Social policy

Strengthening Evidence and Data Systems

• Generate, institutionalize and disseminate evidence on multidimensional and monetary child poverty, vulnerability and disparities to inform child-focused and equitable policies and programmes.
• Strengthen national and subnational capacities to collect, analyse and use data for evidence-based policy formulation, planning and monitoring.
• Strengthen inclusive data systems: Develop administrative data strategies and improve household surveys by mainstreaming disability, sex and age disaggregation, and rights-based approaches to data definitions, collection, analysis and reporting.
• Advance responsible data innovation: Promote AI-driven data solutions and stronger knowledge management systems while embedding robust data protection, privacy, ethical governance and quality-assurance standards.
• Translate evidence into action: Generate, synthesize and communicate high-quality evidence to support evidence-based advocacy, inform policies and programmes, and strengthen equitable decision-making and resource allocation for children and vulnerable groups.

Improving Public Financing for Children

• Strengthen public finance management, child-sensitive budgeting, expenditure tracking and fiscal analysis to improve the efficiency, equity and impact of public spending on children, with a focus on reducing disparities and reaching the most vulnerable populations.
• Support evidence-based fiscal policy dialogue and financing strategies that protect and expand investments in children, while addressing evolving macroeconomic, debt, inflation and public financing challenges that affect child well-being and access to essential services.
• Strengthen decentralized planning, budgeting, governance and accountability systems to promote equitable resource allocation, improve service delivery, and enhance the responsiveness of local institutions to the needs of children, adolescents and communities.
• Generate and use evidence, data and public finance analysis to inform policy decisions, monitor results, and advocate for increased and more effective investments in social sectors, including health, education, nutrition, social protection and child protection.
• Strengthen transparency, accountability and partnerships in public financing by supporting government institutions, development partners and stakeholders to mobilize, allocate and use resources more effectively for sustainable and inclusive outcomes for children.

Promoting Social Protection Expansion to Reduce Poverty and Build Resilience

• Support the government to build and scale child-focused, gender-transformative, disability-inclusive and shock-responsive social protection systems that protect vulnerable households from poverty, climate shocks, conflict and displacement, while strengthening anticipatory and adaptive mechanisms to enable timely responses before, during and after crises.
• Strengthen the social protection policy framework and implementation systems by integrating child-sensitive, gender-responsive, disability-inclusive and shock-responsive measures, while expanding programmes such as child grants, girls’ education initiatives, youth employment pathways, health insurance, school feeding and disability grants.
• Expand and institutionalize child grants for pregnant women and young children through strong programme design, delivery systems and implementation plans, with linkages to nutrition, education, health and child protection services.
• Strengthen resilience and reduce child poverty and vulnerability by supporting communities to develop locally driven solutions to recurrent shocks, generating and sharing evidence through research and learning, and identifying sustainable financing options through fiscal space and public finance analysis to scale up inclusive social protection.

Strengthening Social Protection Systems that are Child Focused, Gender-transformative and Shock-responsive 

• Promote strengthening of integrated social protection systems, providing technical support to partners to improve the design of cash transfers, child grants and livelihood support.
• Improve linkages with other social protection interventions such as health insurance, public works and social care services as well as complementary services and intervention related to disability, nutrition, health, child protection, education, water and sanitation
• Promote stronger integration between humanitarian cash assistance and government-led social protection systems.
• Strengthen digitally enabled systems, data interoperability and beneficiary management platforms to improve the effectiveness, transparency and responsiveness of social protection programmes.

Promoting Youth Livelihood

• Strengthen government evidence systems, social protection systems, and policies to promote youth employment and economic inclusion, ensuring that vulnerable youth can transition from protection, learning and skills development into sustainable livelihoods, productive self-employment and decent work.
• Expand financial inclusion and access to affordable, youth-responsive financial services for vulnerable youth through stronger government systems, partnerships, private capital and blended financing mechanisms that support entrepreneurship, business growth and job creation.
• Strengthen partnerships between government, the private sector and social sector investors to drive local economic growth, create jobs, and co-develop youth employment opportunities through apprenticeships, work-based learning, supplier development, entrepreneurship support and inclusive hiring practices.
• Support the development of ecosystems that enable youth-driven innovation, digital inclusion and entrepreneurship by expanding access to technology, innovation financing, skills, business development services and supportive policies that help young people transition from skilling to earning.
• Improve coordination among government, civil society and private sector actors while promoting market systems approaches that address constraints in priority sectors and value chains, enabling young women and men to access sustainable income, business and employment opportunities at local, regional and federal levels beyond project-supported interventions.

UNICEF’s Social Policy Programme works to ensure that evidence informs decisions, public resources deliver results for children, and social protection systems reach those most in need. By strengthening national systems, advancing equitable policies and increasing investments in children, UNICEF contributes to a more resilient, inclusive and prosperous future for every child in Ethiopia.