Protecting Children from Poverty and Disasters in East Asia and the Pacific. A Symposium on Linkages between Social Protection and Disaster Risk. 22-23 May 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand UNICEF Unconditional Cash Transfer Program Philippines
Unconditional Cash Transfer Program (UCT) One of UNICEF strategic responses in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan Two Phases: Phase 1: Implemented with ACF International (Fundacion Accion Contra el Hambre) in the Leyte Province Phase 2: Expansion of the Cash Transfer Program in the Eastern Samar Province (to be implemented with Department of Social Welfare and Development)
UCT PHASE 1
Start date: January 2014 UCT (Phase 1) Objective: To increase access to food and essential non-food items of the most vulnerable households affected by Typhoon Haiyan in the Leyte province Coverage: 6 Local government units in Leyte (10,000 HHs) Entitlement: Vulnerable household will receive Php 4,370 (US$ 100) per month for 6 months Vulnerable HHs include: Pregnant and lactating women (PLW) Malnourished children (SAM/MAM) /Children at risk of malnutrition Persons with Disability (PWD) Chronically ill persons Child-headed Households Elderly Persons (60 years and above) Single parents (Female headed households) Child-headed Households Households with a high dependency ratio as a result of hosting children separated from their families
Household distribution by vulnerability criteria (PHASE 1) People with disabilities The ill Malnourished children 3.8% 1.0% 0.3% Female headed households 11.3% Child headed households Orphans 0.3% 0.8% Elderly 23.4% Pregnant and Lactating Women 59.1%
UCT Process Flow (Phase 1)
Where is cash grant spent? Food 4% 12% 38% Rent/ Purchase of Shelter materials Transportation Income Generation 18% Productive assets - Livestock Debts 2% 3% 4% 2% 17% Savings Education Expenditure Patterns of 1 st cash grant Source: ACF PDM findings
Implementation Highlights Issues and Challenges: High operating cost at 22% (compared to Philippine CCT program at around 10%) Inclusion error: 1.3% (addressed by weaning off these households) Long wait in cash distribution (addressed by scheduling cash distribution to diffuse beneficiary clogging in distribution sites) Linkages with the government: MOU with DSWD to have 10,000 HH beneficiary list for potential inclusion to the Pantawid Pamilya program Working with the Department of Agriculture for inclusion of 100 households into its Animal Dispersal program Encourage beneficiaries to attend Family Development Sessions (FDS) on topics related to livelihood and financial literacy
UCT Phase 2: Expansion
UCT Phase 2: Expansion Start date: June 2014 Coverage: 9 Local government units in Eastern Samar (5,650 HHs) Purpose: To address the food and essential non-food needs of the most vulnerable households during the early recovery processes (Eastern Samar province) Seeks to build on the recognized comparative advantages and capacities of DSWD and UNICEF and to establish operational modalities to maximize the synergies and impact of collaboration Lower operational costs expected
UCT Phase 2: Expansion Vulnerable Households include: Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program beneficiaries Households with three or more children Households with pregnant women and/or lactating mothers for children less than 6 months old Female headed households Households with disabled parents or children Household with grandparents as primary care givers as a result of Yolanda Process Flow Pre-qualification of 6,000 Pantawid Pamilya household beneficiaries based on the vulnerable criteria. To be derived from existing 4Ps database A Validation Team will be formed that will verify in the field if indeed these pre-qualified list of Pantawid Pamilya household beneficiaries match with the vulnerable criteria Delivery of cash grant amounting to PHP 4,370 per month for six months to the validated 5,650 vulnerable households. Cash distribution will commence June 2014 and end November 2014 Conduct of Family Development Sessions to interested and willing household beneficiaries Existing grievance mechanism of the Pantawid Pamilya program will apply
Sustainability of the UCT Programme Establish linkages with the government to achieve long-term development objective of poverty reduction/alleviation by complementing and integrating with the existing Philippine CCT program (Pantawid Pamilya program) Phase 1: Non-CCT vulnerable HHs will be subjected to the proxy means test of the Philippine CCT program for possible inclusion Phase 2 (Expansion): Direct linkage with DSWD (implementing partner) to have CCT HHs as beneficiaries; serves to top-up the efforts of families in the recovery stages
Ways Forward Continue existing efforts with the government on UCT Share lessons learned and documentation of good practices Strengthen inter-sectoral coordination for Social protection and Resilience Launch of the Social Protection and Resilience workshop for UNICEF Haiyan-priority LGUs (pilot in Roxas City in Jun 2014) Integrating the government s Social Protection Handbook with a particular focus on Resilience and Children
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