Social Protection Programs Research Articles

SOCIOECONOMIC SUSTAINABILITY AND THE SOLIDARITY ECONOMY FORMATION UNDER THE WAR CONDITIONS IN UKRAINE

A full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 changed socioeconomic sustainability (SES) and boosted the solidarity economy (SE) formation in the country under the ongoing war. In the context of this study, the SES issue is associated with the importance and necessity of understanding the real needs of communities and developing programs to ensure their satisfaction and the need to establish social ties within each community and increase mutual support and solidarity. The research evaluates SES and its factors of influence on the civil population during the war. The paper relies on online focus group interviews conducted from May to June 2022 in the Sumy region, Ukraine. 1,292 randomly selected respondents were interviewed, of which 65.6% were women, and 34.4% were men who were not involved in military service. The survey results were processed by specialists of the Center for Social Research of Sumy State University using the "ОСА" program. The strong point is that 60.7% of respondents confirmed increased social activity in response to the war. The war in Ukraine harmed the employment and incomes of the population in the Sumy region, deepened the financial instability of people, and increased the risk of falling into a vulnerable situation. The policy implications of the study require strengthening the solidarity ties inside the society to promote the socio-economic sustainability of people during the war. Based on these results, the recommendations of the study include measures of investing in social protection programs, supporting the development of local economies and new job creation initiatives, encouraging the participation of civil society organizations and community groups in peacebuilding and conflict resolution efforts, as well as restoration of the social and economic infrastructure of the region.

Rethinking social protection policy for persons with disabilities in Ghana

Globally, social protection plays a pivotal role in poverty reduction and has been adopted to address the needs of vulnerable populations in society, including persons with disabilities. Social protection is an essential mechanism to achieve sustainable development. The United Nations’ Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals seek, among others, to ensure that state parties implement social protection which could prevent situations that adversely impact the well-being of their poor citizens. Poverty lingers in Ghana, despite interventions developed under the National Social Protection Policy. Disability is a social, economic, mental, and public health issue with over a billion of the world’s population living with some form of disability. Persons with disabilities are disproportionately poor because of challenges and barriers to their inclusion and full-effective participation in society. Guided by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Sustainable Development Goals, we conducted a content analysis of the National Social Protection Policy of Ghana. Twin-track approach to social policy development, modification to existing social protection programmes and the inclusion of persons with disabilities in decision-making processes are among the recommendations to address the needs of persons with disabilities in Ghana. How to reference using ASWNet style: Naami, A., Pumpuni, C. M., Mort, K. A. & Ofori, A. (2023). Rethinking social protection policy for persons with disabilities in Ghana. African Journal of Social Work, 13(5), 254-264. https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ajsw.v13i5.4 Visit journal website: https://ajsw.africasocialwork.net

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE HOPE FAMILY PROGRAM IN INCREASING COMMUNITY WELFARE IN SHARIA ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE

The Family Hope Program is a social protection program that provides non-cash assistance to poor families designated as Beneficiary Families. The Family Hope Program is a program based on poor families, so the main targets are economically disadvantaged families. The Family Hope Program is an effort directed towards the formation and human resources focus on aspects of education, health, and social welfare. This research is entitled "Implementation of the Family Hope Program in Improving Community welfare in the Islamic Economic Initiative". The purpose of this study is to find out what the Family Hope Program is in providing social welfare to the community, find out how the implementation of the Family Hope Program in providing social protection to the community, and find out what are the driving factors and inhibiting factors in implementing the Family Hope Program. This research uses a qualitative method with a descriptive approach and in sampling researcher used sample selection techniques with the provision of characteristics and characteristics of objects in the study, as for data collection techniques, namely through observation, interviews, and documentation. The results showed that the social protection provided by The Family Hope Program to the community was in the fields of education, health, and social welfare. The implementation of The Family Hope Program in Mendalo Indah Village goes through several stages, the first starting from the initial meeting stage, the second stage of entering data into the Management information system, the third stage of payment, and the last stage of commitment verification. The driving and inhibiting factors of The Family Hope Program carried out in Mendalo Indah Village are that although it has not been fully implemented perfectly, the community admits that this program has helped and provided relief to the community.

Effects of social protection programs on suicide mortality: a study in 81 LMICs between 2000-2019

Abstract By 2019, LMICs bore more than 77% of the global suicide burden worldwide. In addition, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the existing inequalities and social protection gap between high- and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals 2021 Agenda targeted, both, the promotion of social protection for all (target 1.3) and the reduction of suicide mortality by one-third (target 3.4) by 2030. These targets will not be met if current trends maintain. There is a lack of studies investigating the link between social protection and suicide in LMICs. This study aimed to help fill this knowledge gap by assessing the effects of social protection (SP) programs on the suicide mortality rates in 81 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), over the period 2000-2019. Multivariable regression analyses using Poisson models were performed adjusting for relevant socioeconomic and healthcare factors. Robust standard errors and fixed-effects specifications were included to estimate the relationship between SP coverage and suicide rates. Our results showed that a 1% increase in the population covered by SP programs could reduce by 0.19% (IRR:0.83;95%CI:0.74-0.94) the suicide rates of the 81 LMICs over the 20 years studied. By disaggregating, the strongest suicide reductions were found among the youngest population of 10-24 years (a 0.21% suicide reduction when increasing SP coverage by 1%: IRR:0.81;95%CI:0.69-0.95). To our knowledge, this study shows for the first time in a large sample of LMICs, that social protection programs could reduce the suicide mortality in LMICs, especially among the youngest populations. Understanding the potential benefits that SP programs could have on reducing health inequalities in LMICs could guide policymakers to target more efficient interventions to prevent suicide and associated factors, quantify its public health cost, and create strategies to tackle stigma-related behaviors. Key messages • Promoting the expansion of social protection interventions could be an effective strategy to reduce the suicide burden over the next years in LMICs, especially among the youngest populations. • Advocating for the de-stigmatization and promotion of standardized methods to classify suicide should be a public health priority.

Social protection, community participation and state‐citizen relations: Evidence from a cash transfer program in south‐central Somalia

AbstractWe investigate whether social protection programs can increase participation in community‐driven development programs and examine how this affects state‐citizen relations. Using a randomized controlled trial in south‐central Somalia, we study the impacts of one‐time unconditional cash transfers to vulnerable households that were specifically designed to encourage participation in community development. While the cash transfer is relatively small as a share of annual household expenditure, it is more than sufficient to cover households' anticipated community development contributions. The transfers were funded by an NGO but delivered through state institutions. We collect survey data before and after the intervention with almost 600 individuals eligible to receive cash transfers. We find no substantial differences in participation in community development projects for cash transfer recipient households relative to non‐recipient households. However, we do find positive impacts of the cash transfers on citizen perceptions of clan elders and the local government. Our findings suggest that relatively small social protection interventions may face challenges in increasing vulnerable households' participation in community development and decision‐making, while also highlighting potential positive spillover effects for state‐citizen relations and beliefs about the capacity of local institutions where states institutions are involved in program delivery, even if they do not finance the program.

Social protection and absorptive capacity: Disaster preparedness and social welfare policy in the United States

Climate change exacerbates drivers of impoverishment, necessitating a more robust evidence base to inform policy and action. Recent studies have examined how social protection programs tie into climate action and disaster risk reduction globally; however, this remains underexamined in high-income country contexts. Our study aims to address this gap by investigating the association between social protection and disaster preparedness in the United States. We hypothesize that reducing household vulnerability through welfare recipience builds long-term resilience and capacity for better risk-mitigation decisions. We examined how households prepare for a disaster and conceptualized disaster preparedness as a capability at the household level using nationally representative data from the American Housing Surveys 2017. The study employed multiple regression analyses and the Karlson/Holm/Breen method to decompose the total, direct, and indirect effects of welfare recipience on the association between household social vulnerabilities and disaster preparedness. On average, households scored 5.01 on a nine-item preparedness scale; higher preparedness was positively associated with higher income and education, a male household head, the presence of an older adult, and non-welfare recipience. Welfare recipience mediated the association of disaster preparedness with the presence of a person with a disability at home, socioeconomic status, and race. This analysis strengthens the hypothesis that welfare recipience could potentially mediate disaster preparedness capabilities among households, pointing to a probable shock absorber effect that can offset vulnerabilities experienced by communities.

Social protection programmes in mitigating the socio-economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic: a comparative study of Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa

COVID-19 has become one of the most significant global health crises in history, with a wide range of socio-economic consequences due to the measures taken to stop the spread of the virus. The socio-economic implications of the quarantine caused by COVID-19 have affected all continents. The purpose of the article is to analyze the socio-economic consequences of the quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Ghana, Kenya and the Republic of South Africa, as well as to examine the critical social protection policy measures taken by the governments of these countries to reduce the vulnerability associated with pandemic prevention measures. This study used content analysis, which allows for the identification of recurring themes, ideas and terminology in the studied database. Directive documents on social protection programs during the pandemic, scientific publications, and reports of international institutions and organizations served as the source of primary information. Based on the content analysis results, 40 documents were selected that met the inclusion criteria: 14 works from Ghana, 13 from Kenya, and 14 from the Republic of South Africa. To investigate the effects of the lockdown caused by COVID-19, content analysis was chosen to identify recurring themes, ideas and terminology in qualitative data collection. A systematic review shows that lockdown measures implemented by the governments of Ghana, Kenya and the Republic of South Africa to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 have led to increased poverty and inequality, lost incomes, worsening food insecurity and increased unemployment. Content analysis found that the impact of COVID-19 differs significantly for men and women, with women experiencing more excellent destructive effects compared to men. The COVID-19 pandemic has harmed rural residents, with poverty rates rising at higher rates and their well-being declining compared to local residents. To respond to the socio-economic consequences of the quarantine due to COVID-19, the countries studied continued existing or introduced new social protection programs to support their citizens. These include cash transfers, food transfers, utility subsidies and fee waivers, community service programs, tax credits, and unemployment benefits. These welfare programs had different parameters consisting of benefits, rights and beneficiaries. Although this study cannot determine the impact of social programs, future studies will be able to assess their impact and effectiveness on beneficiaries.

Empowering rural women through gender and nutrition education amid the COVID-19 crisis: Evidence from Myanmar's Central Dry Zone

The COVID-19 pandemic had negative impacts on nutrition and strained intrahousehold relations, particularly among poorer households. Social protection programs intended to mitigate these impacts mainly operated through handing out cash or in-kind items to vulnerable households. Yet social and behavior change communication (SBCC) intervention on gender and nutrition could be another option. We assess the impact of a nutrition and gender SBCC intervention implemented as a cluster-randomized controlled trial in 30 villages in Myanmar's Central Dry Zone during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. We rely on data from a baseline survey implemented in February 2020 and a phone survey implemented in February–March 2021. Two indicators of women's empowerment―input in productive decisions and access to and input in decisions over credit―improved, indicating that SBCC interventions can contribute to changing gendered perceptions and behaviors. Some empowerment indicators did not change, indicating it may take more time to change deeply ingrained gender norms—including tolerance toward intimate partner violence. In treatment villages, women's dietary diversity scores were higher by half a food group out of 10. More women in treatment villages consumed nuts, milk, meat or fish, and vitamin A–rich foods daily than in control villages.

Realising Capabilities for Street Young People in Harare, Zimbabwe: A New Approach to Social Protection

ABSTRACT Living in social contexts characterised by poverty and inequality, street young people have limited access to healthcare, water sanitation and hygiene services; exacerbating effects of ill health, infections, lack of nutrition and substance abuse that undermine their wellbeing. In Harare, Zimbabwe, they are also excluded from Social Protection Programmes (SPPs) which potentially assist other impoverished Zimbabweans, two-thirds of whom live below the poverty line (WFP 2019. Zimbabwe Annual Country Report 2019. World Food Programme). In this paper, we propose a reassessment of SPPs, in particular the Assisted Medical Treatment Order (AMTO), identifying barriers to access, and benefits for extending access to street young people . Drawing on secondary analysis of data from Growing up on the Streets, this paper re-conceptualises Ingrid Robeyns’ (2005. “The Capability Approach: A Theoretical Survey.” Journal of Human Development 6 (1): 93–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/146498805200034266) model of capabilities and applies it to the reversal of street youth exclusion and the application of government-targeted initiatives which have failed to reach those in the most vulnerable situations. In so doing, we propose an adapted model which recognises how the capabilities of street young people are enhanced when they are integrated into SPPs. This adapted model can be replicated and applied to relevant interventions for other groups of marginalised people in across contexts.

COVID-19 Pandemic Lessons for Creating Effective Mental Health Safety Nets in Lower Middle-Income Countries.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges to mental health globally, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Pakistan. This narrative review aims to synthesize the literature on the impact of the pandemic on mental health in LMICs, the challenges and opportunities for mental health system reform, and the role of safety nets in promoting mental health.A comprehensive search was conducted in several electronic databases, resulting in 35 articles being included for review. Data were extracted and analyzed to identify key themes and trends.The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant increase in the prevalence of mental health problems in LMICs, particularly anxiety and depression. This burden is disproportionately borne by vulnerable populations, including women, front-line workers, and those living in poverty. The pandemic has highlighted pre-existing weaknesses in mental health systems in LMICs, including inadequate funding, lack of trained mental health professionals, and stigmatization of mental illness. However, it has also presented opportunities for reform, such as increased awareness and political will, and the use of technology to expand access to mental health services. Building effective safety nets, including social protection programs and community-based interventions, can promote mental health and address social determinants of mental illness.The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the urgent need for mental health system reform and the development of effective safety nets in LMICs. Policymakers should prioritize investment in mental health and address the social determinants of mental illness to build more resilient societies.

Asset transfers and anti-poverty programs: Experimental evidence from Tanzania

We use a set of randomized experiments to examine the impact of a group business development program implemented by the Tanzanian government, along with a set of complementary training and cash transfer interventions targeted to vulnerable households in rural areas. In contrast with much of the recent literature, we find little effect of the business development program. While most enterprises remain operative three years after formation, even our highest estimates of effective wage rates suggest returns roughly equivalent to the opportunity cost of time for these households. Unconditional and unanticipated lump-sum cash transfers to randomly selected members of these groups induce all members to invest more in the enterprise, with seemingly little to no return on these marginal investments. Our results emphasize the importance of profitability as the key motivation for asset transfer-based social protection programs.

Higher Education and Africa's Economic Development: Challenges for the Nigerian Economy

The paper tried to determine the impact of higher education and Africa's economic development: challenges for the Nigerian economy. It was observed from the study that high quality and of course market relevant education is capable of providing a genuine cure to economic problems. The paper employed the Solow growth model where on the process to promote economic growth and development, factors of production like capital and labour are employed. However the efficient use of these factors (capital and labour) demands that the workers are well trained and skillful through education. This study assumes a straight forward production function in which changes in output are due to changes in the quantity and quality of inputs, economies of scale and advances in knowledge. The findings of the study suggest that some of the chosen variables conform to theoretical predictions and as such affect economic development. The researcher recommends governments can induce changes in labour demand and supply through specific labour market policies and social protection programmes and offering opportunities for workers to upgrade their skills, and offering education and training at an affordable cost, help raise a corporation's and an economy's productivity and also Educational budget allocation stakeholders should focus more on increasing capital expenditure, recurrent expenditure, and human capital development to foster economic growth in the country.

Nutritional and Schooling Impact of a Social Protection Program in Ethiopia: A Retrospective Analysis of Childhood Exposure

Abstract This paper investigates the impact of a large-scale Ethiopian government social protection program on long-term anthropometric measures of nutrition status, education attainment and enrollment delay. Our research design uses unique administrative data on the program's regional coverage and combines differences in the intensity of the program across regions with differences across cohorts induced by the timing of the program. Our findings show that exposure to the program in early childhood leads to better nutrition status and, hence, higher human capital accumulation. The results are robust to different measures for program intensity and different estimation samples, empirical models and placebo tests.

COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan Africa: Impacts on land, governance, and livelihoods

This paper focuses on the impacts of COVID-19 on livelihoods, land access and governance in rural and peri-urban selected areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. Crises are usually expected to be worse for citizens in developing countries since most of their economic activities are in the informal sector, and access to the social protection programs is often limited and exclusionary. Those vulnerable and marginalized are often those who are hit the hardest and who struggle the most to recover after crises. The COVID-19 pandemic is no exception. Extended lockdowns have put livelihoods under stress, underlying patterns of fragile livelihoods and inequality. There are also particular vulnerabilities with regards to land access and livelihoods of vulnerable populations. Our case studies document how the pandemic has affected livelihoods through several mechanisms relating to land access, including distress sales due to economic hardships and exacerbating land conflicts due to increased pressure on land and increasing trends of urban-to-rural migration. We reflect on how households act and react when faced with shocks and how this affects not only their current access to livelihood assets but might undermine their options for the future. In addition, a range of other effects were identified in our case studies that we expect to negatively impact livelihood recovery.

Informality in Zimbabwe’s Urban Areas and the Resilience of Indigenous Solutions to Risk During the Pandemic

This study examined the role of networks and reciprocated assistance in curtailing the risk arising from an absence of centralised social protection programmes. Given how non-state interventions constitute a key part of the endogenous networks to social risk reduction, we also explored how the knowledge of exogenous emergency relief is localised and utilised. In examining these issues, in-depth interviews were done with a purposively selected sample of informal workers, their representative associations, and development partners. Amongst other factors, the findings showed that (i) informal mutual assistance networks are more adaptive, responsive, and inclusive and thus more preferred over exogenous relief — with complementarity between the two being low (ii) ex-post bereavement mutual assistance networks have stronger ties with a more versatile, knowledge sharing–centred utility that transcends the circulation/sharing of cash, food, and credit. The findings contribute to the scholarship on social welfare rights and networks in the context of reciprocated assistance and emergency relief.

Riverbank Erosion and Rural Food Security in Bangladesh

The erosion of riverbanks has a negative impact on many nations across the world, costing them land, buildings, food, fish, and other living things, which forces people to relocate. Both the frequency and severity of riverbank erosion are alarming in Bangladesh. In Zajira Upazila, a baseline investigation was carried out to evaluate the effects of river erosion on the local availability of food. The results show how erosion threatens the majority of residents in the research territory. Additionally, as a consequence of the depletion of farmland brought on by the disaster and its effects, crop production is steadily dropping. Occasionally, people lose whole properties, leaving them with few employment options and little spending power. As a result, they are always in danger of experiencing a shortage of food. The suffering people use various coping strategies to deal with these challenging circumstances, such as shifting to cheaper or less appealing eating options. Despite the fact that local governing bodies have put in place various programs to help them, including food assistance and social protection programs, these are inadequate because of the government’s constrained organizational assets and competence The study’s findings will aid scientists and decision-makers in Bangladesh and abroad in better comprehending the requirements of vulnerable riverine populations and in designing programs that would increase those societies’ food safety Therefore, these results imply that developing and implementing efficient rural development strategies could increase the food security of those residing in Bangladeshi regions threatened by riverbank erosion.

Social Protection for Indonesian Domestic Workers in Taiwan

When working overseas, domestic workers are susceptible to a variety of risks that can compromise their level of living. These risks encompass a variety of types, including health and work accidents. Social protection is a form of action or policy that is present to counteract this. Nonetheless, the activities of domestic workers who work abroad cause the social protection that is applied to them is not only from one side, namely the country of origin or the country of destination, but also both. The purpose of this paper is to examine various types of social protection for Indonesian domestic workers in Taiwan. This paper analyzes the experiences and knowledge of five informants who have or are now employed as domestic workers in Taiwan by interviewing them about their access to or utilization of the various social protection programs available to them. The discussion of their experiences is separated into two types of social protection: formal, provided by the governments of Indonesia as well as the government of Taiwan, and informal. The findings of this paper indicate that, on the one hand, the informants do not share the same awareness of the existence of social protection provided by the Indonesian government and, on the other hand, they are aware of and have utilized the health insurance provided by the Taiwanese government, although they do not share the same understanding of other insurances, such as the work accident insurance provided under the employment contract. Moreover, donations and training provided by non-government agencies are identifiable informal social protection in this study. This paper also argues that the awareness of Indonesian domestic workers about the importance of social protection can be improved by providing socialization regarding awareness of their future potential risks.

Impact of Equity in Social Protection Spending on Income Poverty and Inequality

This study aims to investigate whether higher equity in government social protection spending strongly predicts positive changes in income poverty and inequality. Our approach was to regress the measures of absolute poverty and inequality on the indicators of equity in social protection spending at the country level, controlling for the level of spending and the country wealth measured by per capita GDP. For that purpose, we have compiled a dataset of 535 observations from 101 countries over years 1998–2017, including 199 observations for 70 low- and middle-income countries from Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Africa. Our findings support the proposition that equity in social spending (measured by the share of social protection spending going to the bottom quintile) is a significant and strong predictor of improved distributional outcomes (poverty measured at Int$1.90 a day and inequality measured by the Gini index). Moreover, in low- and middle-income countries in our sample the poverty and inequality reducing impact of this equity measure is stronger than in the sample including all countries. The presence of a significant gap in equity of social protection spending between the high-income countries and the rest of countries included in the study signifies that there is a large potential in improving equity in social protection spending in low- and middle-income countries. Social protection reforms in these countries should be focused on extending the coverage of social protection programs and improving access to social protection for the poorest segments of the population.

Stakeholders' Perspective on Building Integrated Social Protection System in Nepal

Following the inception of federalist structure, the three tiers of government is providing more than 80 social protection programmes in Nepal. The main purpose of this study is to assess the extent of coordination and integration of various programmes and provisions related to social protection, and to put forward better ways of coordination among them. This study adopted mixed method and partially applied the coordination toolkit developed by United Nations Development Group (UNDG) and ISPA. The study draws on analysis of available research, and in-depth interviews with concerned stakeholders using semi-structured questionnaires. Findings show that the involvement of multiple mechanisms and agencies for managing social protection schemes have created fragmentation, duplication, inefficiency, and ineffectiveness despite the fact that there is programme level vertical coordination within a single programme in some social protection schemes. There are a severe lack of horizontal coordination at the policy and operational level among programmes and mechanisms related to social protection. Implementation of international obligations, designing national policies and legal frameworks, establishing institutions, provisioning sustained funding mechanisms, generating political willpower, and using Integrated Management Information Systems (IMIS) are some strategies that can contribute to integration of the programmes. Moreover, it is very important to establish a single mechanism for coordinating the fragmented social protection activities for its sustainable implementation.

Estimating the extra disability expenditures for the design of inclusive social protection policies.

For social protection policies to be inclusive they must address the extra costs that people with disabilities incur. Studies show that these costs are highly significant and if not taken into account the economic wellbeing of people with disabilities is underestimated. Additionally, disability costs vary significantly by the type and degree of disability. To align the structure of social protection programs with how costs are incurred to promote equal participation requires estimating those costs. The Goods and Services Required approach, it is argued, is better than the often used Standard of Living Approach, and has implications for policy design.