UNICEF, World Bank, AFD and IPC-IG discuss universal social protection for children in Morocco and Tunisia 

By IPC-IG
Men in Maghreb in front of Berber rugs

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG), the French Development Agency (AFD) and the World Bank held a webinar entitled "Universal coverage and multisectoral approach to the challenge of capital development meeting the needs of children".  

This session had the objective of supporting reflection and informing decision-making on structural reforms aimed at social protection universal coverage in Morocco and Tunisia, in a context of post-COVID-19 economic recovery. 

To this end, Mauricio Carreño, Head of Division for Promotion and Prevention at the Undersecretariat for Children of the Ministry of Social Development and Family of Chile, presented the Chilean universal social protection programme aimed at children, called “Chile Grows with You” (Chile Crece Contigo in Spanish). He described how the programme successfully integrated various sectors such as education, health, social assistance, and social protection. In addition, the obstacles encountered during its implementation were also discussed. 

“Chile Grows with You” aims at providing all children with comprehensive social protection so that they can achieve their maximum development potential through comprehensive monitoring of themselves and their families, based on the principle of “supporting everyone, based on their needs”. The programme is built on strong intersectoral coordination and across different territorial levels, and is a current example of leadership in Latin America. 

Najet Dkhil, Director General of the Ministry of Social Affairs of Tunisia, stressed that, unlike Chile, the country does not have a coordinated intersectoral policy and that each Tunisian ministry has its own programme, with components that serve children. 

According to Anas Rihani, head of the medical assistance division of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of Morocco, his country has invested in intersectoral initiatives and an integrated policy for children with the support of UNICEF. 

Webinars on social protection in the Maghreb Region 

This was the third time that these organisations have gathered for a webinar to discuss the “Reforms of Social Protection Systems: South-South and Triangular Cooperation Initiative in the Maghreb” to share experiences and identify good practices between Latin America, Morocco, Tunisia, and sub-Saharan Africa. 

Two other webinars are scheduled for the first half of this year and will address: i) social inclusion, social services and social workers, based on the example of Brazil; and ii) shock-responsive social protection information systems. 

These webinars are part of the project “Support to UNICEF on social protection in the Maghreb region”, which is developed by the IPC-IG and that aims to to provide UNICEF with technical support regarding child-sensitive social protection in the Maghreb region. Read more about the project here

 

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The IPC-IG and UNICEF are conducting a series of projects and knowledge exchanges in the Maghreb region 

IPC-IG holds second session of webinar on a triangular cooperation initiative in Morocco and Tunisia