social protection
Conditional Cash Transfers - Reducing Present and Future Poverty
Countries have been adopting or considering adopting conditional cash transfer (CCt) programs at a prodigious rate. In some
countries, including Brazil, Ecuador, and Mexico, CCts have become the largest social assistance program, covering millions of households. They have been hailed as a way of reducing inequality, especially in the very unequal countries in Latin America; of helping households break out of a vicious cycle whereby poverty is transmitted from one generation to another; of promoting child health, nutrition, and schooling; and of helping countries meet the Millennium development goals. Nancy Birdsall, of the Center for Global Development, calls CCts “as close as you can come to a magic bullet in development” (Dugger 2004). Conversely, an article in the Institute of Development Studies Bulletin refers to CCts as “superfluous, pernicious, atrocious and abominable” (Freeland 2007, p. 75), arguing that they represent an impractical way to improve the use of social services (particularly in low-income countries) and are immoral because they may deprive the neediest people of the assistance they deserve.
Social Protection Options for Mitigating the Impact of High Food Prices on the Most Vulnerable Population
World food prices have risen rapidly over the last year due to a combination of factors, including: reduced cereal harvests in major exporting countries in 2005 and 2006; rapid rises in petroleum prices, resulting in augmented fertilizer and shipping costs; an increasing demand for and use of cereals to supply biofuel production; economic growth in China, Brazil and India coupled with growing global urbanization resulting in dietary changes, notably increased demand for cereals and feedstock for meat production; trade distorting policies such as subsidies (shifting final use of maize towards b
A Framework for a Long Term Vision for Botswana
The world is undergoing rapid change, and Botswana is changing with it. The challenge for the future will be to adapt to the changing and competitive world without sacrificing the positive aspects of our culture and values. Change can be very difficult - it will require hard work, commitment, and an acceptance of some necessary but painful adjustments.
The world is undergoing rapid change, and Botswana is changing with it. The challenge for the future will be to adapt to the changing and competitive world without sacrificing the positive aspects of our culture and values. Change can be very difficult - it will require hard work, commitment, and an acceptance of some necessary but painful adjustments. Yet the alternative to change is stagnation and international isolation, an unattractive outcome that we should strive to avoid.
A review of social protection experiences in Africa
Social protection has been defined by the UN in 2001 to be The set of public and private policies and programmes undertaken by societies in response to various contingencies to offset the absence or substantial reduction of income from work; to provide assistance for families with children as well as provide people with health care and housing.
Social protection has been defined by the UN in 2001 to be The set of public and private policies and programmes undertaken by societies in response to various contingencies to offset the absence or substantial reduction of income from work; to provide assistance for families with children as well as provide people with health care and housing.
Inventory of Social Protection Mechanisms and Instruments in Zimbabwe
This document provides information on social protection mechanisms and instruments offered by different stakeholders in Zimbabwe. It specifically builds on the inventory produced by the Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme (RHVP) in 2007.
Baseline Study of Social Protection in Zimbabwe
The baseline study was commissioned by the Social Protection Technical Reference Group (SPTRG) to develop an analytical framework for understanding social protection in Zimbabwe through detailed literature review.
The baseline study was commissioned by the Social Protection Technical Reference Group (SPTRG) to develop an analytical framework for understanding social protection in Zimbabwe through detailed literature review. Furthermore, an inventory of social protection instruments and activities being delivered currently by various actors was analysed. This report is an overview and synthesis of social protection instruments and activities in Zimbabwe.
Unveiling Social Safety Nets
Interest in safety nets and social protection is growing exponentially. Ways of strengthening them are called for in high-level statements, researched in academic articles, and implemented by practitioners. Such developments are encouraging and may help to shed light on some long-standing humanitarian and development challenges. The concept remains controversial, however, and several issues must be clarified. This paper delineates core areas of tension, and lays out key issues underpinning them at the analytical, policy, institutional and implementation level.
Maternal and Child Health: the Social Protection Dividend
This report, one of a series of five regional thematic reports, analyses the financial barriers of access that limit use of essential health services by the poor, examines the composition of health financing, and weighs up the pros and cons of alternative approaches to social protection for health in the region. The report focuses in particular on the impact of user fees and the prerequisites for successful user fee abolition, while also assessing other approaches to equitable health financing such as social health insurance and mutual health organizations.
Strengthening Social Protection for Children in West and Central Africa
This report, one of a series of five regional thematic reports, discusses the role of social protection in addressing child vulnerability and deprivations in a region with very high poverty levels and child mortality, and multiple risks to child survival, development and protection. The report reviews social protection provision from a child lens, covering traditional informal mechanisms as well as modern formal programmes for social assistance (including cash transfers), social insurance and social welfare services.
Fiscal Space for Strengthened Social Protection in West and Central Africa - West and Central Africa
This is one of a series of reports produced by a regional study on social protection and children in West and Central Africa, commissioned by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) West and Central Africa Regional Office (WCARO) and carried out by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in London between November 2007 and November 2008, in partnership with local researchers in the region.
News
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30 Jul 2010Boston Globe
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29 Jul 2010IRIN
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28 Jul 2010AllAfrica.com
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27 Jul 2010Island Crisis (blog)
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26 Jul 2010IPC-IG
Events
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8 Aug 2010 - 21 Aug 2010Designing and Implementing Social Transfer Programmes Course 2010Cape Town, South Africa
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2 Sep 2010 - 3 Sep 2010PEGNet conference on "Policies to foster and sustain equitable development in times of crises"Development Bank of Southern Africa, Midrand, South Africa
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20 Sep 2010 - 22 Sep 2010Millennium Development Goals SummitUN Headquarters, New York
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29 Nov 2010 - 4 Dec 2010World Social Security Forum 2010Cape Town, South Africa