Affiliated Network for Social Accountability (ANSA-Africa)

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COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

ANSA-Africa is a project of the Economic Governance Programme, IDASA

Publications

Budgeting for children in Africa: concept and framework for analysis
2010
Shimelis Tsegaye and Yehualashet Mekonen
African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) and International Child Support (ICS)

To inform the writing of the African Report on Child Wellbeing 2011, a number of technical papers on budgeting and related topics were written by ACPF experts and other renowned scholars who are knowledgeable on the subject. This publication entitled "Budgeting for Children in Africa: Concept and Framework for Analysis" is one of such papers.

We believe that this publication, along with the others, will contribute to the body of knowledge and inform the work of researchers, policy makers, as well as governments and non-government organisations that deal with children’s issues in Africa, and elsewhere.

As part of its effort to carry out informed advocacy on the rights and wellbeing of children in Africa, The African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) decided to produce a report on a specific theme every other year. The first of these reports was the 2008 African Report on Child Wellbeing that mainly focused on measuring child-friendliness of African governments. This report is a major contribution in promoting good governance and child wellbeing, as well as being an important source of information on children in Africa. It has also informed programmatic development of a number of organisations in Africa and elsewhere.

The second report in the series, The African Report on Child Wellbeing 2011 is on the theme 'budgeting for children'. This theme was chosen, inter alia, in appreciation of the fact that childhood – being a stage of vulnerability – always carries with it a sense of urgency which demands immediate and concrete action on the wellbeing and rights fronts, wherein the budget is the linchpin.

"Budgeting for Children in Africa: Concept and Framework for Analysis" reviews pertinent and emerging issues related to budgeting for children from a child rights perspective. The paper also concentrates on the management of practice and the task of putting policy into practice to make a difference in the lives of children in Africa.

It is hoped that this publication will not only fulfill the vital function of providing up to date information, but that it will also enable us, in partnership, to evaluate and coordinate Africa-wide efforts to increase budget allocations to sectors that greatly affect and impact on the rights and wellbeing of children in Africa.

David Mugawe
Executive Director

Table of Contents
Preface	i
Executive Summary	iii
Budgeting for children: why and how?	1
1.1 The rational for public investment in children	1
1.2 Government budget as a tool of public investment in children	5
1.3 Can government budgets be more child-friendly?	7
1.3.1 budget transparency and participation	12
1.3.2 budget accountability: The budget regulatory framework	18
1.3.3 Challenges facing African budget systems	26
1.3.4 Concluding remarks	33
Macroeconomic policies and budgeting: implications for child wellbeing	37
2.1 Do macroeconomic policies affect childern?	38
2.2 Can children be protected agains macroeconomic shocks?	46
2.3 Concluding remarks	54
Budget analysis from a child rights perspective	56
3.1 Budget and its link with government child-friendliness	57
3.2 How does the budget process affect child wellbeing?	58
3.3 Budgets for children: what do they entail?	60
3.4 Analysing budgets for children: The framework	62
3.4.1 Availability of resources	63
3.4.2 Adequacy of budget expenditures	66
3.4.3 Prioritisation of children's issues	68
3.4.4 Progress in budget allocation	69
3.4.5 Equity of budget allocation	70
3.4.6 Efficiency and effectiveness of budgets	72
3.5 The performance index for budgeting for children	79
3.6 Challenges and limitations of budget analysis	80
Conclusions and recommendations	81
4.1 Conclusions	81
4.2 Recommendations	82
References	84