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Social protection in an electorally competitive environment (1): The politics of Productive Social Safety Nets (PSSN) in Tanzania

Social protection has become a more important part of social service delivery in Tanzania over the last couple of decades. This paper analyses the politics behind the making and implementation of the Productive Social Safety Nets (PSSN), a cash transfer scheme that became part of a broader, existing scheme aimed at poverty reduction and rural development, TASAF I-III. We trace the interrelationship between the domestic policy process and the shifting influence of transnational ideas. We argue that the introduction of TASAF and later PSSN was strongly influenced by international trends, driven by a policy coalition of bureaucrats and development partners, but that it was sanctioned by the country’s political elites, who at times used the programmes for electoral purposes. This happened for instance by influencing the scale and speed of PSSN’s implementation prior to the national elections in 2015, despite a tradition of scepticism towards cash transfers within the ruling CCM party. Recently, President John Magufuli’s more productivist ethos, emphasising the importance of work, poses a threat to the programmes’ continuation. This may also reduce the targeting of the poorest of the poor, which constitutes a major element of PSSN as we know it.

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UNICEF Report 2017 Tanzania

UNICEF Tanzania’s work in 2017 ranged from generating strategic data and information for policy advocacy and for sharpening programmes to strengthening systems for delivering services to Tanzania’s most disadvantaged children.

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UNICEF Tanzania Youth Study of the Productive Social Safety Net (PSSN) Impact Evaluation: Endline Report 2017

This report provides endline results of the impact evaluation of the Government of the Republic of Tanzania’s Productive Social Safety Net (PSSN) on Tanzanian youth. The impact evaluation is an 18- month, mixed methods study to provide evidence on the effects that the programme has had on youth wellbeing and the transition to adulthood. The study was conducted among a sample of households comprising part of the 4th and 5th scale-up waves of the PSSN in 2015. For the study we conducted two waves of data collection: a baseline in August – October 2015 and an endline from March – May 2017. In both waves of data collection, quantitative and qualitative interviews were conducted with youth who were between the ages of 14 and 28 years at baseline (15 – 30 years at endline). The qualitative interviews were embedded into the quantitative study design, meaning that 16 youth from study households were selected to participate in in-depth qualitative interviews to help unpack pathways of impact and provide a deeper understanding of how the PSSN affects the lives of youth in participating households. At endline, households had received on average 10 bi-monthly cash payments.

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The ILO at work 2014-2015: THE AMERICAS: LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN

A key challenge for Latin America and the Caribbean is formalization, considering that half of the region’s workforce – around 130 million people – find themselves in the informal economy, often earning less than the minimum wage and without access to social protection. Through its Regional Programme for the Promotion of Formalization in Latin America and the Caribbean (FORLAC), the ILO has developed several initiatives that have led to legislative and policy changes in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. Social actors across the region have also been active on this front. In 2015, for example, the Jamaica Employer’s Federation, with ILO support, adopted a gender-sensitive policy on the transition to formality – with guidance to support its members towards business formalization.

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UNICEF Annual Report 2016 Mozambique

The situation in Mozambique was made more challenging by onset of the worst drought Mozambique has faced in 35 years. In 2016, the drought severely affected 1.5 million people with negative outcomes for food and nutrition security. UNICEF Mozambique provided significant support to the response efforts, leading the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), nutrition, education and protection clusters. Around 23,960 people were provided with access to safe water with five million cubic metres of water and drilled/ upgraded water points in 18 drought- affected districts. Together with the Ministry of Health, UNICEF Mozambique supported training of 36 health and nutrition mobile brigades to undertake community outreach, including screening, referral and treatment of children with severe acute malnutrition (SAM), screening 118,000 children and treating 15,000 acutely malnourished children.

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UNICEF Annual Report 2017: Guatemala

This report describes the work of UNICEF in Guatemala in 2017. The multiple social and political crises in 2017 resulted in extreme institutional instability (frequent changes of ministers and high-level government officials), social unrest (different demonstrations against the Government and against parliament), and a structural governance crisis (harsh conflicts among the three branches of Government, clash between the Government and the Commissioner of the International Commission against Impunity in Guatemala). This in turn resulted in frequent changes in policy design, blockage to legal reforms, slow execution of public budgets and, ultimately, slow progress or stagnation in the provision of basic social services for children. This instability had a significant impact on the implementation of the UNICEF country programme as well.

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UNICEF Annual Report 2017 Ecuador

On 16 April 2016 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the Pacific northwest area of Ecuador, its epicentre situated close to Muisne and Pedernales municipalities in the northern part of the country and170 km northwest of the capital, Quito. The earthquake directly affected 720,000 people, of whom 350,000 were in need of urgent assistance. Immediate needs were safe water, sanitation and hygiene, emergency and temporary shelter, health, protection (including psychosocial support and child protection), food assistance and education. By early January 2017 some 5,544 people were still living in 24 official camps managed by the Government of Ecuador, nearly half of whom (2,846) were children and adolescents, and more than 4,030 people were living in 63 informal refugee shelters. In 2017 UNICEF Ecuador’s emergency strategy shifted toward sector coordination and building local institutional capacity, and focused on developing resilient systems in all sectors to deliver long-term development results.

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Working together to support implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Joint annex on implementation of the common chapter of the Strategic Plans 2018-2021 of UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and UN-Women

This joint annex presents progress on the implementation of the common chapter of the Strategic Plans, 2018-2021, of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), in response to a request by the Executive Boards of the four agencies for “details on the implementation of the common chapter in [their] annual reporting and, when applicable and as appropriate, at the joint meeting of the Executive Boards”. The approach of working together is also measured annually by indicators from the 2016 quadrennial comprehensive policy review of operational activities for development of the United Nations system (QCPR) contained in the QCPR annexes attached to the respective annual report of each agency.

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UNICEF Annual Report 2017 Cuba

This report examines the situation in Cuba in 2017. Although Cuba was hit by Hurricane Irma in October, affecting over 9 million people in 13 of 15 provinces, the economy grew by 1.6 per cent in 2017 while tourism grew by 4.4 per cent. The most outstanding result for children was the reduction of infant mortality, which reached a historic low of four deaths per 1,000 live births thanks to such factors as maternal milk banks, immunization and certification of baby-friendly hospitals, with UNICEF Cuba support.

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Annual Results Report 2017 Nutrition

UNICEF’s Strategic Plan 2014–2017 guides the organization’s work in support of the realization of the rights of every child. At the core of the Strategic Plan, UNICEF’s equity strategy – which emphasizes reaching the most disadvantaged and excluded children, caregivers and families – translates this commitment to children’s rights into action. The following report summarizes how UNICEF and its partners contributed to nutrition in 2017 and reviews the impact of these accomplishments on children and the communities where they live.

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UNICEF Bolivia: Children of Bolivia Brochure 2016

This brochure analyses the state of children in Bolivia as one of the world’s most culturally and geographically diverse countries

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Water and sanitation interlinkages across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

This UN-Water Analytical Brief analyses the central role of water and sanitation to describe the links and interdependencies between the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and sanitation and those of other Goals. It aims to stimulate United Nations Member States’ consideration of the water-related linkages within the Goals to facilitate an integrated approach to implementation. The Brief highlights the importance of mainstreaming water and sanitation in the policies and plans of other sectors, and how the management of interlinkages supports the social, economic and environmental dimensions of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

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Promoting livelihoods to build the self-reliance of urban refugees in Nairobi

The majority of the urban poor in Nairobi, including asylum seekers and refugees, find employment and self-employment opportunities in the highly competitive informal sector. Poor regulation, poor physical infrastructure and limited access to institutionalized business support services, limit the viability of the informal sector. Those without specialized skills or capital to start a business earn daily wages as casual labourers or as low-level employees. For asylum seekers and refugees the odds are worse, encumbered by a lengthy asylum seeking process, limited engagement with local administrative authorities which deprives them of critical protection and support, and a business community hesitant to engage them as a potential market. Without ownership of fixed assets those seeking to start or grow a business fail to meet the collateral requirements to access business loans. The March 2012 livelihoods baseline indicates that food alone comprises between 45 percent and 55 percent of monthly costs for the very poor. After spending on food and housing, very little remains for other essentials. Additional expenditure on limited health care, hygiene, energy and water deplete the modest monthly wage. UNHCR and the urban refugee’s livelihoods working group are implementing livelihoods projects targeting refugees and Kenyans. With limited funding and experience the UNHCR chaired urban refugee’s livelihoods working group is implementing a range of livelihood support projects. To improve the effectiveness of current livelihoods programming resources are required to build partner technical capacity in designing, implementing, and monitoring and evaluating interventions, institutionalizing the use of best practices and models that are proven to work, and scaling up to reach more beneficiaries.

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Who will be accountable? Human rights and the post-2015 development agenda

This publication is intended to help fill some of the more pressing accountability gaps that impede the realization of global and national development goals. We approach this challenge from the perspective of human rights, as a universal normative and legally binding framework embodying the minimum requirements of a dignified life, encapsulating universal values that a post-2015 agreement should strive to prioritize and protect as well as essential features of a road map to take us there.

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Youth and agriculture: key challenges and concrete solutions

Global population is expected to increase to 9 billion by 2050, with youth (aged 15–24) accounting for about 14 percent of this total. While the world’s youth cohort is expected to grow, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for youth – particularly those living in developing countries’ economically stagnant rural areas – remain limited, poorly remunerated and of poor quality. In recognition of the agricultural sector’s potential to serve as a source of livelihood opportunities for rural youth, a joint MIJARC/FAO/IFAD project on Facilitating Access of Rural Youth to Agricultural Activities was carried out in 2011 to assess the challenges and opportunities with respect to increasing rural youth’s participation in the sector. Over the course of the project, six principal challenges were identified. For each challenge, this publication presents a series of relevant case studies that serve as examples of how this challenge may be overcome.

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Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2016. Education for people and planet: creating sustainable futures for all

The Incheon Declaration for Education 2030 has been instrumental to shape the Sustainable Development Goal on Education to “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. It entrusts UNESCO with the leadership, coordination and monitoring of the Education 2030 agenda. It also calls upon the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report to provide independent monitoring and reporting of the Sustainable Development Goal on education (SDG 4), and on education in the other SDGs, for the next fifteen years. The ultimate goal of this agenda is to leave no one behind. This calls for robust data and sound monitoring. The 2016 edition of the GEM Report provides valuable insight for governments and policy makers to monitor and accelerate progress towards SDG 4, building on the indicators and targets we have, with equity and inclusion as measures of overall success.

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Action for Climate Empowerment: guidelines for accelerating solutions through education, training and public awareness

Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) is a term adopted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It refers to Article 6 of the Convention’s original text (1992), focusing on six priority areas: education, training, public awareness, public participation, public access to information, and international cooperation on these issues. These guidelines provide a flexible, phased approach to the strategic and systematic implementation of ACE activities at the national level, driven by each country’s circumstances. The guidelines are divided into 4 phases and 10 steps.

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Youth are the future: the imperative of youth employment for sustainable development in the Caribbean

This study proposes a comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach to tackle chronic youth unemployment in regional territories. The study focuses on the high levels of youth unemployment in the Region and the consequences for youth and wider socio-economic development. Drawing on global best practices, the study discusses a number of policy interventions and an action plan to reduce youth unemployment and provide decent jobs by 2030.

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How inclusive is inclusive business for women? Examples from Asia and Latin America

Inclusive businesses are commercially viable business models that provide in-scale innovative and systemic solutions to problems relevant to the lives of low-income people. Inclusive business companies often involve women in their value chain and provide specific services that help low-income women. This report assesses the extent to which inclusive business models promote women's economic empowerment. Examples come from the inclusive business portfolios of the Asian Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation.

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Innovative strategies in higher education for accelerated human resource development in South Asia: Sri Lanka

In order to maximize the full development potential of the higher education system, strategic interventions will be needed at both the national, such as creation of appropriate economic and institutional regimes, as well as an efficient national policy for fostering innovation, and university levels. University-level interventions would include capacity building, improvements in the learning environment, exposure of students to the world of work, and promoting international best practices. This report presents current arrangements and initiatives in the country’s skills development strategies. These are complemented by critical analyses to determine key issues, challenges, and opportunities for innovative strategies toward global competitiveness, increased productivity, and inclusive growth. It emphasizes making skills training more relevant, efficient, and responsive to emerging domestic and international labor markets.

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Overview of financial inclusion, regulation, and education

Financial inclusion is receiving increasing attention as having the potential to contribute to economic and financial development while at the same time fostering more inclusive growth and greater income equality. However, although substantial progress has been made, there is still much to achieve. East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia combined account for 55% of the world’s unbanked adults, mainly in India and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). This paper surveys the experience of a number of advanced and Asian emerging economies to assess factors affecting the ability of low-income households and small firms to access financial services, including financial literacy, financial education programs and financial regulatory frameworks, and identify policies that can improve their financial access while maintaining financial stability. It aims to identify successful experiences and important lessons that can be adopted by other emerging economies. This analysis is based on studies of the experiences of Germany, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand. The study aims to take a practical and holistic approach to issues related to financial inclusion. For example, innovative methods of promoting financial access, such as mobile phone banking and micro-finance, require corresponding innovations in regulatory frameworks, perimeters and capacity. Moreover, programs in the areas of financial education and consumer protection are needed to enable households and small firms to take full advantage of improvements in financial access.

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Tajikistan: promoting export diversification and growth

Building on robust economic growth since the end of a civil war in 1997, Tajikistan has transformed itself into a service economy driven by consumer spending fueled by strong remittance inflow. Yet the transfer of resources to high value-added sectors has been restrained, and structural change has generated few new jobs. Without sufficient employment opportunities in the services and industrial sectors, agriculture became the fallback for most of the labor force. To continue its economic growth, Tajikistan requires new drivers from a diversified industry sector and a modernized economy through structural transformation and export diversification.

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Bangladesh: looking beyond garments - employment diagnostic study

Economic growth in Bangladesh, above 6% in most years since the 2000s, has been on the fast track since the 1990s. Not many developing countries, especially the least developed, have been able to achieve this consistently for such a long period. Yet despite the jobs generated in the export-oriented ready-made garment industry, the fruits of growth have not been widely shared. This joint study by the Asian Development Bank and the International Labour Organization examines the nature and magnitude of the employment challenge Bangladesh faces, looking at the nature of productive employment and its role in transmitting the benefits of growth into incomes for the poor. It indicates that the positive economic turnaround in Bangladesh is largely due to the rising presence of women in the workplace.

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Bangladesh: consolidating export-led growth - country diagnostic study

Bangladesh has transformed its economy over the last 2 decades, graduating to middle-income status as average annual growth remained strong at 5%–6%. The country’s goal to become an upper-middle-income country by 2021 will require even stronger annual growth of 7.5%–8%. The study finds that the most critical constraints to growth are (i) insufficient reliable energy supply, (ii) policies that indirectly stunt development of economic activities unrelated to ready-made garment exports, and (iii) insufficient security about property and land rights due in part to inadequate registry systems. If policies are designed to urgently tackle these constraints, Bangladesh will be free to harness its potential for inclusive and sustainable growth.

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Human capital and urbanization in the People’s Republic of China

The relationship between human capital development and urbanization in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is explored, highlighting the institutional factors of the hukou system and a decentralized fiscal system. Educated workers disproportionately reside in urban areas and in large cities. Returns to education are significantly higher in urban areas relative to those in rural areas, as well as in large, educated cities relative to small, less-educated cities. In addition, the external returns to education in urban areas are at least comparable to the magnitude of private returns. Rural areas are the major reservoir for urban population growth, and the more educated have a higher chance of moving to cities and obtaining urban hukou. Relaxing the hukou restriction, increasing education levels of rural residents, providing training for rural–urban migrants, and guaranteeing equal opportunity for all residents are necessary for a sustainable urbanization process in the PRC. In terms of health, rural–urban migration is selective in that healthy rural residents choose to migrate. Occupational choices and living conditions are detrimental to migrants’ health, however. While migration has a positive effect on migrant children, its effect on “left-behind” children is unclear.

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