The IPC-IG showcases studies on child-sensitive social protection at the International Conference on Universal Child Grants

By IPC-IG

                    

 

Brasília, 5 February 2019 - International policy practitioners, policymakers, researchers and government officials will convene at the International Conference on Universal Child Grants (UCGs), from 6 to 8 February in Geneva, to share experiences and discuss the role of universal cash grants in tackling child poverty, inequality and promoting social protection for children, among other cross-cutting topics.

A team of IPC-IG researchers will take the stage in three sessions at the Conference to share knowledge on child-sensitive social protection. Some of the sessions will be streamed live on the socialprotection.org online platform (click here to watch the live stream).

UCGs are increasingly being discussed as a policy instrument to achieve universal social protection and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals, notably in tackling child poverty. Children account for nearly half (50.2 per cent) of the world's extremely poor population, according to recent data by the World Bank and UNICEF. The impact of poverty on children has lifelong consequences, including poor health and nutrition and low educational performance. Social protection policies can play a crucial role in addressing the multifaceted nature of child poverty and its long-term pernicious effects, improving children’s overall well-being.

Organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), this conference seeks to delve into arguments and evidences emerging from the implementation of alternative cash transfer schemes and their implications for UCGs. To this end, the event aims at promoting informed policy debates regarding cash transfers, social protection and the reduction of child poverty.

On 7 February, IPC-IG Senior Research Coordinator Fábio Veras will be joined by researcher Mario Gyori (London Schools of Economics) in a Parallel Session dedicated to the financing of social protection policies. They will present the study "Universal Social Protection in Tunisia: Comparing the Effectiveness and Cost-efficiency of Food and Energy Subsidies with A Proposed Universal Child Allowance Programme". This study was published in a special issue of the International Social Security Review (ISSR) journal, titled "Social protection in the MENA countries: Prospects for a new social contract?"

On the same day, IPC-IG researchers Anna Carolina Machado and Charlotte Bilo will join a session dedicated to country-specific and regional experiences of the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). Their presentation, “Cash Transfer Programmes in MENA from a Child Rights Perspective”, will share the main findings of a series of studies recently published by the Centre, including the latest issue of the Policy in Focus magazine, titled “Social protection: meeting children’s rights and needs”. This session will be livestreamed on socialprotection.org

Also on 7 February, IPC-IG Senior Research Coordinator and Ipea researcher, Sergei Soares, will join a session discussing experiences from Latin America and the Caribbean. His presentation will discuss the Brazilian experience of Bolsa Família, the country’s premier conditional cash transfer programme: “Towards a universal child benefit in Brazil: What needs to be done and what can be expected?”. (read IPC-IG's publications on Bolsa Família here).

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