The Government of Kenya (GoK) recognized the need to expand social protection coverage and is gradually adopting a universal approach for children.
The journey started in 2017 during the Kenya Social Protection Sector Review II when there was a long-term proposal of exploring the possibility of establishing a broader child benefit for children aged under 5 years. This was integrated in the draft Kenya Social Protection National Investment Plan 2018 and subsequently the draft Kenya Social Protection Strategy.
In February 2019, the GoK participated in the Universal Child Benefit (UCB) Global conference in Geneva. In June of the same year, a technical working group chaired by the Social Protection Secretariat was formed. In November, a benchmarking study in South Africa and a feasibility study, which included stakeholder consultations, were done.
In May 2020, a policy note on UCB as COVID-19 response was developed which led to the decision to implement a pilot in Kisumu, Kajiado and Embu counties. As of March 2023, the stakeholders have validated a policy proposal on A Universal Child Benefit for Kenya that Leaves No Child Behind.
The Government of Kenya aims to progressively provide universal child benefit to all children. Universal Child Benefit is as an unconditional cash payment on a regular basis to the whole population of children through their primary caregivers. It must be unconditional, paid regularly, and to every child in the country regardless of their family’s income, employment, status or level of need[1].
The rationale for Universal Child Benefit in Kenya is based on the human right that all children have a right to social security. This is enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya and in international instruments of which Kenya is a signatory. Article 26 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) calls on State parties to recognize the right for every child to benefit from social security.
Article 27 further indicates that state parties recognize the right of every child to a standard of living adequate for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development[2]. In addition, Article 43(1) of the Constitution of Kenya states that every person has the right to social security.[3]
A significant number of children in Kenya experience deficiencies in their diets. In 2021, over one quarter of children under five years suffered from chronic malnutrition - a growth failure resulting from a lack of adequate nutrients over a long period. Another 4.2% of the children were affected by acute malnutrition, which concerns a rapid deterioration in the nutritional status over a short period.[4]
Lack of proper diet impacts on a child’s brain development with long term consequences for economic growth. It is estimated that in 2014, child under nutrition caused a loss of 6.9% of GDP (US$ 4.2 billion) in Kenya[5].
The Social Protection systems in Kenya currently exclude a vast majority of children. Poverty targeting excludes children including the poorest who would stand to benefit most from a universal child benefit. For example, the cash transfer to orphans and vulnerable children programme excludes children who need social protection. A universal approach will not have exclusion errors since it covers all children and it will be the most effective.
Most households in Kenya are living on low incomes. Widespread low incomes mean that many families are living precariously. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, shows that 36.1% of Kenyan households are classified as poor with the remaining 63.9% or 30.39 million being non-poor. This means that a third of the non-poor represents 10.02 million, with majority of them being the “floating middle class.”[6]
In Kenya, 42% of children (8.7 million) were living in monetary poverty and an estimated 53% of children (11.1 million) living in multidimensional poverty (KNBS, 2020)[7]. In 2016, 69% of children in Kenya were living in poverty when measured by IPL of US$3.65PPP) per day (KES 187). 94% were living on less than US$6.85 (PPP) per day (KES 351). The universal child benefit as a crucial programme to alleviate the poverty impact among children.
The benefits of the Universal Child Benefit policy proposal include: cash transfers – which can have significant positive impacts on the nutritional health of children; Improved health and education outcomes to strengthen human capital, and; reducing inequality and stimulating growth. Moreover, a child benefit offered to all children would act as a stimulus to support the economy and promote bottom up growth. A universal (or near universal) child benefit approach is also likely to improve social cohesion and strengthen Kenya’s national social contract.
Finally, the proposed child benefit is likely to generate significant impacts on Kenya’s national poverty rate and contribute to higher returns on investments. Investing in children has high economic returns.
[1]https://www.unicef.org/eca/media/13446/file/UCB%20in%20Europe%20and%20Central%20Asia%20English%20.pdf
[2] https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/crc.pdf
[3] http://kenyalaw.org/lex/actview.xql?actid=Const2010
[4] https://www.statista.com/statistics/1227076/extreme-poverty-rate-in-kenya/
[5] http://www.nutritionhealth.or.ke/wp-content/uploads/COHA_Infographics/COHA%20-%20Kenya%20Report%20-%20November%202019.pdf
[6] https://dc.sourceafrica.net/documents/119905-KNBS-Economic-Survey-2020.html
[7] https://www.unicef.org/kenya/media/3051/file/SP%20Nutrition%20case%20study.pdf
The Africa Platform for Social Protection in collaboration with Save the Children, conducted a study on social protection interventions targeting children in East Africa during Covid-19, with the goal of generating evidence for child-sensitive social protection programmes in East Africa during Covid-19. The research provided an understanding of the nature of the Covid-19 emergency interventions and the challenges in implementing them.
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NAIROBI, Kenya: In 2015, Save the Children International (SCI) and the Africa Platform for Social Protection (APSP) came together to build a common understanding of what Child Sensitive Social Protection (CSSP) is and why it is needed.
The two organizations have now developed this guide to support the development, implementation and monitoring of Child Sensitive Social Protection policies, strategies and programmes.
The guide gives an understanding of child-sensitive social protection as “Public policies, programmes and systems that address the specific patterns of children’s poverty and vulnerability, are rights based in approach and recognise the long term developmental benefits of investing in children” (Save the Children, International, 2020).
It reflects on the key steps to be considered in addressing specific needs of children and ensure that children are at the centre of social protection interventions in Africa.
Article 26 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) provides that every child has a right to benefit from social security, including social insurance, and that States shall take necessary measures to achieve the full realization of this right in accordance with national laws.
Further, Article 27 recognizes the right of every child to a standard of living that is adequate for a child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.
The UNCRC also, in Article 32, protects children from economic exploitation and hazardous work. It calls for State parties to put measures in place, including: (a) Provide for a minimum age or minimum ages for admission to employment; (b) Provide for appropriate regulation of the hours and conditions of employment; (c) Provide for appropriate penalties or other sanctions to ensure the effective enforcement of this article.
At the regional level, Article 5 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child provides that every child has an inherent right to life, and that this right shall be protected by law. It further calls on state parties to the Charter to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, the survival, protection and development of the child.
Recognized in the Sustainable Development Goals as a precursor to ending extreme poverty (Goal 1), the International Labour Organisation in its World Social Protection report infers that social protection plays a critical role in improving household incomes, decent work promotion and in achieving the sustainable development goals.
Increasingly, there is an emerging recognition that beyond income poverty, a much larger proportion of children are faced by multidimensional poverty, i.e. affected by more than one type of deprivation relating to education, health, shelter, water and sanitation, hence the need to enhance positive outcomes for children in social protection.
A majority of the 663 million multi-dimensionally poor children live in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, and this is notably split equally between the two regions.
The recent Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI) index, alluded to 63.5 percent of children in Sub-Saharan Africa being multi-dimensionally poor—the highest incidence among all developing regions.
The OPHI report specifically profiles countries such as Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Niger and South Sudan 90 percent or more of children under age 10 are multi-dimensionally poor.
This guide targets policy makers and implementers of social protection programmes, both in government as well as non-state actors who are initiating or strengthening their engagement with Child Sensitive Social Protection Initiatives.
The sole aim is to promote investment in improving the wellbeing of children. Everyone has a right to social security which remains the governments’ responsibility to fulfil.
This responsibility is especially critical to the most vulnerable members of the society including children.
Civil societies and NGOs have a role to complement government efforts through initiating policy development, and supporting policy implementation.
While jointly contributing to the Guide’s Preface, Ian Vale, Regional Director, Save the Children International and Dr. Tavengwa Nhongo Executive Director, Africa Platform for Social protection, said: “This document provides guidance on considerations in the design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of social protection interventions and programmes.
The guide aims at promoting social protection programmes to reach the most marginalised and vulnerable children.
This document does not purport to prescribe a one size fits all model for Child Sensitive Social Protection (CSSP), but offers tested rights based approaches and successful interventions for developing and implementing social protection programmes which are intended to yield positive outcomes for children.
Social protection and child poverty interventions in Africa region differ from one country to another. This document sets the tone for both introspective reflection and evaluation of social protection policies and programmes.
This guide abstains from providing a prescriptive model to child sensitive social protection, but rather provides a menu of options that are relevant to governments, development partners and civil society to begin to engage with CSSP and to advocate for CSSP in a rights based and child sensitive manner.
The processes outlined in this guide are designed to generate knowledge, awareness and recommendations on child sensitive social protection programs and are based on the common understanding of what child sensitive social protection is as described in this document.”
ABOUT THE AFRICA PLATFORM FOR SOCIAL PROTECTION (APSP)
The Africa Platform for Social Protection (APSP) (https://africapsp.org/) is a pan African network of organizations operating at grassroots, national and regional levels, with a commitment to promoting and strengthening the social contract between states and citizens.
To achieve this, the APSP promotes active engagement of National Platforms in the shaping of Social Protection policies, programs, and practices in Africa. APSP has established 27 platforms to engage at the national level.
We are a Pan Africa NGO that works with governments, private sector, development agencies, research institutions and grassroots communities in Africa by designing, testing and delivering appropriate poverty alleviation models to the poor and underserved communities through social protection programs.
We create partnerships with civil society & other organizations to engage with Government & International Development Agencies (IDAs) to develop & Implement innovative social protection strategies & programmes that make a difference in poor and vulnerable households in Africa.
We exist to strengthen civil society engagements with state and non-state actors for effective service delivery in Social Protection.
For more information, please visit: https://africapsp.org/
—
MEDIA OUTLET SYNOPSIS
Smart Africa Media (https://smartcompany.africa/) is a pan-African online media convergence platform, incorporating a Daily Newspaper, Digital TV, and soon to introduce Podcast to amplify pro-development and success stories across Africa and the Diaspora, to inspire investment and growth.
The multimedia outlet is cultivating smart partnerships, correspondences and audiences across Africa and the Diaspora, with a strong emphasis to deliver business and economic stories that are positive, constructive, and empowering.
In the process, we have secured Media Partnerships for the African Energy Chamber’s premier event African Energy Week 2021 (https://aew2021.com/) in Cape Town, South Africa and with the Africa Platform for Social Protection (APSP) (https://africapsp.org/), to amplify Child Sensitive Social Protection Programmes (CSSP) in East and Southern Africa regions.
We also Collaborate with the APO Group (https://apo-opa.com/), to distribute Africa’s related positive news content.
Organized by the National Platform of Civil Society Organizations for Social Protection in Congo.
The Forum of Civil Society Organizations (CSO) for Social Protection in Congo was held from July 8 to 10, 2021 in the Conference Room of the House of the Republic, under the Patronage of Mr. Prefect of the Department of Pointe -Black at the official opening ceremony.
This Forum had the theme: “the commitment of Civil Society to Promote Social Protection in Congo.
The objective of this forum is: to bring Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to a positive commitment for the Promotion of Civil Social Protection in Congo.
Organized by the National Platform for Social Protection in Congo (P.N.P.S.C), this meeting brought together participants from the 10 Departments. However, the departments of Cuvette and Sangha were not represented.
Seventy-six (76) participants followed the forum program (see appendix).
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Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and South Sudan designed emergency interventions to cover children at the height of Covid-19 infections, a study has revealed.
The Africa Platform for Social Protection, in collaboration with Save the Children, conducted a study on social protection interventions targeting children in East Africa during Covid-19, with the goal of generating evidence for child-sensitive social protection programmes in the region, during the pandemic.
The research provided an understanding of the nature of the Covid-19 emergency interventions and the challenges in implementing them. It found that governments in the region, with the support of their development partners, offered alternatives to in-person learning during the school closures.
According to Unicef, South Sudan offered 32,000 solar-powered radios to vulnerable households. The radios helped to reach at least 160,000 children with lessons broadcast by the South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation and Radio Miraya.
In addition to radio, Kenya and Uganda responded by providing instruction to out-of-school children in remote areas through printed learning packages distributed through newspapers, postal service, teachers, and school leaders. According to the World Bank, Uganda distributed about four million learning packages to students within the first two months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Teachers were also trained in identifying and protecting vulnerable children, supporting their re-enrolment and monitoring their re-integration in schools.
According to the study, Covid-19 lockdowns led to loss of parents’ incomes. The global impact of the pandemic also reduced remittances from abroad. In response, states in the EAC set up measures like expansion of the existing social protection schemes to accommodate newly vulnerable groups in addition to other range of measures.
The interventions included conditional and unconditional cash transfers and in-kind social assistance. South Sudan, for instance, launched a three-year $40 million safety nets project funded by the World Bank in April 2020. The project, initially designed to cover 6,500 households in the capital, was increased to benefit 10,000 households.
Before Covid-19, Kenya had an existing cash transfer programme dubbed Inua Jamii, which was giving Ksh2,000 ($19) to one million people monthly. At the onset of the pandemic in April 2020, the Kenyan government expanded the programme with an additional $100 million to benefit older persons, orphans and other vulnerable members of society during the Covid-19 pandemic, adding three million new beneficiaries.
The study further noted that food provision was crucial as it addressed the disruption of supply chains resulting from the lockdowns. Food distribution targeted urban households, which were disproportionately affected by the lockdowns and curfew measures. For example, Uganda distributed food to 1.5 million vulnerable persons in urban areas. Rwanda combined food and other essential basic necessities for young girls with items like sanitary pads, targeting casual labourers whose livelihoods depended on daily wage and self-employment. In South Sudan, the World Food Programme provided one-month in-kind food assistance to 40,000 persons in May 2020.
Other forms of in-kind support included utility support like deferral of deadlines for payment of utilities such as water, electricity and internet during the containment period. Waivers on specific payments were also used as a form of in-kind transfer. In Kenya, the government waived levies for sending cash through mobile money electronic transfers below Ksh1,000 ($10) for a period of one year. Uganda halted for 30 days, bank-to-mobile money wallet charges and cash-out fees for smaller transactions.
Regarding prevention measures, in Uganda, the government offered masks to everyone aged six years and above. In addition to these, other in-kind social protection items offered during the pandemic included soap and mosquito nets.
Similarly, in South Sudan, Unicef and partners distributed 240,000 masks to vulnerable people. In some EAC states like Kenya and Rwanda, cash and in-kind interventions were accompanied with information on the prevention of Covid-19, infant feeding, child marriages, and violence in schools and communities.
The study noted that lockdowns disrupted school meals. This could contribute to higher malnutrition levels in the future. Moreover, several countries, among them Rwanda and Kenya, provided pre-Covid-19 interventions such as deworming and vaccinations in schools. As such, the continued closure of schools would increase the likelihood of recurrence of these health conditions or outbreaks of preventable diseases.
To address this danger, some countries offered supplementary nutritional assistance like food vouchers. In Kenya, the government set up a Covid-19 multi-stakeholder task force to coordinate identification and delivery of social protection interventions like cash transfer, for the most vulnerable households in the urban informal settlements. Despite these efforts, recent reports by Unicef and World Health Organisatin (WHO) indicate that Covid-19 is going to exacerbate malnutrition and food insecurity among low-income households with children, pregnant and lactating mothers, and adolescents.
The emerging harsh environmental conditions in East Africa due to climate change and Covid-19 containment measures like lockdowns and work from home, disproportionately affect the informal sector, which supports a large segment of the population at the base of the pyramid, compounding further challenges, especially in Kenya and South Sudan.
According to the study, WASH interventions had been a significant feature of SP interventions, even prior to the standard operating procedures (SOP) demands of Covid-19 (e.g., frequent hand washing). Regarding hygiene, both information and actual supplies were provided. For example, hygiene kits were distributed in South Sudan. In addition, hand-washing interventions, including in some instances the actual provision of soap, were implemented widely in some East Africa countries.
In preparation for the re-opening of schools in South Sudan, school management committees undertook intensive back-to-school campaigns. These committees also provided menstrual hygiene support by providing re-usable sanitary pads to adolescent girls.
The study established that at least 23.7 percent of children in East and Southern Africa reported experiencing violence at home during the pandemic. Schools acted as safe spaces for children and their closure meant limited access to trusted adult figures who could detect early signs of abuse and get help for the affected children. The study recognises efforts by the states and child agencies in East Africa that strengthened the existing child help distress call mechanisms like the additional roll-out of 24/7 helpline for child protection and gender-based violence referral system.
The loss of livelihoods and incomes during the pandemic forced children into child labour. To address this problem in Uganda, the government and UN agencies developed plans to prevent and end child labour.
The study found that even with the expansion of the population requiring social protection interventions, spending on social protection was much lower than what countries spent on fiscal stimulus packages. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the case study countries allocated additional spending on the health sector and non-health sector, and accelerated spending in the form of equity injections, loans, asset purchase, or debt assumptions.
Kenya, increased its spending on stimulus packages to at least 1.5 percent of gross domestic product. The country’s funds were from austerity measures implemented at both national and county government levels. Uganda offered substantial support in the form of equity injections, loans, asset purchases, or debt assumptions.
Tax relief measures were also used extensively to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. Kenya, for example, offered 100 percent tax relief for low-income earners. Countries organised additional resources in response to the economic and health crisis.
However, the study indicated that earlier crises showed that stimulus packages are often followed by austerity measures or budget cuts. If countries in the region implement austerity measures, they will claw back gains made in relation to educational, nutritional, health, and protection needs of children.
The study indicated that countries in the region faced fiscal challenges regarding their ability to initiate or expand existing social protection interventions. As such, a significant proportion of interventions was financed by donors, with countries providing off-budget support for their expanded social protection programmes. The considerable reliance on development partners does not guarantee the sustainability of social protection programmes.
The study noted that the emergency interventions targeted households and not individuals directly. Previous research shows that schemes targeting households are more likely to benefit men, especially in the rural settings because of gender power imbalance at the household level. On the other hand, the emergency relief targeting urban areas was appropriate because these locations bore the brunt of the lockdown and curfew measures. The absence of conditionalities in the emergency interventions was an improvement from previous social protection schemes. However, this was limited in geographical coverage due to resources.
The study indicated that alternative methods of teaching have created inequalities in access to education. Most school-going children in the region have no access to the internet at home to enable distance learning. Estimates by Unicef show that only 12 percent of school-age children aged between three and 17 have access to the internet. Worse still, children in urban areas are three times more likely to have internet than rural children.
Beyond disparities due to location, the study noted substantial gaps in access to the internet owing to social class. At least 40 percent of children from the top quintile in the region have internet access, compared with only two percent for the bottom quintile.
The study recommends adequate financing for social protection and emphasises the need for expansion or establishment of social registries and databases for future responses.
In addition, the study notes that several countries could not start delivering interventions due to inadequate capacity and logistical challenges. There were commendable efforts to use technology to reach population groups that were left out by previous social protection schemes. As such, the study recommends that mobile money and digital enrolment platforms be used beyond the Covid-19-emergency response period.
According to the study, there is a need to significantly expand the population covered by social protection interventions because of the exceptionally low coverage rates. Further, there should be increased targeting of informal sector workers and the working poor in urban areas.
The study calls for continuous support for the most vulnerable children and adolescents to access education. This support should include children who fell pregnant during Covid-19 school closures.
Read the full study report
*Sponsored by the Africa Platform for Social Protection in collaboration with Save the Children.
Published by Nation.Africa:
https://nation.africa/kenya/brand-book/apsp-study-on-social-protection-in-east-africa-during-covid-19-3624616?view=htmlamp
In a candid interview with Smart Africa Media Managing Editor Elvis Mboya, Mrs Cyrilla Heyi-Kinanga, Programme Manager Child Rights Governance at Africa Platform for Social Protection (APSP) takes us inside the organization’s plan to amplify Child Sensitive Social Protection Programmes (CSSP) in Africa.
Briefly, introduce APSP organization to our audience, its Vision and Mission.
Cyrilla: The Africa Platform for Social Protection (APSP) is a Pan African network of organizations operating at grass roots, national and regional levels, with a commitment to promoting and strengthening the social contract between state and citizens.
APSP exists to strengthen civil society engagement with the articulation, formulation and implementation of social protection policies and programmes.
To achieve this, the APSP promotes active engagement of National Platforms in the shaping of Social Protection policies, programs, and practices in Africa. APSP has established, and engages with platforms across 27 countries.
Our Vision is to havean African continent free from poverty and vulnerability.
Our Mission Statement is to create partnerships with non-state actors to engage with governments in developing and implementing social protection policies, strategies and programmes that reduce poverty and vulnerability in Africa
APSP’s current campaign to amplify Child Sensitive Social Protection in East and Southern Africa is timely. What are key issues to be addressed and your realistic expectations?
Cyrilla: Yes indeed it’s timely. Key issues being addressed include creating awareness of Child Sensitive Social Protection for programme implementers and policy makers to understand what child sensitive social protection is.
We expect policy makers and programme implementers to adopt and use the guide to developing child sensitive social protection programmes in Africa.
Further, we expect programme implementers and policy makers to identify gaps in existing social protection policies and mainstream child sensitive social protection in policies and programs in East and Southern Africa.
The awareness campaign, jointly with Smart Africa Media will use a prescribed guide. Briefly, walk us through this document.
Cyrilla: APSP in collaboration with Save the Children Regional Programme Unit, East and Southern Africa developed a guide to developing child sensitive social protection programmes in Africa.
The guide provides guidance on considerations in the design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of social protection interventions and programmes. The guide aims at promoting social protection programmes to reach the most marginalized.
The guide defines key terms such as Child sensitive social protection, social protection and cash plus. It also highlights the international and regional instruments that advocate for the right of every child to social protection.
The instruments include: the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the child (ACRWC) and the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
It describes the key steps of developing child sensitive social protection programmes in Africa which include conduct a child poverty and vulnerability analysis, identification of gaps in existing social protection policies and programmes, how to assess policies and programmes to ensure that they are child sensitive and identifying the intervention opportunities and entry points for CSSP including cash plus interventions.
The guide also delves into enhancing the participation of children as rights holders. It addresses child targeted programming, budgeting for children, child participation in programming, establishment of child sensitive social accountability mechanisms, monitoring and evaluation framework which looks at indicators relating to child wellbeing and finally opportunities for Advocacy for child sensitive social protection.
What’s APSP’s relationship with Save the Children International and what’s its role in implementing the CSSP project?
Cyrilla: Save the Children and APSP are partners and our purpose is to mainstream child sensitive social protection in East and Southern Africa with a broader goal to promote the wellbeing of children in Africa.
What are the challenges in advocating for Child Sensitive Social Protection during COVID-19 pandemic?
Cyrilla: The year 2020 and 2021 presented novel challenges and experiences due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has ravaged the entire world.
Government policies that limit movement hindered program activities to some extent. Social distancing, because of COVID-19 restrictions, was declared and enforced in many African countries where APSP works.
This affected delivery of our planned programme activities, which included capacity building workshops on CSSP, national consultative and consensus meetings and review of documents on CSSP.
Curfews/lock downs restricted movement from one place to another to undertake program activities.
This limited our interactions with relevant partners on planned activities. Meetings/ gatherings were suspended therefore planned meetings were not held physically but virtually.
In mitigation, APSP adopted the use of ICT technologies to ensure business continuity. Staff were supported to work from home, access required support of resources to facilitate their work and ensure that deliverables were achieved the shift to online platforms enabled APSP reach platform members and partners to participate in program activities.
Briefly highlight some of the key success stories that APSP has scored over the years in its dire need to address Child Sensitive Social Protection issues.
Cyrilla: APSP has generated evidence for the need of CSSP in East and Southern Africa. The generation of evidence or data plays a key role in advocacy.
Some of the evidences generated include a study on Child poverty and deprivation in East and Southern Africa: An Analysis of Selected Countries which was disseminated in several countries.
Child sensitive social protection: addressing child poverty in sub- Saharan Africa.
A guide to developing child sensitive social protection programmes in Africa.
A study on social protection interventions targeting children in East and Southern Africa: Cases from selected countries.
Technical briefs on education, health and nutrition, child protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, livelihoods and government budgets and expenditure from the report on Social Protection Interventions Targeting Children in East and Southern Africa.
A newspaper feature titled East Africa Countries extend Social Protection coverage to children against the impact of COVID-19 was published by the Nation Media Group’s The East African newspaper on 15th November 2021.
This feature will popularize evidence and good practices generated from the report on Social protection interventions targeting children in East and Southern Africa: Cases from selected countries.
At the Africa Union (AU) level, APSP was at the forefront advocating for Inclusion of child sensitive social protection provisions in the draft Africa Union’s protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Right of Citizens to Social Protection and Social Security.
At the East Africa Community (EAC) level, APSP supported the EAC to develop and review a new strategy on Gender, Youth, Children, and Persons with Disabilities, Social Protection and Community Development.
In 2020, APSP contributed on CSSP in the EAC COVID-19 Response and Adaptation Plan for Children and Young People. These are some of the achievements among many others.
What have been your key learnings in your work advocating for Child Sensitive Social Protection?
Cyrilla: The key learnings include data plays a key role in advocacy work, advocacy influences governments and decision makers, for Child Sensitive Social protection to be mainstreamed, effective articulation of legal, policy and program gaps at national, regional levels is critical.
For the state to maintain Children issues and interests, tracking of delivery of policies and programmes is important.
Capacity building of members of parliament, the grassroots groups and the children themselves build a critical body of voices for change.
ABOUT THE AFRICA PLATFORM FOR SOCIAL PROTECTION (APSP)
The Africa Platform for Social Protection (APSP) (https://africapsp.org/) is a pan African network of organizations operating at grassroots, national and regional levels, with a commitment to promoting and strengthening the social contract between states and citizens.
To achieve this, the APSP promotes active engagement of National Platforms in the shaping of Social Protection policies, programs, and practices in Africa. APSP has established 27 platforms to engage at the national level.
We are a Pan Africa NGO that works with governments, private sector, development agencies, research institutions and grassroots communities in Africa by designing, testing and delivering appropriate poverty alleviation models to the poor and underserved communities through social protection programs.
We create partnerships with civil society & other organizations to engage with Government & International Development Agencies (IDAs) to develop & Implement innovative social protection strategies & programmes that make a difference in poor and vulnerable households in Africa.
We exist to strengthen civil society engagements with state and non-state actors for effective service delivery in Social Protection.
For more information, please visit: https://africapsp.org/
—
MEDIA OUTLET SYNOPSIS
Smart Africa Media (https://smartcompany.africa/) is a pan-African online media convergence platform, incorporating a Daily Newspaper, Digital TV, and soon to introduce Podcast to amplify pro-development and success stories across Africa and the Diaspora, to inspire investment and growth.
The multimedia outlet is cultivating smart partnerships, correspondences and audiences across Africa and the Diaspora, with a strong emphasis to deliver business and economic stories that are positive, constructive, and empowering.
In the process, we have secured Media Partnerships for the African Energy Chamber’s premier event African Energy Week 2021 (https://aew2021.com/) in Cape Town, South Africa and with the Africa Platform for Social Protection (APSP) (https://africapsp.org/), to amplify Child Sensitive Social Protection Programmes (CSSP) in East and Southern Africa regions.
We also Collaborate with the APO Group (https://apo-opa.com/), to distribute Africa’s related positive news content.
Ghana has also taken some steps in applying a rights-based approach to its social protection design and delivery of programmes. Although the Ghana government had initiated diverse social protection programmes, there remains a challenge in enshrining legislations to strengthen the delivery of these programmes. The Livelihoods Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP), the Labour-Intensive Public Works (LIPW), the Basic Education Capitation Grants, the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP), Planting for Food and Jobs and the Free Senior High School are all yet to be enshrined in National Law. This has implications for the permanence of these programmes in the context of changes in political power, limited fiscal space, and how these programmes are perceived by the public and policymakers.
Ghana is in the process of developing a social protection law as well as reviewing the social protection policy. Through the support of the Rights-based Social protection Programme that is supported by FES Zambia the Civil Society Platform for Social Protection, Ghana is currently promoting CSO engagement with this process. Key activities under this include the review of the draft social protection Bill 2020, awareness-raising among CSOs on the gaps identified in the Bill, and advocacy forums with relevant government agencies. The project objectives include strengthening pubic participation in the legal and policy process as well as promote rights-based principles in the draft policy and draft Bill.
Child participation is one of the core principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Article 12 of the convention recognizes that children have a right to be heard. According to UNICEF, Child and youth participation in the informed and voluntary involvement of children including those from marginalized groups, children of different ages, and different abilities; in issues that affect them directly and indirectly.
Children’s participation, therefore, is about children having the opportunity to express a view, influence decision-making, and achieve change. It is the informed and willing involvement of children, including the most marginalized and those of different ages and abilities, in any matter concerning them (Save the Children, 2005). There are a number of reasons why child participation is important. These include:
Nevertheless, it is not practical to engage each and every child in decision-making. Efforts should be made to ensure each child has equal opportunities to participate or be represented in making decisions that affect them. Selecting children to be involved in child participation needs to consider representations on gender, child’s age including both older and younger children, ethnicity, children with special needs, religious background, social and economic background, school attendance, rural or urban area residence, According to FHI (2009),
Children’s participation must aim to be:
APSP and its local platform in Kenya, the Social Protection Actors Forum (SPAF) have continued to engage with the legal and policy processes on social protection in Kenya. In 2018, through the support of FES Zambia ( Rights-Based Social Protection Project), APSP held a high-level policy engagement with Members of Parliament from the Departmental Committee on Labour and Social Welfare. This forum was key in enhancing the understanding of lawmakers and other stakeholders on the then proposed Social Protection Bill 2018. With support from legal experts, the workshop involved a clause by clause analysis of the Bill, and then gaps that were identified were packaged into a policy brief for further advocacy.
In 2019, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection in Kenya developed a draft social protection policy, to guide the implementation of social protection programmes in Kenya. Through the Rights-based Social protection project, APSP supported the engagement of Civil Society Organizations in the policy discourse. Apart from holding a stakeholder meeting, APSP also had a meeting with the Social protection Secretariat, under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection to share the outcomes of the stakeholder forum.
At the end of 2019, the National Treasury began a process of establishing a Social Assistance Fund, under the Public Finance Management Act 2012. APSP ad its partners submitted a memorandum to the National Treasury on the proposed regulations establishing the fund under the National treasury.
In 2020, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection June 2020 tabled a bill in Parliament, repealing the Social Assistance Act 2013, and establish a Social Assistance Fund under the Public Finance Management Act 2012. The Parliament of Kenya requested submissions on this process in July 2020. APSP and the local stakeholders held webinars to develop a common position on the draft (Repeal) Bill. The stakeholders drafted a memorandum which was also shared with the Clerk of the National Assembly as well as other stakeholders.
APSP is working closely with a team of legal experts in strengthening the participation of civil society actors in this process. Since the legal and policy process is continuous, there is a need for continuous technical support by the legal experts.
The informal sector represents a large and growing share of the economy and the labor force in Uganda. The Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS) Report of 2009/10 indicates that there were a total of 1.8 million informal businesses. Extending social security to informal sector workers remains a challenge due to a variety of reasons. In the informal economy jobs and businesses are largely not registered or protected by the State. Workers in this sector do not enjoy any social benefits and are inherently vulnerable and insecure. They are excluded from any social safety nets and lack the legal protection accorded by formal labor contracts.
The APSP and the Uganda Platform for Social protection reviewed available literature on the informal economy sector in Uganda for purposes of identifying policy gaps in the extension of social protection to the informal economy.
In 2019, through the Rights-based social protection project, APSP held a stakeholder forum for informal economy workers. The forum was held to identify gaps in social protection for informal workers, particularly in health insurance. A policy brief was developed and the Uganda Platform for Social Protection continues to hold advocacy forums to enhance legal provisions for informal sector workers.
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