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UNICEF’s Social Protection

Programme Framework

Outline

1.Overview

2.UNICEF’s Approach to Social Protection

3.Elements of a child-sensitive social protection system

4.UNICEF's key action areas in building child sensitive

social protection systems

Overview

• Child poverty is shockingly high, and risks to children are growing

• Social protection has broad and deep impacts, but coverage remains far too low

• The new framework aims to help UNICEF and partners work effectively to expand coverage

• Globally, 385 million children, or 1 in 5

are still struggling to survive on less than

PPP $1.90. More than 1 billion children

are living on below $3.10

• For children poverty is about much more

than income, and 663 million children are

estimated to be living in

multidimensionally poor households

• Children are significantly overrepresented

in poverty, with devastating impacts on

children themselves and societies more

broadly.

The state of child poverty and key global trends

The state of child poverty and key global trends

Global trends are bringing growing challenges

Climate breakdown Demographic shifts

Social protection must be designed to respond to key ‘macro’ trends that are having, and will continue to

have, profound impacts on children and families

Global trends are bringing growing challenges

Conflict and forced displacement Urbanization

The impacts of social protection on children’s lives

Social protection is designed to address chronic poverty and respond to shocks.

Evidence shows the significant impacts across sectors.

Social protection is a standalone target under SDG1, as well as accelerator towards achieving all SDGs.

Gaps in social protection coverage for children and families

2 out of 3 children are not covered by social protection across countries, and the coverage is lowest where child poverty is highest.

Social protection financing

On average, countries spend 1.1% of their GDP on child benefits, but more and better financing is needed to ensure coverage, access and quality.

UNICEF’s strengths in social protection

• Extensive on the ground experience and presence

• Holistic (and multisectoral) focus on children

• Support to integrated systems beyond a child focus

• A trusted partner

• Bridging the humanitarian and development gap

• Conceptual framework for

child-sensitive social

protection

• Impacts of social protection

• The elements of a child

sensitive social protection

system

• UNICEFs 10 Action areas

UNICEF’s new Social Protection Programme Framework and Companion GuidanceThe Social Protection Framework

• Detailed activities, tools

and resources for each

of UNICEF’s 10 Action

areas

• Country examples by

Action Area

The Companion Guidance

What continues from the original framework:

• Focus on child poverty and vulnerability

• Based on the principles of government leadership,

human rights and progressive realization of universal

coverage through integrated systems

What’s new in this framework?

What's new:

• Updated conceptual framework and shared definition• Comprehensive breakdown of a child sensitive social

protection system; • Integration of shock responsive social protection• UNICEF's 10 key action areas of work• Collection of tools and resources by action area.

2012 Framework 2019 Framework

UNICEF’s approach to social protection

• Our principles

• A shared definition

• The conceptual framework

Four principles that guide UNICEF’s approach to social protection

1. The best interests of the child 2. Progressive realization of

universal coverage 3. National systems and leadership 4. Inclusive social protection

© UNICEF/UN0309454/Tadesse

Inter-agency definition of social protection.

Social protection is “a set of policies and programs aimed at

preventing or protecting all people against poverty, vulnerability

and social exclusion throughout their lifecycle, with a particular

emphasis towards vulnerable groups.

• Economic vulnerability: About 45 per cent of all children –or 1 billion – are living in households subsisting on less than $3.10 a day.

• Social vulnerability: Children and families can also face social vulnerabilities due to how personal characteristics ranging from age to gender to disability status interact with social dynamics and discrimination.

Social protection: addressing economic and social vulnerability

Child-sensitive social protection systems must be designed to address child poverty and deprivation and with a special focus on those that are economically and socially vulnerable

The conceptual foundations of UNICEF’s approach to social protection

The elements of a child-sensitive social protection system

• What does a child sensitive social protection system look like?

• Social protection across the life course

• Social protection from a child’s perspective

The elements of an integrated child sensitive social protection systems

Life course approach to social protection

What child-sensitive social protection system should offer every child?

Every child should:1. Live in a household with sufficient

financial resources to develop and fulfil their potential

2. Have access to quality basic services and the knowledge needed for development, regardless of income or personal characteristics

3. Have direct contact with a social or outreach worker when needed, who can help support the responses they need

UNICEF’s key action areas in building child-sensitive social protection systems

• UNICEF’s 10 areas of contribution with partners in supporting child sensitive social protection system

• Some caveats!

• Our strategic plan commitments and indicators

UNICEF’s 10 Action Areasin supporting national social protection systems

Action areas 1,2

Action areas

3,4,5,6,7

Action areas 8,9,10

Caveats on UNICEF’s engagement on social protection

1. A suggestion, not a prescription2. It’s not all or nothing. 3. Different areas of work are at different stages of maturity. 4. Social protection, and who works on it, can have blurry

edges.

Annexes

• Social protection approaches of UN agencies, international financial institutions, development and civil-society partners

• UNICEF’s Strategic Plan goals and indicators for social protection

• Glossary

The Social Protection Framework

Companion guidance

• UNICEF’s action areas in supporting child-sensitive social protection systems

• Activities and examples by action area• Tools and resources by key action area• Social protection and the sectors• Conditionality in cash transfers: UNICEF’s approach• Integrating gender into social protection programming: an

emerging approach• M&E framework for UNICEF’s work on social protection and

organizational leads

UNICEF's commitments on Social Protection

Selected strategic plan indicators (2018-2021):

• 90 countries with nationally owned monetary child poverty measures (from 47 in 2016);

• 32 countries where policies and programme are responding to child poverty (from 16 in 2016)

• 56 countries with moderately strong or strong social protection systems (from 28 in 2016)

• 30 countries with national cash transfers programmes that are ready to respond to crisis (from 8 in 2016)

Communication products

• Web page• The framework and the companion guide• Executive summaries: EN, FR, ES, AR, RU• Slide deck (can be downloaded and

edited)• Social media pack with suggested

messages and cards• Infographics• ED’s video• Blog post• Explainer article: 5 things you should

know on social protection for children

Social protection is the right of every child.

We have the tools and resources to build, strengthen and expand social protection for children – together we can provide every child with coverage and give every child an equal chance.

Towards coverage for every child

Email: David Stewart dstewart@unicef.org; Atif Khurshid akhurshid@unicef.orgTwitter: twitter.com/UNICEFSocPolicy

UNICEF Social Policy

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Extra slides

UNICEF’s activities and examples by action area

Action area 1: Child poverty analysis, impact evaluation and systems assessments

Example: Child poverty analysis and the national cash transfer programme in Georgia

© UNICEF Georgia/2016/Khetaguri

• In 2015, Georgia introduced a child benefit scheme• The advocacy efforts were supported by child

poverty analysis, impact evaluations, and simulation of various policy options

• Regular monitoring and in depth assessments for performance improvement led to five-fold increase in the benefit amount, covering over 130,000 children

UNICEF’s activities and examples by action area

Action area 2: Policy and strategy development, coordination and financing

Example: Micro-simulation to demonstrate universal child benefit (UCB) cost-efficiency and impact on poverty in Tunisia

• UNICEF has been supporting the Tunisian government to establish social protection floor (SPF) with a child focus

• Together with partners, UNICEF assessed the feasibility of introducing Universal Child Benefits (UCB) through conducting microsimulations, cost effectiveness, benefit incidence and fiscal feasibility analysis.

• The study found UCB to be both more progressive and efficient than fuel subsidies, providing an evidence based solution to the government.

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UNICEF’s activities and examples by action area

Action area 3: Expanding and improving cash transfers for children

Example: Engaging in budget frameworks to expand cash transfers in Zambia

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• Zambia’s social cash transfer scheme covers 8% of the population, reaching ~240K households

• UNICEF engaged in advocacy for increased budget allocation for the programme, developing caseload and budget projections, conducting high level consultations, and launching budget briefs and impact evaluations

• As a result of these efforts, the allocated annual budget for the scheme increased from US$30.2 million in 2016 to US$55.2 million in 2017.

UNICEF’s activities and examples by action area

Action area 4: Connecting cash transfers to information, knowledge and services

Example: Cash plus (integrated social protection) model on adolescent transitions in Tanzania

© UNICEF/UN0236708/Schermbrucker

• In Tanzania, more than 17.5 million people are youth ages 15-34 – a number that’s expected to double by 2035

• To support adolescent development, and address poverty related risks youth face including lack of livelihood opportunities, UNICEF helped expand the Productive Social Safety Net Programme with adolescent targeted interventions

• The additional package to the cash transfer scheme includes training on business and entrepreneurship

© UNICEF Tanzania

UNICEF’s activities and examples by action area

Action area 5: Expanding and improving health insurance

Example: Expansion of non-contributory health insurance for poor households in Mali

© UNICEF/UN0342204/Keïta

• In Mali, only 23% of children under 5 are taken to a healthcare provider when sick with pneumonia

• To address this gap in healthcare access, UNICEF became the first partner to support the Régime d’AssistanceMédicale (RAMED)– a non contributory health insurance programme

• Besides technical, coordination and logistical support for the government, UNICEF helped develop a single registry system to strengthen integration of RAMED with other social protection programmes

UNICEF’s activities and examples by action area

Action area 6: Supporting childcare and adolescent employability

Example: Quality informal apprenticeships for vulnerable out-of-school adolescents in Bangladesh

© UNICEF/UN044288/Sujan

• More than half of 31 million Bangladeshi youth are employed in vulnerable jobs, and over one million are unemployed

• UNICEF has partnered with BRAC to improve adolescent transition to work, providing apprenticeship trainings and other support

• Over 95% of the participants became employed after graduation, increasing their income six fold compared to non participant peers. Early marriage decreased by 62% among female learners.

UNICEF’s activities and examples by action area

Action area 7: Strengthening the social welfare workforce and direct outreach to families

Example: a case-management approach to address multidimensional poverty in The State of Palestine

© UNICEF State of Palestine

• Poverty affects around 29% of the population in the State of Palestine (SoP), particularly in Gaza

• UNICEF and WFP supported the government to design a new six-year Social Development Sector Strategy –including the introduction of case management system

• Under the system, a case worker assesses and identifies the need of poor and vulnerable families, to customize the care and support to the household, with the ultimate aim to improve access, quality and coverage of social protection

UNICEF’s activities and examples by action area

Action area 8: Strengthening integrated administrative systems

Example: Developing a Management Information System (MIS) for the government cash transfer programme in Iraq

• In Iraq, around 22.5% of the population live in poverty, while 11 million were in need of humanitarian assistance.

• To reach prospective beneficiaries, UNICEF and World Bank, together with the government, introduced a case identification and referral approach as part of a pilot cash transfer programme

• A central piece of this approach was the MIS, that brought beneficiaries, social workers and health care providers together through a user-friendly platform to follow up and identify cases that need additional support.

UNICEF’s activities and examples by action area

Action area 9: Building and strengthening national shock-responsive social protection systems

Example: Establishing a shock-responsive social protection system in Malawi

© UNICEF/UN0148920/Chagara

• In Malawi, over 50% of the population live in poverty, and the country faces seasonal dry spells that threatens livelihood of the most vulnerable

• To strengthen shock responsiveness of the social protection system, UNICEF supported the government to expand Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) in response to crisis

• In 2018, SCTP was expanded to reach over 16,000 individuals (including 9,000 children) living in drought-affected areas through emergency cash top-ups

UNICEF’s activities and examples by action area

Action area 10: Linking humanitarian cash transfers to social protection systems

Example: Delivering a multi-purpose child grant through the Public Assistance Programme in Dominica

• As part of the Hurricane Maria response, UNICEF and WFP partnered with the Government to design a humanitarian cash transfer (HCT) programme

• Using the existing social protection system platform, an unconditional cash transfer was delivered to almost 25,000 people (of which 6000 are children)

• The programme was scaled up both horizontally and vertically:reaching out to crisis-affected population who were not registered in the system and providing additional assistance to the existing beneficiaries.

© UNICEF/UN0156188/Moreno Gonzalez

Social protection has significant potential to contribute to tackling gender inequality – a prerequisite for sustainable and equitable poverty reduction for all, including children. UNICEF, together with partners, works to contribute to gender-responsive social protection at different stages of the life course with two clear objectives:

Through supporting cash transfer, child benefit programmes and improved access to quality social services

Through supporting access to maternal and paternal benefits, child care services, and increasing information and knowledge on gender inequity issues

Reducing gender disparities in human capital development

Enhancing opportunities for women’s economic participation

UNICEF’s approach: Gender and social protection

Integrated approaches to social protection also enable and strengthen links to a range of other services that can address gender inequality – for example, connections with the social welfare workforce can extend support services to protect women from violence.

Effective and inclusive social protection is crucial in addressing various challenges faced by children with disabilities, including financial barriers.

A twin track approach must be employed to address these risks, inequalities and obstacles:• Ensure inclusion throughout the design,

implementation and monitoring of social protection programmes

• Develop disability-specific programmes

Furthermore, all social protection programming should include the following considerations:

1. Non-discrimination and accessibility. 2. Respect for dignity and personal

autonomy3. Full and effective participation and

inclusion. 4. Consultation and involvement of

persons with disabilities. 5. Attitudes and awareness. 6. Adequacy of benefits and support. 7. Eligibility criteria and disability

assessments. 8. Monitoring and evaluation.

UNICEF’s approach: Disability and social protection

UNICEF’s approach: Conditionality in cash transfers

UNICEF does not actively promote the use of conditions in its support to governments developing or reforming cash transfer programmes, in light of human rights and operational concerns and insufficient evidence of the added value of conditionalities. UNICEF’s application of this approach is context specific and is led by national priorities.

To address non-income related barriers and constraints to realizing children’s rights, UNICEF promotes and supports:• Clear, accessible communication of programme objectives, operations and participants’

rights, to participants, communities and the general public.• Design and implementation of accompanying training and information, for example on

nutritional information or early childhood development.• Strengthening linkages between cash transfers and social services, and the required supply

response.• Strengthening provision of social support services, including referrals to other social services

and programmes.

For UNICEF, support to delivery is currently the principle area of engagement with the private sector on social protection.

UNICEF’s approach: Social protection and theprivate sector

Provision of social protection is primarily the responsibility of the state and a foundation of the social contract. However, private sector and enterprises have an important role to play in the development of comprehensive, child-sensitive social protection systems:

• As service providers supporting the delivery of national social protection programmes ⁻ By developing payment mechanisms, management information systems and

biometrics for cash transfer programme,among others• As contributors to social protection as employers and as part of supply chains

⁻ For example, by ensuring full compliance with national labor and social security legislation

• Social protection also benefits business. Strong social protection systems provide a conducive environment for the private sector to thrive, ranging from boosting the local economy to supporting social and political stability.

Social protection can play an important role in addressing poverty – a key driver of child labour. While designing social protection programmes to address child labour, the following key considerations should be kept in mind:

Ensure that social protection measures are ‘child-sensitive to child labour’

– addressing the unique social disadvantages, risks and vulnerabilities children may be born into or acquire later in childhood due to external

circumstances.

Develop tools and mechanisms for social protection systems to identify child protection cases

particularly child labour concerns which may require specialized support.

Develop further evidence and research on which social protection instruments help address child labour

and how this varies by context.

Link social protection programmes to support

and promote birth registration and proper identification of household members.

Use evidence on child poverty and child labour

(overlapping deprivation analysis) and analysis of key risks factors of child labour to help design social protection programmes.

Adopt an integrated approach to social protection

by providing income security, access to healthcare through health insurance and by removing financial barriers to education.

UNICEF’s approach: Child labor and social protection