Children’s Participation for Monitoring Government Budgets

Jenifer Bukokhe

Save the Children in Uganda

Presentation-South Africa 05/2004

Overview

Poverty in Uganda: Current achievements

The missing dimension Why child participation in monitoring

government policies and budgets?

Overview

Categories of children Questions asked Use of information collected How we can involve children in

monitoring government policies and budgets- examples

Poverty in Uganda: current achievements Consumption Poverty 56% in 1992 to

35% in 2000 Established poverty monitoring systems Poverty eradication at the heart of

policies Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP)

1997-

Poverty in Uganda: current achievements Poverty Action Fund (PAF)- Poverty Monitoring and Analysis Unit-

MOFPED National Poverty steering committee Poverty Monitoring network Uganda Poverty Participatory

Assessment Project

Poverty in Uganda: current achievements Uganda Bureau of Statistics surveys

Sectoral policies -equity is given priority

The missing dimension: children

Is children’s poverty the same as adult poverty?

Will policies to address general poverty automatically benefit children?

Can we regard children as insignificant in economic terms?

Will government budgets benefit all children?

Why child participation?

Knowledge of intra-household dynamics Clear picture of whether general poverty

reduction methods will in practice meet the needs of children

Economic significance of children Children have acute development

needs

Why child participation?

Under 18 represent the largest group of the poor (62%) under the poverty threshold

Investments in children will generate future benefits for the society

Children have a legal right to participate and to be listened to

Categories of children

Children with disabilities Child headed household Double orphans Children from Single parents Children whose parents/guardians

cannot support them

Categories of children

Street children Children affected by war Children in conflict with the law Children affected by HIV/AIDS

Questions addressed

What are children’s perspectives of child poverty, its causes and implications in Uganda? Do they differ from adults’?

What do we know or not know about tends in child poverty? Which groups of children are most vulnerable?

Questions addressed

What are the existing policies relating to children, and how effective are they? Do they meet children’s priorities?

What indicators should we use to monitor child poverty? What are the major gaps?

Summary of key findings

Broad and rich understanding of poverty Emphasis on personal and family

factors Adults have a narrow materialistic

understanding of poverty Poverty as inherited but not uniformly –

“Rich child can be poor”

Summary of key findings

Positive view of their potential role in mitigating poverty

Negative views about how society views them as poor children-shame of poverty

Negative emotions of despair Annual country poverty status report

Children’s Perspectives part of:

Annual participatory poverty assessment report

Basis for reviewing the country Poverty Eradication Action Plan

Sectoral development strategies Systematic thinking on social protection

Children’s Perspectives part of:

Orphans and Vulnerable children’s policy

Basis for developing child-focused poverty monitoring indicators

Initial thinking on involvement of children in gov’t budget monitoring

Children’s Perspectives part of:

Advocacy for budgets that will benefit both boys and girls- education, health

Budgets that address the rights of children without discrimination-geographical, gender, abilities

Advocacy donations and grants

Monitoring policies&budgets

Meaningful involvement of both girls and boys in public life

Consultations with children when developing/reviewing policies

Children in action initiatives School management committees Health committees

Monitoring policies&budgets

Monitoring Universal Primary Education District and sub-county planning

processes

For meaningful participation:

People who make the budgets must know children’s rights and child poverty

Accountability to children Children need to understand more the

budget and how the country’s money is spent

For meaningful participation:

Child friendly materials on budgets Skills development Conducive environment for child

participation MOFPED is powerful- need to show the

added value