Amare Bantider (PhD)Habtamu Ayele2023-12-192023-12-192023-06-20http://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/1074Urban productive safety net program (UPSNP) presents the first major opportunity to address food gaps of the vulnerable while at the same time employing the poor and vulnerable. On the other hand, the public work wage directly addresses the issue of access to food security. The study examined the contribution of UPSNP to household-level food security in woreda 1 Jemo Nefas Silk Lafto Sub-city. The study mainly adopted quantitative methods. The data was collected through a well-developed structured survey questionnaire from 79 UPSNP clients and 79 non-users as the control group selected from six sub-units of the Woreda using a systematic random sampling technique. The average effect of UPSNP on household food security status was estimated by the Propensity Score Matching Method (PSM). According to the food security indicator, UPSNP-users have lower HFIAS than nonusers which implies that the ongoing implementation of a productive safety net program has a progressive, positive contribution to lowering food insecurity of households and the HFIAS difference among beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries is significant (t = 3.8957). The propensity sore matching result indicated that the urban productive safety net program has a significant positive contribution to enhancing food access at the household level. The negative impact of the program on household food insecurity access scores revealed that program beneficiaries have lower food insecurity scores which is the ultimate objective of the program to reduce food insecurity and poverty among destitute urban dwellers. The response from the survey participant and the key informant interviewee also revealed that public work activities are improving urban agriculture and beatification and changing the local environment through proper waste disposal and management. Despite the contributions of the UPSNP to food security, the demand for support is high compared to the actual households addressed. Therefore, the government and other stakeholders have to work to address more households and improve the public work wage rate against the existing market.enUrban Productive Safety Net Program, Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, Propensity Score matching, Public Work.Thesis