Children’s Rights at a Crossroads A Global Conference on Research and Child Rights

1. A seven point research agenda to facilitate better understanding between cash transfer programmes and building social worker capacity in sub-Saharan Africa in the context of national social protection plans of action. Thematic Round Table Socal welfare services Roger Pearson Senior Social Policy Specialist, UNICEF Ethiopia Children’s Rights at a Crossroads A Global Conference on Research and Child Rights 30 November - 2 December 2009 UNECA Conference Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2. Several UNICEF staff contributed to the preparation of this presentation. Carlos Alviar, Cash transfer specialist, UNICEF Kenya Benjamin Davis, Regional Social Policy Advisor, East and Southern Africa Aaron Greenberg Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF New York Anthony Hodges, Regional Economic and Social Policy Advisor, West and Central Africa Mayke Huijbregts, Chief Social Policy, UNICEF Malawi Douglas Webb, Chief of Adolescent Development, Child Protection and HIV/AIDS, UNICEF Ethiopia.

3. What is Social Protection? • Reduces either the risk of experiencing an economic or social shock, or reduces the welfare loss after shocks occur. • Alleviates extreme or chronic poverty and enables chronically poor to eventually overcome poverty. • Limits fluctuations in welfare (both social and economic shocks) and addressws structural ‘stresses’ associated with chronic poverty.

4. Free Basic Health Social Services Social Protection Social Assistance Social Transfers Universal Education Typology Health Social Legislation Social Insurance Education

5. What African Union Social Policy Framework says on Soc. Prot. (Jan 2009) Voluntary insurance Mandatory social insurance / social security benefits of guaranteed levels to covered persons The Africa Union minimum package Thefloor Essential Social Services Social Transfers (pensions; child benefits; guaranteed work, disability grants ) Mix contributory & non-contributory

6. What African Union Social Policy Framework says on Soc. Prot. (Jan 2009) • Investment in and access to SP. • Build SP and social security; national SP action plans; chapters in national development plan revisions. Measures include: • minimum package; essential health care; benefits for children, informal workers, unemployed, older persons; persons with disabilities … a platform for broadening and extending SP as fiscal space expands. • extending social insurance (subsidies for those unable to contribute); • build community and occupation based insurance; • social welfare services, • employment guarantee schemes, • extend public-financed, non-contributory cash transfers.

8. Rationale 1: SP deep roots in African society • But complexities of modern world breaking down efficacy of traditional systems

9. Rationale 2: Growing evidence of efficacy in reaching MDGs • Accelerate reduction in malnutrition • Reduce poverty • Accelerate declines in fertility • Accelerate educational outcomes • Accelerate economic growth

10. Example: Arguments for pensions Pensions reduce fertility rates hence reduce population growth Where parents take care of older people as well as children, a guaranteed old age income means more resources directed to children. In Namibia , 55% of the pension is spent on grandchildren.  In South Africa, children who live with pensioners in South Africa are 3-4cm taller; there is an 8% increase in school enrolment among the poorest 20% of households as a result of the pension.

11. Pensions reduce fertility rates hence reduce U5MR and Maternal Mortality rates and allow more investment in each child

12. Examples of universal and near-universal pensions

13. Sex ratio among children attending primary school (8-10 year-olds, 2002)

14. Children not completing grade 5

15. Children not completing grade 5 77% 74% 51% 46%

16. Rationale 3: Enhances productivity and Growth • Economic theory: investing in social protection is growth enhancing; rationale does not rest on redistribution or human rights principles alone • Micro-level credit market failures inhibit growth • Lack of insurance or credit markets make poor farmers conservative • growth stifled by lack of risk taking and innovation • Irreversible asset depletion lowers productivity • Inequality creates conflict

17. The world agrees that it’s citizens have a right to social protection • Universal declaration of Human rights articles 22 and 25 • UN covenant of economic social and cultural rights article 9 • ILO conventions • UN CRC

18. Claim holders have a right to social protection.This implies other parts of society have a duty to provide the protectionIn the long-term most resources will have to come from taxes

19. How much a society chooses to invest in social protection is mainly a matter of political choice

20. Two Key issues in realizing these rights • Financing social protection is a major challenge across SSA • …there are ways forward: taxation, natural resources and aid • Capacity issues; institutionalisation is key • …policies not projects • …permanent institutions not emergency safety nets

21. Numbers of people living on less than $2 per day, 2005

22. Numbers of wealthy people

23. No fiscal space for SP? • Arbitrary to specify a benchmark percentage of GDP for social protection spending. • Government faces hard choices between social sectors, infrastructure, agriculture, stimulating entrpreneurs etc. • Dialogue and informed political choice • Medium to long term strategy

24. Variations in revenue as per cent of GDP

25. UNICEF involvement in SP incl. cash transfers in SSA

26. Overall fiscal balance, including grants (% of GDP), 2007 Eq Guinea, 22.7 Congo, 9.9 Gabon, 9.8 Cameroon, 4.2 Chad, 3.5 CAR, 2.5 Nigeria, 2.3 Gambia, 1.8 Liberia, 1.2 Guinea, 1.0 Cote d'Ivoire, 0.3 DRC, -0.1 Sierra Leone, -0.3 Benin, -2.0 Ethiopia at -1.1 Togo, -2.5 Cap Verde, -3.4 Niger, -3.6 Mali, -3.6 Senegal, -4.8 Burkina Faso, -6.3 Ghana, -6.3 Guinea Bissau, -17.3 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25

27. The 2008 global finance, food, fuel and crisis has added impetus to social protection • “…on the expenditure side, it would be desirable , with external support, to adopt and gradually scale up safety net programmes, targeting them carefully and building in countercyclical properties. Existing programmes that are performing well should be scaled up first; in the short run, though, the capacity of Sub-Saharan African countries to set up new programmes is limited.” IMF’s SSA Regional Economic Outlook 2009: Weathering the storm

28. De Facto SP programme in Ethiopia

29. Some examples • Ghana recently increased VAT by 2.5 per cent to pay for free health care for all under age 18 and pregnant mothers • Lesotho recently introduced universal non contributory pension at a cost of 7 per cent of GDP

30. An integrated child friendly social protection service

31. Complementary role of transfers & social welfare services • Need for an integrated approach to SP: • Dimensions of vulnerability are many: economic & social • Different types of intervention are needed: services and legislation as well as transfers and insurance • 2. Specialized social welfare services are needed to support people who are particularly vulnerability

32. Carmona consensus, Spain, April 2009 Social welfare staff actions improve the reach, effectiveness & enhance the impact of cash transfers: • Community-based family support workers (para-professionals) assisting families access entitlements • National documentation schemes (e.g. civil reg.); • Raise awareness on eligibility & entitlements; • Parenting support services; • Oversight of SP contractors and civil society by government welfare staff.

33. Family support services Assistance with social services Cash transfers Legal empowerment Child sensitive social protection Protective services Support for special needs Enforcement of laws e.g. child labour Alternative Care e.g. adoption; temporary shelters; Social work case management Early detection of neglect & abuse

34. Kenya cash transfer programme; social workers and community groups key role 7 Payments 1 6 Complaints Awareness and community development sessions Identification 5 Enrollment Monitoring of school attendance and health facility visits 2 3 4 First Payment

35. Some lessons learned • Minimize administrative programme burden; avoid complex targeting or monitoring of conditions • Where affordable, universal approaches are more practical and less prone to corruption • Give high priority to capacity building of the responsible government bodies

36. A research agenda from Carmona • Generate more evidence on impact of community-based family support (social workers and social work para-professionals) in enhancing child-well being outcomes. • Understand better good practices in relationships between community-based paraprofessionals & state social welfare officers. • Agree on core social welfare indicators to include in cash transfer evaluations.

37. Other research beyond Carmona agenda • Mapping out de facto social protection programming including budgetary allocations and source of funding • Cost various scenarios for revised social protection plans of actions • Understanding current capacities of paraprofessional and paraprofessional social workers • Understand better current appetite among policy makers and the public for more social protection