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