Social policy
See how UNICEF is supporting the government of Cameroon to ensure social inclusion and reduce Child Deprivations
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What is social policy?
The social policy component of the UNICEF program plays a vital role in promoting and protecting children's rights worldwide. Its primary objective is to foster an environment that supports the development of every child by influencing public policies and social practices. This initiative mainly aims to progressively reduce both monetary and multidimensional poverty among children and to enhance children's rights through the implementation of inclusive, child-sensitive, and gender-transformative social policies.
To achieve this, it is essential to make effective use of available data and public resources, as well as to strengthen national social protection systems. These efforts are crucial for ensuring sustainable, large-scale results that contribute to accelerating progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda.
The challenges
In 2022, approximately 37.7% of households in Cameroon were living below the poverty line, an increase from 37.5% in 2014. This indicates that while around 8 million people were affected by poverty in 2014, that number rose to 10 million by 2022. Poverty levels vary significantly across regions: the Centre, South, and Littoral regions have a poverty rate of less than 25%, whereas the Far North, North, and North-West regions experience rates exceeding 60%.
47.5% of children suffer from various deprivations (Food, Health, Protection, housing, access to water, etc.) affecting their adequate development.
44.2% of children in Cameroon (5 million children) live below the national poverty line (source: ECAM4).
The goals
The programme's activities focus on responses to the poverty and vulnerability of children, adolescent girls and women that require a cross-sectoral response:
- Improved data and monitoring-evaluation systems, as well as regular analyses to strengthen knowledge of the situation of children, adolescent girls and women;
- Child-sensitive planning and budgeting;
- Inclusive, integrated and crisis-responsive social protection, with sensitivity to children, gender and people with disabilities.
Activities accompanied by regular advocacy and dialogue with the various stakeholders
Child poverty
More than ever, data has the potential to shape the lives and living conditions of children. By strengthening the government's capacity to generate, analyse and use data and information through the establishment of improved monitoring and evaluation systems on the rights of children, adolescents and women, UNICEF aims to better inform public policy, monitoring and evaluation of development indicators.
Child-friendly planning and budgeting
Public spending on children is a smart investment.
UNICEF therefore aims to strengthen the government's capacity to develop and successfully implement socio-economic policies, plans and budgets that are inclusive, well-founded and sensitive to children and gender.
Inclusive social care
Social protection covers all the policies and programmes needed to reduce the consequences of poverty and exclusion throughout life. In Cameroon, UNICEF's aim is to strengthen the national social protection strategy to make it more child-friendly, more respectful of gender equality and more inclusive.