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Cambodia Family Package Programme
Cambodia Family Package Programme
Despite rapid economic progress over the last two decades, almost 20 per cent of Cambodians continue to live below the national poverty line. The Cambodia Family Package Programme provides integrated social assistance to poor and vulnerable families, consolidating existing cash transfers for priority groups such as pregnant women, young children, school-aged children, persons with disabilities, the elderly, and those living with HIV/AIDS. Eligible households receive KHR 34,000 (US$8.30) per month plus additional grants for each different vulnerability type in the household. The Royal Government of Cambodia launched the programme in December 2023, and implementation started in April 2024.The rollout of the Family Package is accompanied by a rigorous impact evaluation, with a baseline conducted in May-June 2024. This report presents the baseline findings, providing critical insights into household conditions prior to programme implementation. Household characteristics indicate a high level of vulnerability, with the majority of participants falling below the poverty line, exhibiting low levels of consumption, high food insecurity and having limited dietary diversity. Economic activities revealed that households rely heavily on transfers, with low levels of non-farm enterprises, highlighting the need for diversified income sources. Similarly, financial inclusion remains low, with high reliance on informal sources for saving and borrowing, reflecting a need for improved financial access and savings mechanisms. The report also found gaps in school enrolment among adolescents and lack of access to affordable public health services.The baseline study examined the similarity between the treatment and comparison group and concluded that for the majority of the domains in the evaluation, the study design was effective. This baseline study has therefore paved the way for a rigorous impact assessment of the Family Package Programme in the future.
Data Must Speak: Ethiopia
Data Must Speak: Ethiopia
The Ministry of Education in Ethiopia developed its Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP) 2020/21-2024/25, outlining its vision of transforming society through harnessing the full potential of learners to become productive citizens. The ESDP includes several goals, including improving equitable access and participation in education for all children, improving the quality and relevance of education, ensuring good governance, and using education to establish national unity in diversity. As part of its plan, the MoE aims to improve its Education Management Information System (EMIS), including collecting more granular data, to inform decision-making and the equitable allocation of resources.By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Ethiopia, the Data Must Speak (DMS) research helps to identify important associations between school inputs and school performance that can inform public policies and investments in the education sector. The DMS research leverages this administrative data to identify positive deviant schools – or those schools outperforming other schools operating in the same contexts and with equivalent resources. It then identifies the practices and behaviours that may be contributing to positive deviant schools’ success and explores how to scale these to more schools in the country.Data Must Speak (DMS) is a global initiative launched in 2014 to address evidence gaps and mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. It employs mixed methods and innovative approaches, including positive deviance, behavioral sciences, implementation research, and scaling science, to generate knowledge and practical lessons. The research focuses on understanding 'what works,' 'why,' and 'how' to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the international education community.On this webpage, you will find all the DMS Positive Deviance research outputs related to Ethiopia:DMS Stage 3: Discovering locally-led behaviours and practices to improve quality educationStage 3 Report: Schools Inspiring Change: Research on the practices and behaviours of positive deviant schools in EthiopiaExecutive Summary Stage 3 of the DMS research in Ethiopia
Global Research Agenda For Children with Disabilities
Global Research Agenda For Children with Disabilities
Children with disabilities remain under-researched and underserved globally. Despite commitments to removing barriers to inclusion, the evidence base for effective policies, programmes and investments remains fragmented. The Global Research Agenda for Children with Disabilities (the Research Agenda) provides a strategic framework to close evidence gaps, drive disability-inclusive research, and ensure the meaningful engagement of children with disabilities and their representative organizations.To understand which research areas can have the greatest impact for children with disabilities, please also review our Global Research Agenda for Children with Disabilities.
Arts and Culture for Inclusion
Arts and Culture for Inclusion
This systematic review by UNICEF Innocenti explores the role of arts- and culture-based programmes in promoting social inclusion for children with disabilities. Drawing on a comprehensive analysis of global evidence, the report examines interventions in dance, music, theatre, visual arts, cultural traditions, and other creative activities that foster participation, reduce stigma, and enhance well-being.The findings highlight the potential of these programmes to create inclusive environments where children with and without disabilities can engage, express themselves, and build meaningful social connections. While evidence gaps remain, particularly in low-income settings, humanitarian contexts, and underrepresented disability groups, the report underscores the promise of this approach and the need for further research and investment to expand its impact.This report serves as a valuable resource for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers seeking to leverage arts and culture for disability inclusion. It provides key insights into programme effectiveness, challenges in implementation, and recommendations for future research. To understand which research areas can have the greatest impact for children with disabilities, please also review our Global Research Agenda for Children with Disabilities.
From Insight to Inclusion
From Insight to Inclusion
Effective policies and programmes depend on evidence – but for children with disabilities, research is too often incomplete or missing. UNICEF disability research worldwide fills these gaps, providing rigorous, up-to-date insights that drive smarter investments, stronger policies, and better outcomes for children.From Insight to Inclusion is a comprehensive UNICEF Innocenti report demonstrating how rigorous, research-driven insights transform the lives of children with disabilities. Anchored in UNICEF’s Disability Inclusion Policy and Strategy (DIPAS), the report follows the journey from innovative research to tangible impacts in education, healthcare, social protection, and beyond. Featuring studies and case examples from 2018 to 2022, it reveals how evidence-based research empowers communities and fosters inclusive practices worldwide.Inclusion starts with knowledge. Please read the report and explore the range of UNICEF’s research on children with disabilities.To understand which research areas can have the greatest impact for children with disabilities, please also review our Global Research Agenda for Children with Disabilities.
Simulation of the Mother and Child Benefit Programme
Simulation of the Mother and Child Benefit Programme
UNICEF, in partnership with CARE Bangladesh, implemented a pilot simulation of the Mother and Child Benefit Programme (MCBP) in Pekua Upazila, Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh. The pilot was funded by the European Union, and it ran from January 2023 to June 2024. It simulated the national MCBP, which combines cash transfers with health and nutrition services to support pregnant women and young children below the age of four.The goal of the Pekua simulation was to generate evidence on implementation aspects, including fidelity of implementation, as well as challenges and enablers that hindered or supported programme implementation.Based on focus group discussions and key informant interviews, the study examined the following specific areas: (i) relevance and adequacy of the cash transfer and services; (ii) coordination among programme implementing partners and other stakeholders; (iii) programme monitoring and timeliness; and (iv) enablers and bottlenecks for implementation of the various programme components, including linkages to local health services.The research on the Pekua MCBP simulation provides valuable lessons and recommendations that can guide the scale up of the national MCBP programme. The results can also support the implementation of other cash-plus social protection programmes in analogous contexts.
Preventive Care Access for Forcibly Displaced Children and Youth in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Preventive Care Access for Forcibly Displaced Children and Youth in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
To ensure that every forcibly displaced child and young person has the right to the best possible health, there is a need to better understand how effectively they access preventive care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This rapid evidence review conducted by UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight describes the current evidence base and gaps in research concerning preventive care access for forcibly displaced children and young people living in LMICs. It synthesizes and appraises the current evidence on the state of access to preventive care for forcibly displaced children and young people (aged 0–20 years) in LMICs, as well as preventive care’s role within broader child protection systems.
Qualitative Study of the Social Cash Transfer Programme in Urban Zambia
Qualitative Study of the Social Cash Transfer Programme in Urban Zambia
The Social Cash Transfer (SCT) programme in Zambia is the country’s largest and most important poverty-targeted social protection intervention. Established with the main objective of reducing extreme poverty and the intergenerational transfer of poverty, it targets five categories of vulnerable households and provides cash payments bi-monthly. The programme was initially implemented in rural areas, but was expanded into urban areas in 2016 using the same programme features. A qualitative study, based on interviews with 96 cash transfer recipients, assessed the main changes experienced by beneficiary households in urban, peri-urban and rural areas as a result of their participation in the programme. This study assessed the effectiveness of the programme and opportunities for adaptation in urban areas.Suggested citations:Storchi, Silvia, et al, Qualitative Study of the Social Cash Transfer Programme in Urban Zambia, UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, Florence, March 2025.Storchi, Silvia, et al, Qualitative Study of the Social Cash Transfer Programme in Urban Zambia, Research brief, UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight, Florence, March 2025.
Best Interests of the Child in Relation to the Digital Environment
Best Interests of the Child in Relation to the Digital Environment
Digital technologies increasingly affect children's rights, bringing both benefits and risks. While the digital environment can support education, socialization, play, and creativity, it can also expose children to cyberbullying, privacy breaches, exploitation, and harmful content. Despite growing regulatory efforts from around the world towards upholding children’s rights in relation to the digital environment, there is no unified framework that ensures ‘the best interests of the child’ is a primary consideration in decisions across related laws and regulations, business practices, and governance structures. Moreover, children's voices are largely absent from decision-making processes about what is in their best interests in a digital world.This working paper emphasizes the critical necessity of incorporating the best interests of the child principle—a core tenet of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child—into the governance of digital products and services. It highlights the importance of balancing actions and measures that would likely have an impact on children’s rights, such as the right to protection, participation, and privacy – while addressing legal and regulatory gaps and ensuring business responsibilities. The paper presents a review of existing literature on the topic situating the principle within the broader child rights framework, examining the challenges of implementing the principle in the relation to digital environment, evaluating some of the approaches taken by governments and companies, and identifying key legal and regulatory gaps.The paper outlines several key actions that governments should take: develop child rights-based policies and enhance existing policies with a focus on children’s rights; ensure business responsibility such as through the conducting child rights impact assessments; establish formal mechanisms for meaningful child participation in the governance of digital technologies; and engage in international multistakeholder collaboration to create adaptable and sustainable frameworks that safeguard the rights of all children.This paper is part of UNICEF's work on children's best interests in a digital world
Exploring the Reasons Behind Primary School Dropout in Mozambique
Exploring the Reasons Behind Primary School Dropout in Mozambique
This research brief presents the results of the third round of Mozambique’s Longitudinal Assessment of School Dropout (ALDE), conducted in 2021. It investigates trends in school attendance, performance and dropouts since the previous rounds of the assessment, conducted in 2018 and 2019. The brief examines factors associated with primary school dropout between 2019 and 2021, including differences between urban and rural areas, various regions of Mozambique, and between male and female students.
Data Must Speak: Burkina Faso
Data Must Speak: Burkina Faso
The Burkinabe education system aims to guarantee universal and equitable access to quality education for all school-age children. Despite the progress made in implementing quality education in Burkina Faso, significant challenges remain.In Burkina Faso, some schools demonstrate exceptional performance. These "positive deviant" schools perform better than their peers despite operating under similar conditions and resources. This research utilizes administrative data to identify these schools, explore their success stories, and understand their locally led solutions. The aim is to empower educators and policymakers with practical insights for broader implementation.Data Must Speak (DMS) is a global initiative launched in 2014 to address evidence gaps and mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. It employs mixed methods and innovative approaches, including positive deviance, behavioral sciences, implementation research, and scaling science, to generate knowledge and practical lessons. The research focuses on understanding 'what works,' 'why,' and 'how' to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the international education community.On this page, you will find all the DMS Positive Deviance research outputs related to Burkina Faso:DMS Stage 1: Understanding what resources and contextual factors are associated with good school performanceStage 1 Report: Unpacking Factors Influencing Primary School Performance in Burkina Faso (French)Stage 1 Report: Executive summary (French)Stage 1 Report: Executive summary (English)Policy Brief 1: Girls’ Education in Burkina Faso (French)Policy Brief 2: The Impact of the Security Crisis on Education (French)Policy Brief 3: A Comparison of Public and Private Schools (French)
Researching Sensitive Topics Involving Children
Researching Sensitive Topics Involving Children
Research involving sensitive topics is critical if we are to really understand children’s experiences and support positive change. The absence of reliable evidence on difficult topics means that issues, and ultimately the children affected by them, remain invisible to policy makers and the broader community.This work however must be done with significant care – paying attention to the potential harm that can arise to participants from poorly designed, implemented or supported research – even when well intentioned.This paper captures outcomes from a webinar hosted by UNICEF Innocenti in 2024, with panelists Professor Lorraine Sherr, Professor Shanaaz Mathews and Marium Hussein, drawing on their experience and expertise to explore key risks and recommendations to ensure that such research can be conducted safely.Key elements discussed included: the importance of context and local knowledge, differences in reactions and response that children may present when distressed, ensuring safeguarding response plans are sufficiently robust and actionable, and the need to support specific skill development for both researchers undertaking sensitive research as well as ethical review panelists tasked with assessing research proposals.
