This document discusses child sensitive social protection. It begins by providing context on global poverty levels and demographics in sub-Saharan Africa. It then defines social protection according to various organizations and provides examples of social protection instruments targeted at different life stages. The document discusses how social protection correlates to the Sustainable Development Goals and reviews intended and unintended impacts of programs in India, Ethiopia, and Peru. It concludes by defining child sensitive social protection as policies and programs that address children's specific vulnerabilities and poverty patterns while maximizing positive impacts on children.

1. Child Sensitive Social Protection
Child Participation and Gender Learning Event
3-5 November 2015
Entebbe, Uganda
By Robert Mwanyumba

2. Overview
 Context for engagement
 What is SP
 Why CSSP

3. Context
 836 Million people living in Extreme Poverty
 Most of these in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia
 Population Reference Bureau (2013) 43% of Africa’s population is
below 15 years old
Children often bear the brunt of poverty
 World Bank analysis shows that over the past 10 years, 120 cash
transfer programs have been rolled out in Africa.
 In 2010 only 21 countries had a safety net, but in 2013 the number
shot up to 37

4. Social Protection by Definition
African Union definition:
“…includes social security measures furthering income security, and also the
pursuit of an integrated policy approach that has a strong
development focus, such as in job creation, equitable and accessible health
and other services, social welfare, quality education and so on.”
The ILO defines Social Protection Floors as:
“…nationally defined sets of basic social security guarantees which
secure protection aimed at preventing or alleviating poverty, vulnerability
and social exclusion.”
SADC Code on Social Security:
“Social Protection is broader than social security. It encompasses social
security and social services, as well as developmental social welfare. Social
protection thus refers to public and private, or to mixed public and
private measures designed to protect individuals against life-cycle crises
that curtail their capacity to meet their needs.”

5. Social Protection
African Platform for Social Protection
“Social Protection is a set of policies and programmes designed and
implemented by the state and other stakeholders to reduce poverty
and vulnerability by cushioning people’s exposure to risk, and
enhancing their capacity to protect themselves against shocks and
interruption or loss of income and promoting their ability to come
out of poverty.
 Each definition looks at safeguarding the individual from shocks
and stresses which have the potential to interrupt income, or
safeguard those that lack the ability to provide for themselves
for one reason or another. It is important to note that Social
Protection does not operate in a vacuum and interventions are
meant to be complimented by other socio-economic interventions.

6. Interactive Dimensions of Social Protection
Protect
• poor and
marginalised
households from
shocks, thereby
contributing to
relief from
poverty and
deprivations
Prevent
• deprivations or
worsening of
deprivations and
support shock
management
Promote
• economic
opportunities
and human
capital
development
Transform
• power
imbalances in
society that
create, and
sustain
vulnerabilities

7. Examples of social protection instruments to address the
needs and vulnerabilities of people across the life cycle
Lifecycle Stage Social Protection
Instrument
Envisaged Outcome
Pregnancy, Early Childhood Maternity grants, child grants Reduce infant mortality,
Reduce mortality of mothers
during child birth,
School Age Child grants, education
stipends, family allowances,
school feeding programmes
Increased access to education
services, improved learning
outcomes, reduced dropout
rates, improved nutritional
outcomes,
Youth Education/training stipends,
employment guarantee
schemes/public works
Improved access to
productive livelihoods
Working Age Employment guarantee
schemes/public works, family
allowances, health insurance
Risk mitigation outcomes,
improved access to
productive assets, livelihood
regularisation
Old Age Pensions, Health Insurance Coping mechanism, livelihood
guarantee

8. Correlation between SP and SDGs
 Poverty - SDG 1 – No Poverty
 Hunger – SDG 2 – Zero Hunger
 Health & Nutrition - SDG 3 - Good health & wellbeing
 Education – SDG 4 – Quality Education
 Promote equality & inclusiveness – SDG 5 & 8 – Gender
Equality and DecentWork & Economic Growth

9. Intended Impact Unintended consequences
India
(Andhra
Pradesh
Employment
guarantee
scheme)
•Positive effects on the long-term
nutrition of younger children
•Reduce the likelihood of paid work for
boys by 13%, girls by 8%
•Households register many more job
cards than work the full number of days
•Anecdotal evidence of increased
demand for children’s unpaid work
•Older children spend more time
caring for younger children
Ethiopia
[productive
Safety Nets
(PSNP)]
•Increase in quantity and quality of food
•Increased number of grades completed
by boys
•Younger boys and girls in PSNP had to
do less domestic and farm work and
spent more time in school
•No childcare provision meant that
some children work in place of their
mothers
•Household participation in public
works increased the domestic work of
younger girls, and decreased their
school attendance
Peru (Juntos) •Depth of income poverty reduced and
food consumption increased
•More children attending school
•Medical attention for small children
sought more frequently
•Increased demand for schools not
matched by supply
•Juntos improves women’s bargaining
power-viewed as a programme for
women rather than children
•Social stigma associated with
beneficiaries

10. Child Sensitive Social Protection
(CSSP)
CSSP is defined as:
 Policies, programmes and systems that address the specific
patterns of children’s poverty and vulnerability and recognize the
long-term developmental benefits of investing in children.
 In particular, CSSP:
 takes into account the voices, and views of children and their
caregivers;
 seeks to maximize meaningful and positive impacts on
children while minimizing or avoiding any adverse impacts on
them; and
 explicitly analyse and monitor social protection
interventions’ impacts on children in each context by age,
gender and different types of vulnerability.

11. Child Sensitive Social Protection
encompasses:
 Enshrined in the UN CRC Articles 26-27 children have the
right to social security and an adequate standard of living
 child-focused and/or family-based programmes that
directly address children’s needs and rights and improve child
development,
 ensuring that all social protection is child-sensitive, by
maximising impacts for children and minimising harms on
children, girls and boys alike.

12. Conclusion
 Children depend on adults for the fulfilment and
realisation of their rights (informs design of SP prog.)
 Children are vulnerable to multiple dimensions of
poverty and deprivation and these have long lasting
detrimental effects on their physical, emotional and
cognitive development.
 CSSP can address the holistic development of a child
 CSSP has sustained impacts for children, households &
society
 Break the poverty cycle
 Minimise unintended impacts of SP programme

13. Thank you