income, low income limits investment, limited investment contributes to low productivity, low productivity restricts employment, and weak employment opportunities reinforce vulnerability.

Environmental and economic shocks can make this cycle even more difficult to break. Development interventions should therefore target several points in the cycle simultaneously.

Combining skills development, access to finance, infrastructure, market access, productive investment, and social protection can create a stronger pathway toward economic security.

Sustainable Livelihoods

A livelihood represents the capabilities, resources, and activities through which individuals and households meet their needs. A sustainable livelihood must be economically viable, socially inclusive, environmentally responsible, adaptable to shocks, and capable of generating income over time.

Rural households frequently combine several activities, including farming, livestock, seasonal employment, commerce, handicrafts, food processing, services, tourism, and small enterprises. Supporting this diversification can reduce dependence on a single source of income and improve household resilience.

The objective is therefore not simply to increase income temporarily, but to establish livelihood systems capable of remaining productive and adaptable over the long term.

Rural Employment

Employment remains one of the strongest pathways out of poverty. However, rural labour markets may be characterized by seasonality, informality, low wages, limited private-sector opportunities, skills mismatches, and geographical isolation.

Rural employment programmes should therefore identify realistic sectors capable of generating decent and sustainable work. Agriculture, agro-processing, renewable energy, tourism, environmental services, handicrafts, logistics, digital services, and local enterprises may provide opportunities depending on the characteristics of each territory.

The central question should always be: where can sustainable jobs realistically be created within the territory?

Agriculture and Poverty Reduction

Agriculture remains fundamental to many rural livelihoods. Nevertheless, increasing production alone does not necessarily result in higher household income.

Greater economic value can be generated by strengthening the entire chain from production to collection, processing, packaging, branding, marketing, and distribution. Each stage can create additional economic activity and employment.

Instead of selling an agricultural product only in its raw form, rural communities can develop processing, packaging, and branding enterprises capable of retaining a greater proportion of the final value within the territory.

Agricultural Diversification

Dependence on a single crop or economic activity increases vulnerability. Diversification can involve alternative crops, livestock, beekeeping, food processing, medicinal and aromatic plants, agro-tourism, agricultural services, and handicrafts.

However, diversification should be evidence-based. Before introducing a new activity, development organizations should assess local resources, market demand, production costs, technical capacity, environmental sustainability, and access to finance.

A new activity should therefore be selected not because it appears attractive in theory, but because there is a realistic economic and environmental basis for its long-term development.

Women and Rural Poverty

Women play an important role in rural economies through agriculture, food processing, handicrafts, commerce, and household-based activities. Yet their economic contribution frequently remains under-recognized.

Women may face barriers such as limited access to finance, restricted market access, mobility constraints, unpaid care responsibilities, limited digital access, weak business networks, and limited control over productive assets.

Women's economic empowerment programmes should therefore combine skills development, access to finance, productive assets, market access, mentoring, and digital inclusion. Women should also participate directly in identifying priorities and designing development interventions.

Youth and Rural Opportunities

Young people are essential to the future of rural territories. Nevertheless, limited employment and economic opportunities can encourage rural-to-urban migration or international migration.

A rural youth strategy should connect young people with vocational training, apprenticeships, entrepreneurship, internships, digital employment, green jobs, agricultural innovation, tourism, and local enterprises.

The objective should be to create rural areas where young people can build viable futures rather than viewing migration as the only available path toward opportunity.

Small Enterprises and Rural Livelihoods

Small enterprises can contribute significantly to the diversification of rural economies beyond agriculture. Food processing, transport, repair services, tourism, handicrafts, catering, digital services, recycling, agricultural services, and local commerce can all create additional income and employment opportunities.

Nevertheless, rural entrepreneurs frequently face limited access to finance, small local markets, weak infrastructure, transportation difficulties, insufficient business support, and limited access to technology.

Enterprise-development programmes should therefore provide integrated assistance rather than isolated training. Entrepreneurs need not only knowledge, but also access to finance, markets, mentoring, infrastructure, and technical assistance.

Access to Finance

Access to appropriate finance is essential for rural economic inclusion. Possible mechanisms include microfinance, small grants, concessional financing, savings groups, cooperative financing, guarantee mechanisms, and blended finance.

However, finance alone is rarely sufficient. Financial support should ideally be combined with business planning, financial management, mentoring, market analysis, and technical assistance.

Capital without adequate business support may fail to produce sustainable results. Financial inclusion must therefore be linked to the broader livelihood and enterprise-development strategy.

Social Protection and Economic Inclusion

Social protection remains essential for households facing severe vulnerability. Some families may be unable to participate immediately in productive activities because of extreme poverty, disability, age, care responsibilities, illness, unemployment, or other social vulnerabilities.

An integrated approach should therefore combine social protection with productive inclusion, skills development, and employment opportunities.

Social protection should protect people from extreme deprivation while economic inclusion creates pathways toward greater self-reliance wherever possible.

Skills Development

Training programmes are most effective when they are connected to actual economic opportunities. Before designing a training programme, organizations should identify market demand, employer needs, skills shortages, emerging sectors, and entrepreneurship opportunities.

A stronger model begins with market analysis, followed by identification of required skills, practical training, real work experience, transition into employment or enterprise, and continued follow-up.

Such an approach reduces the risk of producing training certificates without creating meaningful economic opportunities.

Infrastructure and Rural Poverty

Infrastructure has a direct influence on rural economic opportunities. Roads, transport, electricity, water, telecommunications, internet connectivity, storage facilities, markets, and community facilities all affect the ability of rural households and enterprises to participate in the economy.

Poor infrastructure increases production costs and restricts access to employment and markets. Infrastructure investment should therefore be considered both a social investment and an economic development intervention.

Digital Inclusion

Digital technologies can create new opportunities for rural populations through e-commerce, digital marketing, online training, remote work, agricultural information, digital financial services, online public services, and access to market information.

However, digital inclusion requires reliable connectivity, affordable devices, digital literacy, appropriate training, and accessible platforms.

Digital development should complement essential physical infrastructure rather than replace it.

Environmental Vulnerability and Climate Resilience

Rural livelihoods depend heavily on natural resources. Environmental pressures can therefore have a direct impact on household income.

Drought, water scarcity, soil degradation, extreme heat, declining agricultural productivity, and ecosystem degradation represent important risks for rural communities.

Poverty-reduction programmes should consequently integrate water efficiency, sustainable agriculture, soil conservation, renewable energy, ecosystem restoration, and climate-resilient livelihoods.

Environmental protection and poverty reduction should not be treated as separate agendas. They are closely interconnected components of sustainable rural development.

Community Resilience

Resilience refers to the capacity of households and communities to absorb shocks, adapt to changing conditions, and recover from crises.

A resilient household may possess diversified income sources, productive assets, savings, skills, social networks, information, and access to essential services.

At the community level, resilience can be strengthened through cooperatives, local associations, community-based resource management, emergency preparedness, and local development networks.

Local Value Chains

A rural poverty-reduction strategy should identify where economic value is created and where that value leaves the territory.

A value-chain assessment should examine producers, suppliers, processors, traders, transporters, retailers, and consumers. The objective is to identify opportunities to increase the share of economic value retained locally.

A stronger territorial model can therefore connect local production with local processing, local branding, and access to wider markets.

Such an approach can generate additional employment, strengthen local enterprises, and increase household income.

Cooperatives and Collective Action

Small producers often have limited bargaining power when operating individually. Collective organization can help them improve joint purchasing, shared equipment, production, storage, transportation, marketing, financing, and access to markets.

However, successful cooperatives require transparent governance, sound financial management, accountability, professional management, clearly defined responsibilities, and strong market orientation.

Cooperative development should therefore focus not only on establishing organizations but also on ensuring that they are economically and institutionally sustainable.

Rural Tourism and Local Assets

Some rural territories possess cultural, historical, and environmental resources that can support diversified livelihoods.

Potential opportunities include eco-tourism, cultural tourism, traditional food, handicrafts, heritage tourism, farm experiences, and community-based tourism.

Tourism development should ensure that economic benefits reach local communities while protecting environmental and cultural resources. Rural tourism should therefore be developed as part of a broader local economic strategy rather than as an isolated activity.

Civil Society and Rural Poverty Reduction

Civil society organizations can contribute to rural development through needs assessments, community mobilization, livelihood programmes, women's empowerment, youth programmes, training, advocacy, and monitoring.

Local organizations can also serve as an important bridge between communities, public institutions, and international development partners.

Strengthening their capacities in research, project design, fundraising, monitoring and evaluation, and communication can increase their contribution to rural development.

Local Governance and Poverty Reduction

Local institutions have an important role in coordinating rural development. Their responsibilities may include territorial planning, infrastructure, public services, economic development, community participation, investment promotion, and partnerships.

Because rural poverty is multidimensional, effective coordination between different institutions is essential. Local development requires cooperation between communities, civil society, public institutions, enterprises, financial actors, and development partners.

From Vulnerability to Sustainable Livelihoods

ATEP MED proposes a progressive five-stage pathway: protection, stabilization, skills and assets, economic inclusion, and resilience.

The first stage, protection, seeks to ensure that vulnerable households have access to essential support. Stabilization focuses on reducing immediate economic insecurity. The third stage strengthens skills, productive resources, and knowledge. Economic inclusion then connects people with employment, finance, markets, and enterprises. Finally, resilience seeks to build diversified livelihoods capable of withstanding future shocks.

This approach aims to move households progressively from vulnerability toward greater economic security and sustainable livelihoods.

The ATEP MED Rural Poverty Reduction Framework

The framework is built around eight interconnected pillars: social protection, employment, productive assets, skills development, market access, women's economic inclusion, youth opportunities, and climate resilience.

Together, these pillars provide a comprehensive framework for rural poverty reduction. Their effectiveness depends on their integration rather than their implementation as isolated programmes.

Rural Poverty Assessment

Before designing a rural poverty programme, development organizations should examine household conditions, including income, employment, household size, assets, expenditure, and vulnerability.

They should also analyse existing economic activities such as agriculture, livestock, commerce, services, seasonal work, and informal activities.

Access to water, health, education, transport, digital services, and social protection must also be assessed. At the same time, organizations should identify economic opportunities linked to enterprises, markets, value chains, tourism, investment, and employment.

Finally, the assessment should identify major risks, including climate change, drought, water scarcity, income instability, debt, and social exclusion.

Such an assessment provides the evidence required to design targeted and realistic interventions.

Monitoring and Evaluation

A strong rural poverty programme should measure changes rather than simply activities.

Output indicators may include the number of households assessed, people trained, enterprises supported, women and youth participating, productive assets provided, and businesses receiving assistance.

Outcome indicators should focus on changes such as increased household income, improved employment, increased business revenues, improved market access, greater women's economic participation, more diversified livelihoods, and improved resilience.

Impact indicators should examine longer-term changes, including reduced economic vulnerability, reduced persistent poverty, improved living conditions, greater household resilience, and stronger participation in local economic activity.

Common Weaknesses in Rural Poverty Programmes

Several weaknesses can undermine rural poverty programmes. Short-term assistance may provide immediate relief without establishing a longer-term livelihood strategy. Training programmes may produce certificates without being connected to real labour-market opportunities. Finance may be provided without adequate business support, while agricultural production may increase without improving processing or market access.

Programmes may also fail when they underestimate women's economic contribution, neglect youth opportunities, or depend entirely on external funding without establishing mechanisms for long-term sustainability.

These weaknesses demonstrate the importance of integrated programme design.

Recommendations

Rural poverty reduction should begin with a multidimensional approach that addresses income, employment, services, productive assets, and vulnerability together.

Programmes should prioritize sustainable livelihoods by helping households develop stable and diversified sources of income. Rural employment initiatives should be connected to realistic local economic opportunities, while rural enterprises should receive integrated support combining finance, training, mentoring, and market access.

Women's economic empowerment should be strengthened through better access to finance, productive assets, markets, technology, and decision-making. Rural youth should be supported through employment, entrepreneurship, digital work, innovation, and skills development.

Local value chains should be developed in order to increase the proportion of economic value retained within rural communities. Climate resilience should be integrated into livelihood strategies to protect households against environmental and economic shocks.

Improving rural infrastructure and essential services should be considered a fundamental part of poverty reduction. Finally, programmes should measure long-term results by focusing on income, employment, resilience, and living conditions rather than activities alone.

Proposed Implementation Roadmap

Implementation should begin with diagnosis through the collection of socioeconomic and livelihood data. This should be followed by vulnerability mapping to identify vulnerable households and groups.

The next stage should involve a livelihood assessment examining existing income sources, productive assets, and economic activities. Opportunity mapping should then identify employment, enterprise, and value-chain opportunities within each territory.

Based on this evidence, programmes can be designed around integrated interventions. Appropriate national and international financing mechanisms should then be identified before implementation begins.

Implementation should deliver coordinated livelihood, employment, and resilience interventions. Monitoring should track economic and social progress, while evaluation should measure changes in income, employment, and vulnerability.

Finally, successful models should be identified and adapted for replication in other rural territories.

Conclusion

Rural poverty cannot be reduced through isolated interventions.

A household may receive training but still lack access to finance. A farmer may increase production but remain poor because markets are inaccessible. A young person may possess valuable skills but remain unemployed because local enterprises cannot create sufficient jobs. A woman may have an entrepreneurial idea but lack capital, mobility, or access to markets.

For this reason, rural poverty reduction requires an integrated approach.

The objective should be to move communities progressively from protection and stabilization toward opportunity, economic inclusion, sustainable livelihoods, and resilience.

Tunisia's rural territories possess important human resources, agricultural potential, cultural assets, environmental resources, and entrepreneurial capacity. The central challenge is to connect these assets with investment, knowledge, infrastructure, finance, markets, technology, and institutional support.

When development programmes focus on capabilities rather than dependency, rural communities can become active drivers of their own economic transformation.

The ultimate objective is not simply to reduce poverty temporarily. It is to create conditions in which rural households can generate sustainable income, diversify their livelihoods, withstand shocks, and participate fully in local development.

This is the transition from social vulnerability to sustainable livelihoods.

ATEP MED – Research & Consulting Applications

ATEP MED's areas of application include rural poverty assessments, livelihoods assessments, rural employment studies, women's economic empowerment studies, youth employment and entrepreneurship studies, local value-chain studies, community development projects, monitoring and evaluation, donor-focused project proposals, and rural development consulting.

ATEP MED
Arabic Digital Center for Media & Development

Research • Poverty Reduction • Rural Development • Livelihoods • Employment • Project Design • Consulting

From Social Vulnerability to Sustainable Livelihoods

                               

YOUNG PEOPLE OUTSIDE EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING: A GENERATION LEFT BEHIND?

Understanding the NEET Challenge, Youth Exclusion and the Future of Social and Economic Inclusion

ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media & Development
Prepared and Published by Mohamed Chaieb Barhoumi
Research, Reporting and Development Analysis
September 2026

Introduction

Young people are often described as the future of a country. They represent a major source of energy, creativity, innovation and economic potential. Yet for many young people, the transition from childhood to adulthood is becoming increasingly difficult.

Finishing school does not necessarily lead to employment. Obtaining a university degree does not guarantee a stable career. Completing vocational training does not always create access to the labour market. For some young people, the result is a prolonged period during which they are neither studying, nor working, nor participating in formal vocational training.

These young people are commonly described as NEETs – Not in Employment, Education or Training.

The NEET category is more than a statistical indicator. It can reveal a deeper problem within a society: the inability of education systems, labour markets and training institutions to provide effective pathways for young people toward economic and social participation.

The central question is therefore:

Are young people outside education, employment and training simply temporarily between stages, or are they becoming a generation increasingly disconnected from the systems that should prepare them for adult life?

Understanding this issue requires looking beyond unemployment statistics and examining the structural barriers that push young people away from education, work and training.

Understanding the NEET Population

The term NEET includes young people who are not currently employed, enrolled in education or participating in vocational training.

However, NEETs are not a homogeneous group.

Some are actively looking for work but cannot find suitable employment. Others have stopped looking because they have become discouraged. Some young women remain outside the labour market because of unpaid care responsibilities. Others may live in rural areas where education, transportation and employment opportunities are limited.

Some young people may have completed university but remain unemployed for several years. Others may have left school early and lack the qualifications required by employers.

Therefore, treating all NEETs as one group can hide important differences.

Effective policies must identify the reasons why young people become disconnected.

Education and the Transition to Work

The transition from education to employment is one of the most important stages in a young person's life.

In an effective system, education provides knowledge and skills, vocational training develops practical competencies, and labour markets provide opportunities to use those skills.

In reality, these three systems are not always sufficiently connected.

Educational programmes can sometimes produce qualifications that do not correspond closely enough to labour-market demand. At the same time, employers may report difficulties finding workers with specific technical, digital, communication or practical skills.

This creates a paradox:

Young people can be unemployed while employers struggle to find the skills they need.

The problem is therefore not always a simple shortage of jobs or a shortage of educated people.

It can also be a problem of skills mismatch.

Youth Unemployment and Long-Term Exclusion

A short period of unemployment does not necessarily create permanent exclusion.

The danger increases when unemployment becomes prolonged.

A young person who spends several years outside employment can gradually lose professional experience, confidence, networks and access to opportunities.

Employers may prefer candidates with previous experience, creating a difficult cycle:

No job → no experience → fewer opportunities → longer unemployment.

For university graduates, the problem can be particularly frustrating.

Years of education may create expectations of professional employment, but when opportunities do not materialize, young graduates can experience disappointment and disengagement.

Long-term youth unemployment can therefore become not only an economic problem but also a social and developmental challenge.

Young Women and the Hidden NEET Population

Gender is one of the most important dimensions of the NEET issue.

Young women may face barriers that are less visible in conventional employment statistics.

Family responsibilities, childcare, household work, transportation limitations, social expectations and the lack of suitable employment opportunities can all affect women's participation in education and employment.

A young woman who is not formally employed may still be performing many hours of unpaid work at home.

For this reason, the NEET indicator should be interpreted carefully.

Being outside paid employment does not necessarily mean being inactive.

However, the absence of income, social protection and professional experience can still create long-term economic vulnerability.

Policies designed to support young women should therefore consider childcare, safe transportation, flexible work arrangements, digital employment and access to skills and finance.

Rural Youth and Geographic Inequality

The NEET challenge is also strongly connected to geography.

Young people living in rural and disadvantaged regions may have fewer opportunities than those living in major urban centres.

They may face:

• fewer training institutions;
• limited public transport;
• fewer employers;
• weak digital infrastructure;
• limited access to career guidance;
• fewer internships;
• difficulties accessing financial services;
• limited cultural and educational opportunities.

A young person living in a remote rural community may therefore be technically free to seek employment, but practically constrained by distance and cost.

This is why youth employment policies must have a strong territorial dimension.

A national programme cannot automatically produce equal opportunities across all regions.

Digital Skills and the Changing Labour Market

The labour market is changing rapidly.

Digital technologies, artificial intelligence, remote work, online services and new forms of entrepreneurship are creating new opportunities while also changing the skills required by employers.

For young people, digital skills can provide access to employment opportunities beyond their immediate geographical environment.

Remote work, online freelancing, digital content production, translation, data-related services, software development and digital marketing can potentially connect young people in disadvantaged regions with international markets.

However, digital inclusion requires more than internet access.

Young people also need:

digital skills + professional skills + language skills + reliable connectivity + access to devices + knowledge of online labour markets.

Without these elements, the digital economy may reproduce existing inequalities rather than eliminate them.

Vocational Training: A Bridge or Another Dead End?

Vocational training is often presented as an important solution to youth unemployment.

It can provide practical skills and improve employability.

But training is effective only when it is connected to actual economic opportunities.

A young person can complete a training programme and still remain unemployed if:

• the skill is not demanded by employers;
• the training is outdated;
• there are no internships;
• local businesses are weak;
• access to finance is limited;
• there are no mechanisms connecting graduates with employers.

The success of vocational training should therefore not be measured simply by the number of young people enrolled or certificates issued.

A more meaningful indicator is:

How many graduates obtain decent and sustainable employment after completing the programme?

Entrepreneurship Is Not a Universal Solution

Youth entrepreneurship is frequently promoted as an alternative to traditional employment.

Entrepreneurship can indeed create jobs and economic opportunities.

But it should not be presented as a solution for every unemployed young person.

Starting a business requires:

• capital;
• market knowledge;
• technical skills;
• management capacity;
• access to customers;
• administrative support;
• financial resilience.

A young person with limited resources cannot necessarily become an entrepreneur simply because a programme encourages them to do so.

Entrepreneurship policies should therefore provide long-term support rather than focusing exclusively on short-term business creation.

The Migration Dimension

When young people cannot find opportunities at home, migration can become an increasingly attractive option.

For some, migration represents a search for employment, higher income or professional recognition.

Irregular migration may also become an expression of frustration when legal economic opportunities appear inaccessible.

Youth exclusion and migration should therefore not be analysed separately.

Creating decent employment opportunities, strengthening local economies and improving professional pathways can contribute to reducing the pressures that encourage risky migration decisions.

However, migration should not be treated only as a problem.

Legal mobility, international training, temporary employment and diaspora networks can also contribute to skills development and economic opportunities when properly managed.

Mental and Social Dimensions of Exclusion

Youth exclusion has consequences beyond income.

Long-term unemployment can affect a young person's sense of identity, independence and social participation.

Employment provides not only a salary but also professional networks, routine, recognition and a sense of contribution.

When these opportunities disappear for long periods, social isolation can increase.

For this reason, youth employment policy should be connected with broader social inclusion policies.

Young people need opportunities to participate in society, develop skills, build networks and contribute to their communities.

What Should Be Measured?

A serious assessment of the NEET problem should go beyond the headline unemployment rate.

Researchers and policymakers should examine:

• NEET rates by age;
• NEET rates by gender;
• education level;
• urban and rural location;
• region;
• disability;
• household income;
• duration of unemployment;
• previous work experience;
• access to training;
• digital skills;
• migration intentions;
• access to career guidance.

These indicators can help identify which young people are most at risk of long-term exclusion.

From NEET Statistics to Individual Pathways

One of the most important policy changes would be to move from generic programmes toward individualized pathways.

A young university graduate may need professional experience and career guidance.

A school dropout may need a second-chance education programme.

A rural young woman may need childcare, transport and flexible employment.

A young person with technical skills may need access to finance.

A young person with strong digital skills may need help accessing international remote-work markets.

The same programme cannot solve all these problems.

Effective youth policy must recognize different starting points and different barriers.

The Role of Local Communities

Local communities can play an important role in reconnecting young people with education, employment and training.

Local authorities, civil society organizations, schools, vocational centres and businesses can work together to identify young people who have become disconnected.

Local employment initiatives can provide:

• career guidance;
• internships;
• apprenticeships;
• digital training;
• entrepreneurship support;
• community projects;
• local employment opportunities.

Such initiatives are particularly important in regions where national labour-market institutions have limited capacity.

Conclusion

Young people outside education, employment and training represent one of the most important challenges facing societies today.

The NEET phenomenon should not be interpreted simply as a failure of individual young people to find work.

It often reflects structural problems involving education, labour markets, regional inequality, transportation, skills, gender barriers, poverty and limited economic opportunities.

The real danger is not that every young person outside education or employment will remain excluded permanently.

The danger is that prolonged exclusion can become normalized.

A young person who spends one year outside the labour market may still have many opportunities to reconnect.

A young person who spends five or ten years disconnected from education, employment and training faces a much more difficult path.

The response must therefore begin early.

Governments, international organizations, employers, educational institutions and civil society need to build stronger bridges between education and employment, between training and real labour-market demand, and between disadvantaged communities and emerging economic opportunities.

Young people should not be viewed simply as beneficiaries of employment programmes.

They are economic actors, citizens, innovators and potential creators of jobs and social value.

The central policy question should therefore move beyond:

“How many young people are unemployed?”

It should ask:

“How many young people have a realistic pathway toward education, decent work, skills development and economic independence?”

The difference is fundamental.

A country can reduce unemployment temporarily without solving youth exclusion.

But a country that builds strong pathways from education and training to decent work can transform its young population into one of its greatest development assets.

The future of young people should not be determined by the accident of where they were born, their family's income, their gender, or the availability of opportunities in their region.

The objective should be clear:

No young person should remain permanently outside education, employment and training simply because the system failed to provide a pathway back in.

For development journalism and evidence-based research, the responsibility is to make this invisible population visible: to measure the scale of exclusion, document the experiences of young people, examine public policies, compare regions, follow the money invested in youth programmes, and determine whether those programmes actually lead to education, skills, employment and greater economic independence.

The question is no longer whether young people are the future.

The question is whether today's institutions are creating a future in which young people can actually participate.

ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media & Development

Research Focus: Youth | NEET | Education | Employment | Vocational Training | Skills Development | Gender Equality | Rural Development | Digital Inclusion | Migration | Poverty | Social Inclusion | Decent Work | Sustainable Development

                             

Our Media/Development Approach Media for Sustainable Development & Social Change

Media for Sustainable Development & Social Change is a specialized area of the Center dedicated to using journalism, communication, research, storytelling, and digital media as powerful tools for sustainable development and positive social transformation.

The Center develops and supports media initiatives that place people, communities, development, social justice, inclusion, and sustainability at the heart of communication. Our approach goes beyond traditional reporting by connecting reliable information and evidence-based storytelling with the realities, needs, challenges, and aspirations of local communities.

Through research-based journalism, development reporting, multimedia content, digital communication, documentation, publications, and strategic storytelling, we contribute to making development issues more visible, understandable, and accessible to the public, decision-makers, institutions, civil society organizations, development partners, and local actors.

Our work covers a broad range of themes, including poverty reduction, employment and entrepreneurship, youth development, women’s empowerment, social inclusion, human rights, education, health, environmental protection, climate change, rural and local development, sustainable agriculture, migration, community resilience, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

We also place strong emphasis on local voices and community perspectives. By documenting experiences, initiatives, challenges, innovations, and solutions emerging from communities, the Center seeks to transform local knowledge and lived experiences into valuable information that can contribute to better policies, stronger programs, and more inclusive development strategies.

Our Media & Development Approach

Our approach is based on five complementary principles:

• Inform – providing accurate, accessible, and relevant information on development challenges and opportunities.
• Document – recording projects, experiences, local initiatives, community realities, and development processes.
• Connect – creating bridges between communities, media professionals, researchers, institutions, civil society, and development organizations.
• Give Voice – highlighting the perspectives and experiences of people and communities that are often insufficiently represented in mainstream media.
• Promote Change – using communication and storytelling to encourage dialogue, participation, innovation, accountability, and sustainable solutions.

The Center provides remote and field-based media and communication services, including development journalism, research and reporting, editorial production, interviews, feature stories, case studies, human-interest stories, institutional communication, project documentation, digital content, and multimedia storytelling.

Our objective is to contribute to a form of media that does not simply report on development, but actively contributes to understanding, participation, social dialogue, knowledge sharing, and sustainable social change.

Media can inform. Media can document. Media can connect people. And when grounded in evidence, local knowledge, and responsible storytelling, media can become a powerful instrument for sustainable development and lasting social change.

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ATEP MED – Arabic Digital Center for Media & Development

Prepared and Published by: Mohamed Chaieb Barhoumi

Media | Journalism | Research | Development | Communication | Documentation | Digital Storytelling

Social Development & Community Reporting

                           

Social Development & Community Reporting

At ATEP MED – Arab Digital Center for Media and Development, we develop professional social development and community reporting that documents local realities, highlights community voices and brings greater visibility to initiatives that contribute to social and economic development.

Our work focuses on understanding and communicating the needs, challenges, experiences and aspirations of communities, particularly in underserved, rural and vulnerable areas. We combine field reporting, journalism, research, interviews, documentation and development communication to produce credible and meaningful content.

We report on a wide range of social and development issues, including poverty and inequality, social inclusion, employment, youth, women, education, vocational training, local development, rural communities, access to opportunities, community initiatives, social and solidarity economy, environmental challenges and sustainable development.

Our approach gives particular importance to local knowledge and community perspectives. We document the experiences of individuals, community organizations, local initiatives and development actors, transforming field information into professional articles, reports, case studies, profiles and knowledge products.

Our Services Include:

• Social Development Reporting
• Community & Field Reporting
• Local Development Journalism
• Rural & Community Documentation
• Social Inclusion & Economic Inclusion Reporting
• Youth & Women Community Stories
• Poverty & Inequality Reporting
• Community Interviews & Profiles
• Human-Interest Stories
• Case Studies & Local Success Stories
• Development Project Documentation
• Participatory Research & Field Documentation
• Thematic & Analytical Reports
• Digital Storytelling & Community Communication
• English, French & Arabic Reporting Services

Listening to Communities, Documenting Realities

We believe that sustainable development begins with listening to communities and understanding local realities.

Through professional reporting and evidence-based documentation, ATEP MED helps make community experiences visible, strengthen the circulation of local knowledge and create meaningful communication between communities, civil society, development organizations, institutions, researchers and decision-makers.

Our mission is to document social realities, amplify community voices and highlight local solutions that can contribute to more inclusive and sustainable development.