Sous le Haut Patronage de Sa Majesté le Roi Mohammed VI

Les premières Assises Nationales de la Protection Sociale « Ensemble pour un système de protection sociale

intégré et pérenne»

Child-sensitive social protection what is it and why do we need it?

Arthur van Diesen Skhirat, 12-13 novembre 2018

Regional Social Policy AdviserUNICEF - MENA

Child-sensitive social protection what is it and why do we need it?

Arthur van DiesenRegional Social Policy AdviserUNICEF - MENA

Sous le Haut Patronage de Sa Majesté le Roi Mohammed VI

Les premières Assises Nationales de la Protection Sociale Sous le thème

Ensemble pour un système intégré et pérenne de protection sociale Skhirat, 12-13 novembre 2018

Social protection – why does it matter to children?

• Poverty and deprivation in childhood can have life-long consequences

• Children are more likely than adults to experience poverty

• Social protection can break the cycle of poverty by ensuring that children have access to a full range of services and basic necessities, irrespective of poverty status or social identity

UNICEF study on child poverty in 11 Arab States shows that children in rural settings and those with a household head with limited education are significantly more likely to experience poverty

Child-sensitivity – what does it mean in practice?

• The risks and vulnerabilities children face change as they age

• Therefore, social protection measures need to be designed based on an in-depth, age-specific understanding of the risks and deprivation experienced by children as they grow

Age-specific risk and vulnerability:

Lack of nutritious food; Poor access to

health care

Lack of early learning

opportunities

Risk of school drop-out, child labour

Early marriage

Unemployment

Child-sensitive social protection – design features

Child-sensitive design features Examples

Programmes targeting children: programmes explicitly targeting children (including orphans and children with disabilities) in at least one component.

CTs paid only to families with children; individual benefits for children, such as benefits for orphans

Supporting children's access to education: programmes designed to increase children’s access to education

CTs conditional on children’s school attendance; school-related in-kind transfers

Supporting children's access to nutrition: programmes providing food transfers to children, includes programmes targeting lactating or pregnant women

School feeding programmes; food transfers for children or pregnant women

Supporting children's access to health: programmes that explicitly support children’s access to health services, includes programmes targeting lactating or pregnant women

Non-contributory insurances for children; programmes with health-related conditionalities

Benefits which increase w/ number of HH members: cash transfers whose benefit levels increase according to the number of children/members in the HH as well as those thatare paid per child

CTs whose benefit depends on age/ school year of children; benefits for orphans

Assessment of child-sensitive design features in the MENA region

66

38

34

20

11

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Child-sensitive design features of programmes mapped

Supporting children's access to healthSupporting children's access to nutritionBenefits increase w/ nr. of household members/ childrenSupporting children's access to educationProgrammes targeting children

Source: UNICEF/IPC-IG Mapping of non-contributory social protection programmes in MENA

• Out of 117 programmes mapped in the region 66 had at least one child-sensitive design feature. The majority of child-sensitive programmes focus on supporting access to education

• Of particular interest that few programmes target pre-school aged children or late adolescence

General challenges in social protection in MENA affect children as well

• Traditional over-reliance on general subsidies

• Social protection provision is skewed towards those in formal employment

• Programmes often have limited coverage and small benefits

• Targeting is often problematic

• Programmes are often fragmented and lack coordination

Adequacy of all SPL benefits in total population (ASPIRE)

General challenges in social protection in MENA affect children as well

• Traditional over-reliance on general subsidies

• Social protection provision is skewed towards those in formal employment

• Programmes often have limited coverage and small benefits

• Targeting is often problematic

• Programmes are often fragmented and lack coordination

Coverage capacity of selected programmes in MENA (UNICEF/IPC-IG)

Child-sensitive social protection – design issues to consider

Age-specific vulnerabilities and

deprivations

To target or not? If so, how?

Shock-responsiveness

Inclusivity –leaving no-one

behind

Embedding programmes in legal provisions

Mix of social protection and broader policy

measures

Sustainable financing

Thank you!

Comments and questionswelcome

avandiesen@unicef.org