Child-Focused Public Expenditure Evaluated

YEREVAN, 2 October 2018 – UNICEF presented the results today of an evaluation of child-focused public expenditure. According to the report, the level of public expenditure has decreased in proportion to both the overall spending as well as social expenditure. Although an increase in overall public spending has been registered since 2012, it has not proportionately focused on children.

More than half of the expenditure was allocated to education, social protection and healthcare. The data from 2012 and 2015 show that education made up 34.7% and 31.6% of spending on children respectively, social protection 12.7% and 12.2%, while health accounted for 8.4% and 8.3%.

This is the first such study not just in Armenia but also in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region. It presents the direct, indirect and expanded expenditure allocated to children in Armenia in the context of the existing state policy on children and the obligations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“The public expenditure allocated to children and adolescents plays an important role in the reduction of the impact of poverty. The interventions launched and policy adopted today will play a decisive role now and in the future regarding the ability of Armenian children and adolescents to achieve their full potential,” noted UNICEF Armenian Representative Tanja Radocaj. “Several studies have shown that relatively small allocations can lead to multiple lifelong benefits not just for individuals, but also for society and the economy.”

The study showed that most of public spending on children in Armenia went to fulfilling the rights for survival, development and protection, with the right for participation receiving only one percent. This highlights the potential need for investing more in promoting participation of children and adolescents to support their social inclusion and development into active members of society.

The methodology of the study has previously been widely used in Latin America and Caribbean countries, leading to valuable lessons learned. The Argentinian format was used as the study model in Armenia and included a visit by partners from the Argentinian National Treasury.