Ambassadors Series

Globalisation and climate change are exposing the world’s most vulnerable to more frequent and intense risks and shocks. Conflict, poverty and famine are inducing unprecedented mass migration. Inequality is increasingly globally. The poor and vulnerable are encountering increasing challenges, preventing them from escaping poverty. The question is: Can social assistance programmes expand quickly and wide enough to compensate for these challenges? Demand for assistance is high Social assistance programmes encompass cash transfers, in-kind transfers (like seeds and medicines), and near cash benefits (such as food vouchers), and are implemented in countries the world over (World Bank, 2019). Cash transfer programmes are a prominent approach: Cash is transferred to poor...Read more

When governments pursue family preservation as a way of preventing children’s separation from their families, they aim to provide services that support families to provide adequate care for their children. Preserving the family and protecting children is central to the development of a country: Human capital development is founded on healthy early childhood development, access to public services, and providing a safety net to ensure families do not fall into poverty. In Zimbabwe, the Children’s Act categorises children in need of care as destitute, abandoned, those without adequate health and nutrition, orphans, and vulnerable children. Under the Act, the government commits a child to alternative care only when all options (such as placing in family or kinship care) have been exhausted...Read more

Recently, Rahul Gandhi - president of the Indian National Congress Party (CP) and candidate for Prime Minister (PM) in this week’s Inidan national elections - proposed a new social welfare income scheme: Nyuntam Aay Yojana (NYAY, Hindi for “justice”). The scheme would involve a direct conditional cash transfer of about Rs 72,000 (US$ 1050) per year to 50 million of India's poorest households. Despite Ghandi's altruistic overtures, the proposal may be a political move in an attempt to gain votes in the elections. Even so, the benefits of successfully implementing the scheme are undeniable. However, there are many challenges to implementation – beyond political will. Political campaigning and the NYAY As India was hit by one of the strongest tropical cyclones in the last...Read more

The focus on building resilience in the informal urbanisation, which is rapidly increasing in the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) located in the Pacific region becomes progressively more urgent as the vulnerability and risk due to climate change impacts increases as well. There is increasing recognition that implementing social protection, through policy-mandated legislation and programmes, can address the increasing and unprecedented risk and vulnerability of the rapidly growing urban poor population in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific region. The SIDS house roughly eight million people spread out on more than 30 percent of the earth’s surface, around 25,000 islands. These islands house distinct and diverse cultures and practices. In a climate-changing world,...Read more

Today, millions of people around the world migrate in search of work to sustain their livelihoods. Migrant workers encounter a multiplicity of vulnerabilities and challenges in their country of destination, including access to social protection. Access is hindered by migration, (un)employment, residency, and most pertinently, citizenship status (Fornalé, 2017). What’s more, due to absence from their country of origin, migrant workers are faced with the risk of losing social security benefits at home (ILO/IOM/OSCE, 2007). Barriers in accessing social protection Migrants face numerous barriers to accessing social protection, including (Panhuys et al., 2017): The principle of territoriality The principle of nationality Lack of coordination or bilateral agreements...Read more

Today, some view a Basic Income (BI) as a viable tool to address issues such as extreme poverty, rising economic inequality, social injustice, and technological advances. But is a BI really a viable solution to the surmounting challenges our societies face? In this blog we will analyse BI projects from across the world to better understand its potential benefits and drawbacks. What is a Basic Income? Basic income (BI) is a government cash transfer paid to a population. There is often confusion or synonymous use of terms such as Guaranteed Annual Income (GAI), Universal Basic Income (UBI), and Negative Income Tax (NIT) in the media and discussions on BI. UBI and NIT represent two approaches, among many others, to BI programmes. A UBI involves periodic cash transfers or...Read more

Cash transfers represent a foundational approach to social protection. Unconditional cash transfers have proven to be successful in improving socioeconomic outcomes for recipients. However, there is evidence that in certain contexts, targeted conditional cash transfer programmes can be more effective at achieving an impact. The Philippine conditional cash transfer programme: Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programme (4Ps) represents a successful example of this targeted approach, most notably in its impact on health care. Here, cash is received on the condition of healthcare and education expenditure (Fernandes and Olfindo, 2011). Conditional versus unconditional cash transfers Conditionality is a determinant element of social protection programme design. Unconditional cash...Read more

Women’s empowerment is a critical issue in poverty reduction, unemployment and sustainable development. Development experts have established that the quickest way to poverty alleviation is to provide soft loans, gainful employment, and access to portable water and free or affordable health care to women. Any intervention that fails to account for these variables and the needs of women will not achieve the optimised level of impact. Women’s empowerment in Osun The state government of Osun in Nigeria, under the leadership of Governor Rauf Aregbesola, ranks first in the nation with respect to women’s empowerment. For example: 600 women were selected from the 30 Local Government Areas (LGAs), totalling 18,000, and provided with interest free loans; 1,200 were trained in...Read more

The changing climate, combined with the Cameroon’s growing population and rising food prices makes it difficult for households to provide food that is sufficiently safe and nutritious to meet the dietary needs of children. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recognises Cameroon as a low-income food deficit country. Food insecurity in Cameroon In some rural areas as many as 46% of children under 5 are underweight. Up to 70% lack access to clean water 90% of children are illiterate. According to the World food Programme’s (WFP) Comprehensive Food Security and Vulnerability Analysis (CFSVA) 2017: Around 16% of households are estimated to be food insecure (3.9 million people), This includes 1% that are severely food insecure (around 211,...Read more

In an article written by Tim McDonnell of The New York Times in March 2018, “ What’s the World’s Fastest-Growing Economy? Ghana Contends for the Crown ”, Ghana is recognised among the fastest growing economies in the world by the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund (McDonnell, 2018), with an expected growth rate between 8.3% - 8.9%. Youth unemployment Amidst this rapid growth, the youth of the country are calling into question the “trickledown effect”, as economic growth has not translated into grass-roots growth. While unemployment in Ghana is well below the sub-Saharan average of 7.4%, it increased from 4% in 2011 to 5.8% in 2017 (McDonnell, 2018). What is disconcerting is the youth unemployment rate looms at 11.5%. According...Read more