Integrated Social Protection Systems:
    Enhancing Equity for Children




                                   1
Key Messages
               • Social protection strengthens resilience
                 and helps achieve greater equity
               • UNICEF supports Progressive
                 Realization of Universal Coverage
               • Social protection can be affordable and
                 sustainably financed
               • UNICEF promotes integrated social
                 protection systems
               • Social, as well as economic,
                 vulnerabilities need to be addressed
                 by social protection
               • Starting point for a collaborative
                 agenda on joint learning and action
Three Key Principles


  • Progressive realization
    of universal coverage

  • National systems and
    leadership

  • Inclusive social
    protection
Social protection components and examples

                  Cash transfers (including pensions, child benefits, poverty-targeted, seasonal)
     Social       Food transfers
   Transfers
                  Nutritional supplementation; Provision of ARVs
                  Public works

                        Birth registration
                        User fee abolition
         Programs to
             access     Health insurance
            services    Exemptions, vouchers, subsidies
                        Specialized services to ensure equitable access for all

                         Family support services
           Suppor
            t and        Home-based care
             care        Accessible Childcare services


                  Minimum and equal pay legislation
                  Employment guarantee schemes
   Legislation
                  Maternity and paternity leave
                  Removal of discriminatory legislation or policies affecting service provision/access or
                  employment
Multi-sector Approach
Identifies and maximizes linkages between SP and sectors
 - child protection, HIV/AIDS, ECD, education, health & nutrition, WASH, etc.


                             Children survive, develop and thrive




Social Inclusion   Equitable access   Equitable access to       Behavior      Supply of
                     to services       goods/resources      patterns/change    services



                      Social Protection

         Direct impact: Contributes to removing         Indirect impact: Fosters improvements
                   barriers to access                      in supply and quality of services;
                                                             contributes behavior change
Key Policy Issues & Challenges

 • Financing (costing, financing and affordability)
 • Politics of Social Protection: the elephant in
   MENA – fuel subsidies
 • Sequencing and Prioritization: the lens of
   multiple, overlapping deprivations
 • Institutional Capacity: the lesson from Iran
SP reform, financing and targeting


  • How to scale up in fiscally constrained
    environments?
    – Social protection financing
    – Sequencing and prioritization
Revenues are expected to decline, with
financing tightening in some countries
Illustration of Options for Expanding Fiscal Space and Government Fiscal Operations
              (in percent of GDP, 2011 proj.)
                                                 Jordan     Yemen
              Total revenues and grants            23.3       26.8
                 Tax revenues                      22.1       25.6    Increasing tax revenues
                 Grants (ODA)                       1.2         1.2   Increased aid and transfers

              Total expenditures                28.8        32.4    Re-allocating public expenditures
Next period    Current expenditure              23.6        25.7
                 Wage                           13.0         8.9
                 Subsidies and transfer          6.6        11.2
                 Interest payments               0.2         0.2

              Capital expenditure                 4.9        6.7

              Fiscal deficit                     -5.5       -5.6    A more accommodating macro framework

              Financing                          -5.5        5.6
                Fiscal reserves                                     Drawing down reserves
                Net borrowing                                       Borrowing or restructuring debt
                  Net domestic borrowing
                    Central bank financing
                  Net foreign borrowing
                    Commercial
                    Official (ODA)

              Financing gap                         0          0
Military expenditure (2009) in selected countries
Government External Bonds
(net flows, in billions of current US$)
How UNICEF can help

  • Technical assistance to government in strengthening or reform
    of current systems to enhance impact on vulnerable children
    and their families – e.g. addressing inclusion and exclusion
    errors in coverage;
  • Support to the integration of social protection with other
    support and protective services (social workers, community
    services), to reach the excluded children and families
  • Technical advice on improving cost-effectiveness and
    efficiency of interventions
  • Help strengthen monitoring and evaluation (M&E)
    mechanisms and redress procedures;
  • Promoting exchange of experiences with other countries in
    similar settings as well as South-South learning.
UNICEF Social Protection Work
               an overview
           Show and Tell on Social Protection
                     Bonn, 2011



www.unicef.org/socialprotection/framework/

Integrated Social Protection Systems: Enhancing Equity for Children

  • 1.
    Integrated Social ProtectionSystems: Enhancing Equity for Children 1
  • 2.
    Key Messages • Social protection strengthens resilience and helps achieve greater equity • UNICEF supports Progressive Realization of Universal Coverage • Social protection can be affordable and sustainably financed • UNICEF promotes integrated social protection systems • Social, as well as economic, vulnerabilities need to be addressed by social protection • Starting point for a collaborative agenda on joint learning and action
  • 3.
    Three Key Principles • Progressive realization of universal coverage • National systems and leadership • Inclusive social protection
  • 4.
    Social protection componentsand examples Cash transfers (including pensions, child benefits, poverty-targeted, seasonal) Social Food transfers Transfers Nutritional supplementation; Provision of ARVs Public works Birth registration User fee abolition Programs to access Health insurance services Exemptions, vouchers, subsidies Specialized services to ensure equitable access for all Family support services Suppor t and Home-based care care Accessible Childcare services Minimum and equal pay legislation Employment guarantee schemes Legislation Maternity and paternity leave Removal of discriminatory legislation or policies affecting service provision/access or employment
  • 5.
    Multi-sector Approach Identifies andmaximizes linkages between SP and sectors - child protection, HIV/AIDS, ECD, education, health & nutrition, WASH, etc. Children survive, develop and thrive Social Inclusion Equitable access Equitable access to Behavior Supply of to services goods/resources patterns/change services Social Protection Direct impact: Contributes to removing Indirect impact: Fosters improvements barriers to access in supply and quality of services; contributes behavior change
  • 7.
    Key Policy Issues& Challenges • Financing (costing, financing and affordability) • Politics of Social Protection: the elephant in MENA – fuel subsidies • Sequencing and Prioritization: the lens of multiple, overlapping deprivations • Institutional Capacity: the lesson from Iran
  • 8.
    SP reform, financingand targeting • How to scale up in fiscally constrained environments? – Social protection financing – Sequencing and prioritization
  • 9.
    Revenues are expectedto decline, with financing tightening in some countries
  • 10.
    Illustration of Optionsfor Expanding Fiscal Space and Government Fiscal Operations (in percent of GDP, 2011 proj.) Jordan Yemen Total revenues and grants 23.3 26.8 Tax revenues 22.1 25.6 Increasing tax revenues Grants (ODA) 1.2 1.2 Increased aid and transfers Total expenditures 28.8 32.4 Re-allocating public expenditures Next period Current expenditure 23.6 25.7 Wage 13.0 8.9 Subsidies and transfer 6.6 11.2 Interest payments 0.2 0.2 Capital expenditure 4.9 6.7 Fiscal deficit -5.5 -5.6 A more accommodating macro framework Financing -5.5 5.6 Fiscal reserves Drawing down reserves Net borrowing Borrowing or restructuring debt Net domestic borrowing Central bank financing Net foreign borrowing Commercial Official (ODA) Financing gap 0 0
  • 11.
    Military expenditure (2009)in selected countries
  • 12.
    Government External Bonds (netflows, in billions of current US$)
  • 13.
    How UNICEF canhelp • Technical assistance to government in strengthening or reform of current systems to enhance impact on vulnerable children and their families – e.g. addressing inclusion and exclusion errors in coverage; • Support to the integration of social protection with other support and protective services (social workers, community services), to reach the excluded children and families • Technical advice on improving cost-effectiveness and efficiency of interventions • Help strengthen monitoring and evaluation (M&E) mechanisms and redress procedures; • Promoting exchange of experiences with other countries in similar settings as well as South-South learning.
  • 14.
    UNICEF Social ProtectionWork an overview Show and Tell on Social Protection Bonn, 2011 www.unicef.org/socialprotection/framework/

Editor's Notes

  • #3 - Social protection plays a vital role in strengthening the resilience of children, families and communities, achieving greater equity, and sup- porting national human and economic development. Its relevance is heightened in the face of persistent inequalities and recent trends. - Expansion of social protection coverage is critical. UNICEF supports Progressive Realization of Universal Coverage, helping countries identify and progressively expand programmes and policies most conducive to achieving universality, while also recognizing countries’ different capacities and contexts.- Social protection programmes can be affordable and sustainably financed. Long-term national financing strategies should be identified and implemented to protect and expand expenditure on effective social protection programmalso political choices.- UNICEF promotes the development and strengthening of integrated social protection systems, which take a multi-sector approach and invest in sustainable national systems in order to more effectively and efficiently address the multiple vulnerabilities faced by children and their families. - Social, as well as economic, vulnerabilities need to be addressed by social protection. This requires mainstreaming social inclusion into social protection programmes and using a broader range of social protection instruments.- UNICEF puts forth this Framework as a starting point for a collaborative agenda with partners on joint learning and action, in order to maximize the potential of social protection for furthering children’s rights and well- being and for achieving equitable and sustainable social protection systems for all.
  • #4 Caveat
  • #9 Universal Declaration on Human Right (Eg: Article 25)The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989, has been signed by 194 countries, including all but two UN members. (Eg: Article, 26, and others)
  • #13 Progressive realization of universal access to social protectionIn recognition of the different abilities – in terms of financing and capacity- of states to provide universal access, UNICEF aims to work with states to adopt strategies which build towards universal access over timeNational systems and context specificitySupport nationally-owned and led systems, as well as support the identification of the most effective and appropriate mix of interventions given context-specific vulnerabilities, national priorities, and capacity. Inclusive social protectionSupport an inclusive mainstreaming approach which recognizes the different vulnerabilities faced by children, particularly from vulnerable and excluded groups such as girls, indigenous peoples, and people with disabilities, and their specific needs
  • #14 Social Transfers: Predictable direct transfers to individuals or households to protect them from the impacts of shocks and support the accumulation of human, productive and financial assets Programs to ensure access to services: Social protection interventions that reduce the financial and social barriers households face when accessing social services Social support and care services: Human resource-intensive services that help identify and reduce vulnerability and exclusion, particularly at the child and household levelLegislation and Policy Reform: Changes to policies/legislation in order to remove inequalities in access to services or livelihoods/economic opportunities, there by helping to address issues of discrimination and exclusion
  • #16 eg: disability testing process to become eligible for benefits)Extra costs linked with disability : specialized supplies, medical services, etc.
  • #21 In this context, Framework calls for an integrated social protection systems, to address the multiple and compounding vulnerabilites faced by children and their families.
  • #25 Source: Piron Laure-Helene (2004) “Rights-based approaches to Social Protection” ODI. Source: Regalia 2007; Samson IDS training session on M&E
  • #26 Direct impact: Social protection can contribute to remove barriers – social and economic – to access and use of services and essential goods/resourcesIndirect impact: Social protection can foster improvements in supply of quality and pertinent services as well as contribute to changes in behavior
  • #29 Social protection systems can be sustainably financed. Affordability and financing are not only technical questions but also political choices.Framework shows how (i) investment in social protection and children can result in positive immediate and long-term economic and social returns; and (ii) fiscal space for social protection exists even in very poor countries. Relevant question is where and how resources should be spent to maximum benefit and what long-term financing strategies are feasible for progressive expansion of coverage. Issues to consider: cost-benefit analyses of social protection programmes vis-à-vis other policy options and short-term effects of social protection as well as its indirect and long-term impacts. Domestic and international financing options available to countries include raising domestic tax revenues, reallocating public expenditure, and using international assistance. The political, administrative and fiscal feasibility and relevance of different financing options will vary ancountry’s context.
  • #32 Proposal on collaboration: a starting point for further dialogue
  • #35 Examples of social vulnerability include:Intra-household inequality in access, control and ownership of resources; information and access to servicesLimited respect to children’s rightsLack of family support or careLow social status. Weal social networksDiscrimination and social exclusion of particular groups due to gender, age, ethnicity, disability, HIV status, etc.
  • #36 PEF, defined in 2002; included in 2008 UNICEF’s Strategy on Child Protection Basic and targeted services, as one of the elements of the PEFSocial Protection contributes to remove barriers to access social servicesStrategy to reduce children’s exposure to harm by accelerating actions that strengthen the protective environment for children in all settings. The Protective environment is achieved by:Building child protection systems: a set of laws, policies, regulations and services, capacities, monitoring, and oversight needed across all social sectors—especially social welfare, education, health, security, and justice—to prevent and respond to protection-related risksSupport social change ; address discriminatory social norms which underlie many forms of of violence, exploitation and abuseSocial protection can be part/integrated into these processes, and thus help enhance child protection outcomes‘web’ of interconnected elements that create layers of safety nets and ensure appropriate responses when needed.Social protection plays a role in different components of PEF
  • #38 Social protection systems can be sustainably financed. Affordability and financing are not only technical questions but also political choices.Framework shows how (i) investment in social protection and children can result in positive immediate and long-term economic and social returns; and (ii) fiscal space for social protection exists even in very poor countries. Relevant question is where and how resources should be spent to maximum benefit and what long-term financing strategies are feasible for progressive expansion of coverage. Issues to consider: cost-benefit analyses of social protection programmes vis-à-vis other policy options and short-term effects of social protection as well as its indirect and long-term impacts. Domestic and international financing options available to countries include raising domestic tax revenues, reallocating public expenditure, and using international assistance. The political, administrative and fiscal feasibility and relevance of different financing options will vary ancountry’s context.
  • #44 The design and implementation of social protection programmes and policies entail prioritizing investments and developing the most appropriate sequence to reach desired objectives and long-term goals. The choice of strategies and building blocks will depend on national social protection objectives and current political and institutional context. UNICEF supports countries considering putting in place a national Social Protection Floor – guaranteeing access to essential services and social transfers – as an initial step. Selection of the most appropriate programmes should be based on assessments of poverty and vulnerability, institutional capacity and existing programme evaluations.