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Is this email not displaying correctly? Click here to view in browser Issue 17 | September 2023 |
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The Imperative of Government Investment in Children
By Mitchell Ainebyoona, Specialist on Public Investment in Children,
Save the Children
Almost half of Uganda’s population is children between the age of 0 to 14 (46%) of the overall population, representing one of the youngest populations in the world1. Although there have been additional efforts to ease and better children’s lives such as; programs and legislation to increase school enrollment, decrease child mortality, reduce maternal mortality, and adopt the Children Amendment Act, many children still cannot get the full benefits of these. Poverty is one of the leading causes of child vulnerability in Uganda and is associated with many forms of child rights violations. The child poverty rate for children under five years of age is 55 per cent – with one in five children, living in extreme poverty. Similarly, children in Uganda face various risks at different stages of childhood including malnutrition and stunting, disease, inadequate access to education and a range of child protection violations2. Why should Government Invest?It is important to note that how government spends money, and who benefits, reveals its priorities. How, then, do children fare in the competition for public resources? While families have long been the primary caregivers of children, all levels of government – local or central – invest in the growth and development of children, whether through education, family support, or health and nutrition benefits. Neglecting investments in children leaves them and their communities more vulnerable to disasters and shocks. Adequate investment in social protection programs and child protection systems is crucial to prevent and respond to abuse, exploitation, neglect, and violence against children. By investing in these areas, governments can create a protective environment, ensuring children's safety and security. Uganda is a party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and hence committed to ensuring that the convention is implemented progressively. Article IV of the convention requires the Government of Uganda to fully implement International Treaty Instruments to the maximum extent of its available resources and, where necessary, to seek international cooperation to support the fulfilment of child rights. What are the gains?There is a large body of literature outlining arguments on why it is rational to invest in children. It should be noted that the costs and returns on the investments made in children are cumulative and path-dependent, and thus cannot be considered as a simple addition of costs and returns for each period in life. Investment in children can take many forms across very different sectors and spheres in the lives of children. Moreover, costs and returns on investments in individual sectors are not independent of each other. Investments in improving children’s nutrition, health, water, sanitation and hygiene and education can all be made either simultaneously or subsequentially 3. Childhood health and nutrition investments have been associated with a range of positive private and public returns, and there is consensus in the published literature that they ultimately yield positive long-term social and economic outcomes to varying degrees. Relatedly, improvements in maternal and child health status and under-five undernutrition have been associated with high economic returns through the pathways of improved cognition, lowered morbidity and mortality and higher educational achievement, which in turn lead to higher individual adult earnings and, labour force productivity gains. What do the budgets say?An in-depth analysis of the government budget process at all levels of government depicts a well-structured and participatory process albeit with inherent gaps that constrain effective planning for child protection. An analysis of the government budgets between FY20217/18 to FY2021/22 reveals that the “Youth and Children Affairs” sub-programme budget, nearly doubled for the first 3 years from UGX3.77bn in FY2017/18 to UGX6.06bn and UGX6.36bn in FY2018/19 and FY2019/20 respectively. For the subsequent 2 years, there was a dramatic drop of UGX1.85bn from UGX6.36bn in FY2019/20 to UGX4.51bn in FY2020/21. More specifically, a review of past expenditure outturns and medium-term projections by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development programmes as of FY2017/18 shows that the budget for social protection for vulnerable groups and that of youth and children affairs sub-programme was set to steadily rise. Table 1: Expenditure trend by sub-programme under the social protection for vulnerable groups programme
Source: Social development sector BFP FY2017/18 – FY2022/23 Table 1 above reveals that the budget allocation to the youth and children affairs sub-programme had been projected to have reached UGX 6.16 bn in the FY2021/22 budget, which has not been achieved. Furthermore, within the social protection for vulnerable groups programme, a rising trend in budget allocations is only observed in the YLP and the disability and elderly sub-programmes. Allocations to the Youth and Children Affairs sub-programme, which implements child protection activities registered a generally declining trend over this period. A key challenge to this financing problem is the emphasis on strict adherence to Government instructions and existing development plans to guide budget formulation at sub-national levels. The current practice is that budget conferences are convened when budget ceilings have already been determined and allocations are done. Also, to note is that decisions on priority areas are not made in the budget conferences but by the respective budget desks at national, district, and sub-county levels. What needs to be considered by Government?There is overwhelming evidence that investments made in children matter, not only from a human rights perspective but also from an economic perspective. Governments should therefore actively involve children in decision-making processes that affect their lives. By creating platforms for children to express their views, opinions, and concerns, their voices can be heard in policymaking and programming. Valuing children's participation fosters a sense of ownership and empowerment, leading to more inclusive and effective policies that address their unique needs.
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