UNICEFs Social Policy Agenda and the Global Study on Child Poverty and Disparities Regional Workshop

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UNICEFs Social Policy Agenda and the Global
Study on Child Poverty and Disparities Regional
Workshop, Panama 1-2 July 2008Gaspar Fajth
Chief, Social Policy and Economic
AnalysesPolicy, Advocacy and Knowledge
Management SectionUNICEF Division of Policy and
Practice, New York
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Themes

• The Context Global challenges and opportunities
• The Context UNICEFs social policy agenda
  2006-2009
• The Global Study on Child Poverty and Disparities
  
• Purpose
• Approach
• Networking and knowledge sharing opportunities
• Schedule
• Feedback so far

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Global challenges and opportunities

• Global trends
• Integration through trade and capital flows
• Rising and/or high inequalities
• Demographic change, migration
• New patterns of economic growth and employment
• Environmental risks, climate change
• Commodity boom/price hikes
• More volatility

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Global challenges and opportunities

• Global opportunities
• The international agenda
• South-led development
• Creating welfare states/inclusive societies in
  the south
• New surveys
• Evidence-based and child-sensitive policy making

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UNICEFs priorities (2006-2009 Strategic Plan)
and the MDGs

• The MDGs
• Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
• Achieve Universal Primary Education
• Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
• Reduce Child Mortality
• Improve Maternal Health
• Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases
• Ensure Environmental Sustainability
• Global Partnership for Development

• UNICEF Priorities (Focus Areas)
• Young child survival and development
• Basic education and gender equality
• HIV/AIDS and children
• Child protection from violence, exploitation and
  abuse
• Policy advocacy and partnerships for childrens
  rights

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Focus Area 5 Policy advocacy and partnerships
for childrens rights 2006-

• Four key result (activity) areas
• collecting data and information
• supporting research and policy analysis
• engaging in advocacy and policy dialogue with
  decision makers
• supporting participation by children and young
  people
• Current thematic agenda
• Child poverty and disparities
• Social protection
• Social budgets
• Decentralization
• Migration
• Legislative reforms for childrens rights

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What do we mean by child poverty?

• UNICEFs SOWC 2005 Child Poverty definition
• Deprivation of resources
• Material
• Spiritual
• Emotional
• Outcome
• Enjoy their rights
• Achieve their full potential
• Participate as equal members of society

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UNICEFs implicit social policy objectives

• Family upbringing
• The right to a family upbringing is realized for
  all children.
• Access to basic social services
• All children have access to basic social
  services (nutrition, WES, health, education,
  protective environment including family
  support/services).
• Equity
• Equity-enhancing mechanism are in place
  (including gender-equity!)
• Protection from risk and adversity
• Children/families/communities are protected from
  and/or empowered to cope with adversity, crises
  and dislocations, including those stemming from
  economic reform, instability of
  income/employment, migration or conflict.
• Participation
• Children/families/communities participate in
  resources allocations, strategic decisions and
  policymaking affecting them.
• Underlying assumption ? current global trends and
  international policy frameworks will be slow or
  ineffective in addressing all these objectives!

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UNICEFs Global Study on Child Poverty and
Disparities

• What is child poverty? How disparities affect
  children?
• How could child poverty and disparities be
  addressed?
• What are the best statistical surveys and methods
  to use?
• How experts in different countries could share
  knowledge ?
• How UNICEF should partner up to promote child
  rights at scales globally?

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Downloadable from www.unicefglobalstudy.blogspot.
com
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The Global Study Guide
Note Flexibility and adaptation to local context
encouraged!
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A three-part approach to child poverty
C
A

• Model A. Child poverty overall poverty
• Model B. Child poverty poverty of households
  with children
• OECD children in hholds lt50 of median income
• 4 out of 7 dimensions in Bristols deprivation
  model
• Model C. Child poverty the flip side of
  child well-being
• Bradshaw al. composite indices
• UNICEF IRC Report Card7

B
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Advantages of a three-part approach

• Connects, complements different poverty
  conceptualizations from a child perspective
• Considers the many actors and influences that
  simultaneously impact a childs life
• Thinks multisectorally - how do policies and
  trends at different levels interact?

A national/macro
C individual child
A-C
C-B
B household/ micro
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Links to multidimensional poverty concepts
income

• Money-metric poverty concepts suggest divisive
  strategy
• Income deprivations more cohesive approach?

Non-poor
poor
population
income
Child Poverty in Rich Countries (UNICEF IRC
2007) 1. Material well-being 2. Health and
safety 3. Peer and family relationships 4.
Subjective well-being 5. Behavior and risk
population
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Country Analysis Outline

• Overview
• Part One Children Development
• 1.1 Children, poverty and disparities
• 1.2 The political, economic and institutional
  context
• 1.3 Macroeconomic strategies and resources
  allocation
• Part Two Poverty and Children
• 2.1 Income poverty and deprivations affecting
  children
• 2.2 Child survival and equity
• 2.3 Causal analysis what factors explain the
  levels and trends in poverty?
• Part Three The Pillars of Child Wellbeing
• 3.1 Nutrition
• 3.2 Health
• 3.3 Child protection
• 3.4 Education
• 3.5 Social Protection

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POLICY Template
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Statistical Template example (Part Three)
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Milestones in the Global Study

• Detailed guide with templates September 2007
• Country report plans, including advocacy
• Regional meetings early 2008
• Country analyses first drafts Summer 2008
• Global training on policy analysis (Univ of
  Southampton)
• Peer review, hands-on trainings Summer/Autumn
  2008
• Country reports, use and follow up open ended
• Regional and global analyses are also being
  planned

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Child Poverty Network
child-poverty_at_groups.dev-nets.org
43 Participating Countries with a network of over
200 members Government Ministries - National
Statistics Offices - Academia Think tanks NGOs
- UN Agencies - UNICEF
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What the Global Study could achieve

• IDEAS Explore child poverty as a
  multidimensional concept and change the way
  policymakers think about poverty
• AWARENESS AND ACTION Explore the way poverty and
  disparities impact on children lives in different
  countries and show how it could be addressed
• STATISTICS Make a better use of child/women
  centered statistical surveys and show gaps in
  information and knowledge
• CAPACITY AND NETWOKING Create a global network
  of experts and facilitate knowledge sharing and
  capacity building
• UNICEF AND PARTNERS Bring together UNICEFs
  social policy persons and change the we partner
  up to promote child rights

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THANK YOU!
?
Help desk email globalstudycpd_at_unicef.org
Global Study Blog web http//www.unicefglobalstud
y.blogspot.com/
Child Poverty Network email/web/face-to-face
child-poverty_at_dev-nets.org
Contactfocal point HQ Sharmila Kurukulasuriya
(skurukulasuriya_at_unicef.org)