Social Policy

Ever since Algeria’s independence in 1962, social equity has been at the heart of economic and social development. The Government’s 2021-2024 action plan prioritizes strengthening human capital, improving citizens’ living conditions and developing efficient and equitable social policies. These three areas impact directly children’s well-being and is reflected in Algeria’s ranking in the category of high human development countries and the significant drop in monetary poverty from 22.6 per cent in 1990 to 5.5 per cent in 2011.[1]  

Despite the fall in the price of oil in 2014 (one of Algeria’s main exports) and the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic crisis of 2020, Algeria has pushed ahead with social sector spending and social protection policies to protect the population, including children, from the fall out of the global economic crisis. 
 

In 2022, the Government began reforming public finance and in 2023 adopted the first Finance Law using a programme-based budgeting approach. The public finance reform also coincided with a more favourablefavorable macroeconomic situation in the country, with the crude oil price at the highest since 2014. 

Also, to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and the global economic crisis, in 2022 the State budget allocated 613 billion Algerian dinars (about US$ 4.6 billion) to price subsidies for basic foods, an increase of 93 per cent compared with 2021. In 2023, the budget allocated to the ministries of Education and Health (current and investment) represented 9 per cent and 5 per cent respectively (calculations from the Finance law 2023). Also in 2023, the Government increased pensions and salaries as well as the unemployment allowance to support the purchase power of low-income earners.  
 

Notably, Algeria is one of the few countries in the world where child and youth multidimensional poverty measurement is institutionalized and is measured by the National Equity Cell, a body of government ministries, civil society members and researchers, led by the National Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CNESE). The CNESE is a think tank body and a consultative institution that advises the Government on economic, social and environmental issues. CNESE leads research and analysis of the data and produces reports and thematic notes on specific areas based on its child and youth poverty analysis. 
UNICEF aims that all children, especially the most vulnerable, have social protection coverage so that they can manage to meet their basic needs, including during times of economic or climatic crisis.  UNICEF also aims to reduce multi-dimensional poverty, particularly in areas that have high rates of multi-dimensional poverty. 

The UNICEF-supported Social Policy programme is aligned with the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes (i) halving child poverty (SDG 1, target 1.2);  (ii) achieving universal coverage for children in social protection by 2030 (SDG 1, target 1.3); (iii) meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) strategic outcomes 2 that by 2027,  the population, including people living in vulnerable conditions, benefits from transparent, accountable and effective institutions that guarantee their effective participation and representation, the rule of law, as well as the promotion of inclusiveness and non-discrimination values; and UNSDCF 3 that by 2027  the population, including people living in vulnerable conditions, has access to high-quality, resilient health services, including prevention, a high-quality education and training system, and an effective social protection system.  

The UNICEF Social Policy programme (2023-2027) aims that by 2027, children and adolescents, girls and boys, especially the vulnerable, benefit from equitable social protection programmes which reduce poverty and economic and natural risks affecting their wellbeing. It consists of two outputs. The first output is related to child poverty and social protection areas and states that by 2027, national institutions are strengthened with tools, protocols and capacities to generate rigorous data and analysis on child and adolescent poverty and social protection to enable the development of an effective, well-targeted and shock adaptive social protection programme. The second output is related to public finance and local governance areas and states that by 2027, central and local actors are equipped with tools for analysing public spending and budgets and reviewing budget allocations to reduce disparities and poverty among children and adolescents in targeted areas.