Child and Gender Sensitive Social Protection
Reform in Barbados and the OECS
Lessons Learned and Way Forward
Violet Speek-Warnery
Deputy Representative, UNICEF Office for the Eastern Caribbean Area
Barbados - 26 September, 2013
Outline of Presentation
 Background
 Evidence based advocacy
 Social Protection Reform
 Critical Issues
 Way Forward
Background
Background
UNICEF covers 12
Countries in the Eastern
Caribbean, social
protection work focus is in:
1.
Grenada
2.
St. Lucia
3.
St. Kitts and Nevis
4.
Dominica
5.
St. Vincent & Grenadines
6.
Antigua and Barbuda
Evidence Based Advocacy
UNICEF engagement with governments, UN agencies,
multilateral ad bilateral donors on social protection
reform since 2008.
Since 2008 UNICEF is engaged with evidence based
advocacy with policy makers and key stakeholders in
Barbados and the OECS Countries
– Child Poverty in the Eastern Caribbean 2008
– Social Budgeting in the OECS (SIDS Paper Series)
Evidence Based Advocacy
2009/2010 – Economic Crisis
Partnership with World Bank, UN Women and OECS Secretariat
Country Level Social Safety Net Assessments
– St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St, Kitts and Nevis,
Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda
– Effectiveness and efficiency of the countries’ current safety net
systems,
– highlighted the lack of focus on the poor and on children,
– Consolidation and rationalization of existing social assistance policies
and administrations - key priority for reform.
Social Protection Reform
Regional Capacity Building (WB, CDB, UN Women, OECS, UNICEF)
Workshops for the Eastern Caribbean countries to support the social
protection policy development and reform process.
– Training workshop on Targeting – 2010
– Training workshop on social protection policy making – 2010
– Training workshop on central registry system/management
information system – 2011
South-South Cooperation
– Exchange programme to Jamaica – PATH Programme
• Knowledge Management:
– Inter-Agency Newsletter on Social Protection in the Eastern
Caribbean
Social Protection Reform
Social Protection Reform
Country-led Social Protection Reform Initiatives
St. Kitts and Nevis:
– National Social Protection Strategy (UNICEF and UN Women)
– MEND Programme, Capacity Building in M&E (UNICEF and UN
Women)
– EU budget support for social protection reform (EU)
St. Lucia:
– National Social Protection Policy (On-going) (UNICEF and UN
Women)
– Reforming Social Assistance Programme (UNICEF and UN Women)
– Koudmen Sent Lisi Evaluation (UNICEF)
Social Protection Reform
Grenada:
– National Social Safety Net Policy Framework (UNICEF and UN
Women)
– Consolidation of cash transfers programmes (WB)
Dominica:
– Consolidation of cash transfers programmes (WB)
– Challenges in implementation of the reform initiatives
Antigua and Barbuda:
– Consolidation of cash transfers programmes (WB) Starting
2013
Social Protection Reform
Eastern Caribbean Partnership Group on Poverty
(UN Women and UNICEF)
• EC Social Protection Newsletter
• Coordination of partners’ support to the national child and
gender-sensitive social protection reforms– ie. joint mission, development of an operational strategy for social
protection; reformulation of the proxy means test; development of a
national beneficiary information system; and cash transfer system
implementation.
Way Forward
Principles of Child Sensitive Social Protection
1. Avoid adverse impacts on children, and reduce or
mitigate social and economic risks affect children
2. Intervene as early as possible where children are at risk
3. Consider the age and gender specific risks and
vulnerabilities of children
4. Mitigate the effects of shocks, exclusion and poverty
on families
5. Make special provision to reach children who are
particularly disadvantaged and excluded
6. Consider intra-household dynamics, with particular
attention paid to the balance of power between men
and women
7. Include the voices and opinions of children, their
caregivers and youth in the understanding and design
UN Joint Programme
Enhancing Equity:
Ensuring a Social Protection Floor for Poor and
Disadvantaged Women, Men, Girls and Boys in
Barbados and the OECS
2013- 2015
UNDAF Outcome Group # 3 on Social Protection and Poverty Reduction
UNICEF, UN Women, UNDP, ILO, FAO
Social Protection Floor
The Social Protection Floor promotes a two-dimensional strategy for the extension
of social security, comprising a basic set of social guarantees:
•
•
•
•
•
Child Benefit
Unemployment Protection
Old Age/Invalidity Benefits
Disability
Health
Critical Areas
Continue to support national child and gender responsive social
protection reform processes in Barbados and OECS.
• Strengthen legal and policy frameworks
• Strengthen existing programmes and schemes with particular focus on
consolidation and harmonization of public cash-transfer programmes
with a Puente-like component for indigent poor households
• Establish linkages and coherence between social programmes; social
assistance, health, pensions, education, nutrition, housing,
employment, labour market programmes, gender equity, gender-based
violence and child protection.
• Expand on access to services among disadvantaged children and
adolescents (health, education, ECD).
Critical Areas
• Working poor- decent employment and entrepreneurship to
prevent poverty and protection against social risks.
• Reformulate active labour market programs: promote active
labour market policies and programmes and/or rationalization of
existing programmes within an integrated social protection
framework. Combining of ALM programmes with income
replacement functions, where appropriate as well as assistance
and incentives that promote participation in the formal labour
market and promote school to work transition among adolescent
and youth.
Critical Areas
• Capacity building of government and civil society professionals in
human-rights based monitoring and evaluation systems for social
protection and in the core social services areas.
• Consolidating on existing research and assessment (country and
sub-regional level) and provide evidence (Social Protection and
Expenditure Review and Social Budget Analysis) for Barbados and
OECS.
• Fiscal Space and Costing for Social Protection Floor in Barbados
and OECS
• Advocacy and assistance for implementation of select social
protection floor guarantees in Barbados and the OECS
Key Challenges
Politics of Social
Protection
From Social Safety
Net System Reform
to Social
Protection Floor
Sustainable
Financing models
of Gender and
Child Sensitive
Social Protection
Systems
Measurement
of social
protection
coverage disadvantaged
household
gradual
supported out
of poverty!
Thank You!