Children’s Participation for Monitoring Government Budgets

1. Children’s Participation for Monitoring Government Budgets Jenifer Bukokhe Save the Children in Uganda Presentation-South Africa 05/2004

2. Overview • Poverty in Uganda: Current achievements • The missing dimension • Why child participation in monitoring government policies and budgets?

3. Overview • Categories of children • Questions asked • Use of information collected • How we can involve children in monitoring government policies and budgets- examples

4. Poverty in Uganda: current achievements • Consumption Poverty 56% in 1992 to 35% in 2000 • Established poverty monitoring systems • Poverty eradication at the heart of policies • Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP) 1997-

5. Poverty in Uganda: current achievements • Poverty Action Fund (PAF)- • Poverty Monitoring and Analysis Unit-MOFPED • National Poverty steering committee • Poverty Monitoring network • Uganda Poverty Participatory Assessment Project

6. Poverty in Uganda: current achievements • Uganda Bureau of Statistics surveys • Sectoral policies -equity is given priority

7. The missing dimension: children • Is children’s poverty the same as adult poverty? • Will policies to address general poverty automatically benefit children? • Can we regard children as insignificant in economic terms? • Will government budgets benefit all children?

8. Why child participation? • Knowledge of intra-household dynamics • Clear picture of whether general poverty reduction methods will in practice meet the needs of children • Economic significance of children • Children have acute development needs

9. Why child participation? • Under 18 represent the largest group of the poor (62%) under the poverty threshold • Investments in children will generate future benefits for the society • Children have a legal right to participate and to be listened to

10. Categories of children • Children with disabilities • Child headed household • Double orphans • Children from Single parents • Children whose parents/guardians cannot support them

11. Categories of children • Street children • Children affected by war • Children in conflict with the law • Children affected by HIV/AIDS

12. Questions addressed • What are children’s perspectives of child poverty, its causes and implications in Uganda? Do they differ from adults’? • What do we know or not know about tends in child poverty? Which groups of children are most vulnerable?

13. Questions addressed • What are the existing policies relating to children, and how effective are they? Do they meet children’s priorities? • What indicators should we use to monitor child poverty? What are the major gaps?

14. Summary of key findings • Broad and rich understanding of poverty • Emphasis on personal and family factors • Adults have a narrow materialistic understanding of poverty • Poverty as inherited but not uniformly – “Rich child can be poor”

15. Summary of key findings • Positive view of their potential role in mitigating poverty • Negative views about how society views them as poor children-shame of poverty • Negative emotions of despair • Annual country poverty status report

16. Children’s Perspectives part of: • Annual participatory poverty assessment report • Basis for reviewing the country Poverty Eradication Action Plan • Sectoral development strategies • Systematic thinking on social protection

17. Children’s Perspectives part of: • Orphans and Vulnerable children’s policy • Basis for developing child-focused poverty monitoring indicators • Initial thinking on involvement of children in gov’t budget monitoring

18. Children’s Perspectives part of: • Advocacy for budgets that will benefit both boys and girls- education, health • Budgets that address the rights of children without discrimination-geographical, gender, abilities • Advocacy donations and grants

19. Monitoring policies&budgets • Meaningful involvement of both girls and boys in public life • Consultations with children when developing/reviewing policies • Children in action initiatives • School management committees • Health committees

20. Monitoring policies&budgets • Monitoring Universal Primary Education • District and sub-county planning processes

21. For meaningful participation: • People who make the budgets must know children’s rights and child poverty • Accountability to children • Children need to understand more the budget and how the country’s money is spent

22. For meaningful participation: • Child friendly materials on budgets • Skills development • Conducive environment for child participation • MOFPED is powerful- need to show the added value