Broadening social protection

The writer is a social development and policy adviser, and a freelance columnist based in Islamabad.

In my last article, ‘BISP and institutional reforms’, in these pages on September 25, I discussed some of the recently introduced institutional reforms to make BISP a merit-based and responsive entity of social protection.

I also discussed the need for some innovative Cash for Work (CFW) initiatives in Pakistan to offset the political and economic shocks due to the global pandemic and an increased frequency of human or nature induced disasters. CFW initiatives in a disaster prone country like Pakistan merit to be one of the key ingredients of social protection programs albeit with some contextual adjustments.

We have a number of case studies from Asia to Africa which validate the assertion that CFW is more than a consumption smoothing intervention with the positive externalities of empowering the vulnerable groups in a situation of disaster. As we have witnessed during the last three decades, disasters have, unfortunately, become recurring phenomena in Pakistan while the institutional response to disaster preparedness and risk reduction has really been weak. The adverse effects of climate induced and anthropogenic disasters on human society can be reduced with a mix of instruments of preparedness, adaptability, enhanced resilience and capacity building. CFW initiatives help build resilience for speedy recovery and rehabilitation in a disaster situation.

However, it is important to contextualize such initiatives in line with resource base, political and economic structure, nature and intensity of vulnerabilities, institutional capacity and local knowledge. I, therefore, suggested in my last article that BISP should focus on cutting edge research, comparative studies of spatial and temporal dimensions of social protection and programming of innovative instruments like CFW initiatives. Social protection initiatives and building local resilience are interconnected and mutually reinforcing policy imperatives to create pathways for a secured human future for the poor.

Rigorous research should be conducted on the outcomes of CFW in particular in those areas of the program where evidence is lacking like psychosocial distress, sexual exploitation and physical violence. Generally, conventional CFW targeting is based on income categorization of the beneficiaries, targeting those with the lowest asset wealth or the lowest Proxy Means Test (PMT) scores. However when we take into account issues like child protection vulnerability, the Burundi and Ethiopia case studies indicate that household wealth measures may not be sufficient as families with resources such as cattle, land or shops could pull their children out of school to work.

This type of research can be carried out in Pakistan too and one can also infer similar studies from elsewhere to ascertain if this is a general pattern. And if so, what questions or criteria should be included in vulnerability assessments which would identify the asset level and type of work for which this happens, and how this can be mitigated. Even at the research stage, it is important to ensure that communities are consulted for contextual knowledge of relevance and efficacy and to incorporate the mitigation against the possible negative impact of programme objectives on wellbeing.

For CFW or even for cash transfers to achieve outcomes, far greater emphasis is needed on measuring the impact on the lives of children, women and other vulnerable groups. This can be promoted through the collection of sex- and age disaggregated data and by including children, women and other vulnerable groups in program evaluations. It goes without saying that sufficient funding is allocated from the outset to enable response to a crisis.

The government did well in the case of Covid-19 by committing adequate funding to reduce the pains of poverty and economic shocks with visible positive impact on vulnerable groups. Even if funding is secured, program design should be aligned to context-specific intra-household relations so that CFW does not lead to negative outcomes, such as children being pulled from school to care for younger children whilst parents take part in CFW. It is also important to develop meticulous action plans including the safeguarding tools, rigorous monitoring checklist, disaggregated data by sex and age, list of potential research partnerships and mapping of stakeholders etc.

Experts believe that the design and development of CFW in emergencies should be predicated upon the existing global knowledge which must then be validated by integrating the local experiences. This would require vertical and horizontal partnerships with external research group as well as the grassroots’ institutions at the local level while carrying out evaluation, research and in disseminating the results widely. BISP can enter into partnerships with leading national research institutions like Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE) and the local civil society networks. This will be a great mix of research and practice of social protection programs which, in turn, will inform policymaking of poverty alleviation and social protection in the long run.

It is also important to cater for contextual variations like social and cultural patterns and behaviour as key factors to inform programme design and objectives. For example, with regard to early marriage, economic shocks caused by the emergency may not be the main driving factor and thus a CFW intervention will have limited effects. Entrenched social behaviours are harder to tackle with short-term emergency style interventions, so one has to be realistic in programme objectives,

With the institutional synergy of BISP, Baitul Maal and Zakat under the social safety plank of the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation, it makes more sense today than before to broaden the programmatic menu. In addition to programmatic integration under the Ehsaas program, it is important to foster strategic partnerships with sector leaders to influence investment decisions. There is optimism that with the launch of full scale programs under the Ehsaas strategy these factors will be taken into account.

BISP and PPAF can develop longer-term development projects to address more systemic problems being faced by communities in disaster prone areas. PPAF has already developed an ecological sensitivity map of Pakistan under its Environmental and Social Management program which will be helpful in initiating some pilot projects in some of the disaster prone districts. This may be linked with some existing PPAF’s funding projects for income or employment generation under its Socioeconomic Transformation Framework where women and men have equal access to appropriate income earning opportunities.

However, the labour-intensive CFW requires physical hardship which may result in disproportionate burden on women by exposing them to hazards and injuries. This will naturally make the physical work more difficult for them as compared to men. It is, therefore, important to consider how to provide appropriate work for women that gives them equal pay for the time worked.

There may not be alternative jobs for women, regardless of their physical condition. Women may work longer than men, but receive the same pay. Those for whom the work is too strenuous a cash transfer can be the most appropriate intervention. CFW is not appropriate for everyone, least of all pregnant and lactating women, the disabled and the elderly. Although CFW is designed to allow people the dignity of payment for their work, the tasks must be appropriate to people’s capacities.

Email: ahnihal@yahoo.com

Twitter: @AmirHussain76