GENDER RESPONSIVE BUDGETING FOR CHILDREN Yehualashet Mekonen Senior Programme Manager The African...
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Transcript of GENDER RESPONSIVE BUDGETING FOR CHILDREN Yehualashet Mekonen Senior Programme Manager The African...
GENDER RESPONSIVE BUDGETING FOR CHILDREN
Yehualashet MekonenSenior Programme Manager
The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF)
Fourth International Policy Conference on the African Child
7-8 December 2010, UN Conference Center
Addis Ababa
Based on the paper
“BUDGETING FOR CHILDREN IN AFRICA:
Adding a gender lens to the analysis”
Authored by:
Esther Wiegersand
Yehualashet Mekonen
With financial and technical support from
Plan International
I wish I were a boy….
A 12 years old girl from DRC, Children and Youth Polls
Outline
Taking Stock: Gender-based discriminations, needs and gaps
Instruments to ensure gender equality Gender sensitive budgeting for
children Main findings Recommendations
Taking Stock: Gender discriminations,needs and gaps
Gender is one of the markers of inequality Gender inequality is a global challenge:
developed, transitional economies, developing countries
Gender discriminations takes place everywhere: At home, in the community In schools, health service facilities in the streets, at work place, etc.
It happens to women and girls of all ages Adults and the elderly The youth Infants and children
Conception
Taking Stock: Gender discriminations, needs and gaps …
Age
Dis
cri
min
ati
on
an
d in
eq
uality
Discriminations across children’s life cycle
Female foeticide
Early childhood
Discriminations in healthcare,
feeding, neglect in care and access to
pre-school
Discriminations in sharing
household responsibilities,
access to education,
opportunity for play and
socialisation
Late childhood(6-10 years)
Age
Dis
cri
min
ati
on
an
d in
eq
uality
Early adolescence
Greater vulnerability to:Trafficking ViolenceEarly marriageSchool dropout
Teenage pregnancy and related complications, higher risk for STI including HIV,Limited chance for higher educationMissed out from programmes targeting childrenLimited access to resources and vulnerability to poverty
Late adolescence
Taking Stock: Gender discriminations, needs and gaps …
Variation in risks of vulnerability by gender and the need for different interventions to address them
Higher vulnerability and risks, particularly for girls to:
Labour exploitation Dropout from school Experience sexual violence Higher health risks including HIV Little access to resources and poverty
Taking Stock: Gender discriminations, needs and gaps …
The need for targeted interventions to:
Eliminate traditional practices (early marriage, FGM)
Enhance protection against human trafficking, violence and labour exploitation
Reduce school dropout
Instruments to ensure gender equality
Almost all human rights instruments (including the CRC and ACRWC) recognise gender inequality.
Specific human rights instruments (such as CEDAW, AU’s Women’s Rights Protocol) deal with gender issues and provide:
Equal rights to access public services Equal participation in social, economic and
political affairs Introduction of special measures to redress
gender inequality Many governments have also promulgated policies,
prepared PoA and established structures to ensure gender equality.
Encouraging achievements have been made.
Instruments to ensure gender equality . . .
But still, wide gap between policy and practice. The constraints include:
Deeply ingrained social and cultural attitudes against women and girls
Lack of coordination and adequate resources to implement policies
Inability to effectively mainstream gender in development planning and implementation
At the Beijing Conference in 1995: Budget was recognised as a crucial tool to
promote and achieve gender equality goals. Underscored the need for a systematic review and
adjustment of budgets to ensure gender equity Gave impetus to gender budget initiatives
Gender sensitive budgeting for children
Gender sensitive budgeting for children: Builds on the concept of Budgets for Children
elaborated in ARCW 2011 Adds a gender perspective to the whole process.
The concept of gender sensitive budgeting for children: Refers to budget inputs, processes and outcomes that
are sensitive to gender-based needs and gaps. Progressively aims at eliminating gender inequality at
all stages of children’s life. Involves girls and women activists in budget decisions Allocates adequate funds to programmes targeting
gender inequality Ensures efficient utilisation of resources and enhances
effectiveness in achieving gender equality goals
Gender sensitive budgeting for children…
The conceptual frameworkInventory of gender needs and gaps among childrenReview of other related legal and policy commitmentsEstablishing links with other development goals to enhance synergy and impactPropositions of interventions to address gender needs/gapsAllocation of sufficient funds
Budgetformulation
BudgetApproval
Involvement of girls, gender activists and other relevant bodies in budget deliberationsApproval of adequate funds for the fulfilment of gender equality
Budgetexecution
Systems and mechanisms to enhance efficient utilisation of resourcesGender issues considered during monitoringCompilation of relevant gender related data
Budgetaccounting,
monitoring andreporting
M&E assessment to gauge the gender impactMechanisms put in place to avoid resource leakage and corruption
The whole process provides feedback for improvement
Parameters for analysis: Availability Adequacy Priority Progress over time Efficiency and effectiveness
These parameters are tailored for a rights-based approach of budget analysis
They are used to assess budgets targeting children in light of gender outcomes
The four budget categories benefiting children are: Primary and secondary education budgets Budgets for healthcare Budgets for child development and family
support Social and child protection programmes
Gender sensitive budgeting for children…
Main findingsBudget for education and gender disparity in access to primary education
3.4
4.6
3.9 4.5
2.4
3.7
1.8
5.5
5.2 5.5
7.1
4.8 5.4
8.1
4.9
13.3
2.9
1.4
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16C
entr
al A
fric
an R
epublic
Nig
er
Mali
Benin
Burk
ina F
aso
Eritr
ea
Togo
Congo (
Bra
zzaville)
Eth
iopia
Mozam
biq
ue
Moro
cco
Kenya
Senegal
South
Afr
ica
Bots
wana
Rw
anda
Lesoth
o
Maurita
nia
Ed
ucati
on
exp
en
dit
ure
(p
er
cen
t o
g G
DP
)
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
1.6
Gen
der
Pari
ty In
dex (
GP
I)
Total public expenditure on education as % of GNP Gender Parity Index(GPI)
Education budget has a positive correlation with Gender Parity Indices in enrolment
Low budget
and higher
disparity
Higher budget, lower
disparity
Main findings
Countries which spent relatively higher on education had lower gender disparity in primary completion rate
1.9
1.4
4.6
3.4
5.2
1.7 3
.8 4.5
2.4
5.5
5.5
5.4
1.8
2.1 3
.8
7.2
7.1
5.4
2.9 3
.9
8.1
6.9
13
.3
0
4
8
12
16
Ch
ad
Ce
ntr
al
Cô
te d
’Ivo
ire
Nig
er
Mo
zam
biq
ue
Gu
ine
a
Sie
rra
Bu
rkin
a
Eri
tre
a
Eth
iop
ia
Mo
roc
co
Gh
an
a
Co
ng
o
Ta
nza
nia
Eg
yp
t
Tu
nis
ia
Ke
ny
a
So
uth
Afr
ica
Ma
uri
tan
ia
Ma
uri
tiu
s
Bo
tsw
an
a
Na
mib
ia
Le
so
tho
Pe
r c
en
t
0.0
0.4
0.8
1.2
1.6
Ra
tio
Total public expenditure on education as % of GNPRatio (Girls/Boys) primary completion rate
Main findings
Share of budget for secondary education has positive correlation with girls enrolment in secondary education
25
8
13 12
2629 28
15
33
37
23
43
33
48
19
0
10
20
30
40
50N
iger
Ethi
opia
Eritr
ea
Bur
kina
Fas
o
Sene
gal
Moz
ambi
que
Swaz
iland
Zam
bia
Mau
ritan
ia
Gha
na
Ken
ya
Mau
ritiu
s
Sout
h Af
rica
Bot
swan
a
Leso
tho
Bu
dg
et s
har
e o
f se
con
dar
y ed
uca
tio
n
0.50
0.75
1.00
1.25
1.50
1.75
Gen
der
Par
ity
Ind
ex
Share of education budget for secondary education Gender Parity Index (GPI) for secondary schools
Smaller share and
higher disparit
y
Larger share and lower disparity
Main findings
Budget for health and health outcomes by gender Countries which have the highest child mortality rate
are those with relatively lower expenditure on the health sector
Budgets for child development and protection These are the areas where there is very limited
data both in terms of budget inputs and outcomes.Available data shows that: Early childhood development is almost a neglected
area in most of Africa Child protection is the other area were more effort
needs to be made With only 3% of GDP, Africa invests the smallest in
social protection Existing social protection schemes focus on
retirement, benefiting mostly men in formal employment.
Recommendations
Put in place appropriate budgetary policies, systems and mechanisms to ensure that gender is taken into account at all stages of the budget cycle;
Undertake intensive gender sensitisation campaigns to change negative attitudes towards gender roles and responsibilities;
Increase the share of education budget that goes to secondary education to improve girls’ access to secondary education;
Develop and expand early childhood care and education programmes that equally benefit boys and girls;
Enhance efficiency in utilisation of budgets to ensure achievement of gender equality goals.
Implement integrated age and sex disaggregated data collection and analysis in all sectors.
Recommendations
Finally, Gender sensitive budgeting for children is like a
mosaic design where budget practitioners and policy makers use:
Good budget practices,
The maximum of their available resources,
A comprehensive list of gender-based needs and gaps
…and create a picture of equally respected, provided for and protected boys and girls
…. and create an environment where children do not wish to be of the opposite sex, but are proud to be who they are.
Thank you