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 TableSocal welfare services

Roger PearsonSenior Social Policy Specialist, UNICEF Ethiopia

Children’s Rights at a CrossroadsA Global Conference on Research and Child Rights30 November - 2 December 2009UNECA Conference Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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 GreenbergChild 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.

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.

Typology

Social Protecti

on

Social Transfer

s

Social Assistan

ce

Social Insuranc

e

Social Service

s

Health

Social Legislati

on

Education

Free Basic

Health

Universal

Education

The floor

Voluntary insurance

Mandatory social insurance / social security benefits

of guaranteed levels to covered persons

The Africa Union minimum package

Essential Social ServicesSocial Transfers (pensions; child benefits; guaranteed

work, disability grants )Mix contributory & non-contributory

What African Union Social Policy Framework says on Soc. Prot. (Jan 2009)

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.

Rationale 1: SP deep roots in African society

• But complexities of modern world breaking down efficacy of traditional systems

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

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.

Example: Arguments for pensions

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

Figure one: Under-five mortality by birth interval (Ethiopia DHS 2005)

208

112

92

66

0 50 100 150 200 250

<2

2

3

>4

Yea

rs

Rate per 1000

Examples of universal and near-universal pensions

Country Coverage Benefit level per month

New Zealand 93% (over-65) $737

South Africa 85% (over-65) $75

Mauritius 100% (over-60) $84

Kosovo 100% (over-65) $50

Namibia 93% (over-60) $26

Botswana 96% (over-65) $30

Samoa 100% (over-65) $33

Lesotho 95% (over-70) $25

Nepal 77% (over-75) $2

1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0

Niger

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Egypt

Bottom quintile Top quintile

Sex ratio among children attending primary school

(8-10 year-olds, 2002)

Children not completing grade 5

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Bangladesh (93)

Bangladesh (97)

Peru (91)

Peru (96)

Children not completing grade 5

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Bangladesh (93)

Bangladesh (97)

Peru (91)

Peru (96)

Lowest 40% Middle 40% Top 20%

46%

51%

74%

77%

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

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

Claim holders have a right to social protection.

This implies other parts of society have a duty to provide the

protection

In the long-term most resources will have to come from taxes

How much a society chooses to invest in social protection is mainly a matter of

political choice

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

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

Numbers of wealthy people

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

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

ZimbabweCentral African Republic

Sierra LeoneGuinea

Guinea-BissauTogo

Sao Tome e PrincipeCongo (Dem Rep)

BurundiCote d'Ivoire

GambiaEritreaLiberia

MadagascarEthiopiaUganda

Burkina FasoMali

RwandaMozambique

TanzaniaNiger

ZambiaSenegal

BeninMalawiKenyaGhana

MauritiusCape Verde

South AfricaNamibia

BotswanaSeychellesSwaziland

LesothoNigeria

CameroonChad

GabonEquatorial Guinea

AngolaCongo (Rep)

FF

FF

FF

FF

FF

FF

FL

LL

LL

LL

LL

LL

LL

LL

MM

MM

MM

MM

OO

OO

OO

O

SSA Government Revenue % GDP 2008

2008 govt revenue % GDP

Variations in revenue as per cent of GDP

SP diagnosticsPolicy development Training

Institutional Capacity Building

Cash transfer feasibility planning & design

Operational involvement in piloting Impact evaluation

ANGOLALESOTHOBOTSWANABURUNDICOMOROSETHIOPIAERITREAKENYAMADAGASCARMALAWIMOZAMBIQUENAMIBIARWANDASOMALIASOUTH AFRICASWAZILANDUNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIAUGANDAZAMBIAZIMBABWE

CAMEROONCAPE VERDECENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC CHADCONGODEMOCRACTIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGOBENINEQUATORIAL GUINEAGABONGAMBIAGHANAGUINEAGUINEA-BISSAUCOTE D'IVOIRELIBERIAMALIMAURITANIANIGERNIGERIASAO TOME AND PRINCIPESENEGALSIERRA LEONETOGOBURKINA FASO

Country

Type of support

UNICEF involvement in SP incl. cash transfers in SSA

Ethiopia at -1.1

Overall fiscal balance, including grants (% of GDP), 2007

Cote d'Ivoire, 0.3Guinea, 1.0

Liberia, 1.2Gambia, 1.8Nigeria, 2.3

CAR, 2.5Chad, 3.5Cameroon, 4.2

Gabon, 9.8Congo, 9.9

DRC, -0.1

Eq Guinea, 22.7

Ghana, -6.3Burkina Faso, -6.3

Senegal, -4.8Mali, -3.6

Niger, -3.6Cap Verde, -3.4

Togo, -2.5Benin, -2.0

Sierra Leone, -0.3

Guinea Bissau, -17.3

-20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 25

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

De Facto SP programme in EthiopiaProtect Humanitarian emergency programmes. (2-7 million people)

Targeted work guarantee scheme; PSNP (8 million)

Prevent 30,000 salaried health extension workers providing a package of 20 free services, to people previously not accessed by health sector e.g. targeted supplementary feeding; therapeutic feeding.

Food subsidies in urban areas.

Promote Micro credit (small).

Resettlement

Fertilizer subsidies ($300 million allocation in 2008).

Last 3 million children into school (feeding, ABE centres, mobile schools).

Fuel subsidies (now cancelled).

Vocational skills training for youth (small).

Small scale disability support projects

Social Insurance

Transform Chapter on SP in PASDEP.

New legislation on SP … the national social protection platform

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

An integrated child friendly social protection service

Complementary role of transfers & social welfare services

1. 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

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.

Carmona consensus, Spain, April 2009

Child sensitive social

protection

Cash transfers

Family support services

Assistance with social services

Legal empowerment

Alternative Care e.g. adoption; temporary shelters;

Protective services

Support for special needs

Enforcement of laws e.g.

child labour

Social work case management

Early detection of neglect & abuse

1

Enrollment

2

Identification

Monitoring of school attendance and health facility visits

Complaints

Payments

34

6

First Payment

Kenya cash transfer programme; social workers and community groups key role

Awareness and community development sessions

7

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

a.Generate more evidence on impact of community-based family support (social workers and social work para-professionals) in enhancing child-well being outcomes.

b.Understand better good practices in relationships between community-based paraprofessionals & state social welfare officers.

c. Agree on core social welfare indicators to include in cash transfer evaluations.

A research agenda from Carmona

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