Children's issues ignored in Ethiopia's PRSP process

Donors, governments and other groups acknowledge that addressing childhood poverty and labour is an important part of broader poverty reduction efforts. Yet, policies with a more comprehensive approach to tackling the multi-dimensionality of child poverty are rarely included in national poverty strategies.

Young Lives - a collaborative research project on children coordinated by Save the Children UK is analysing the extent to which the policy prescriptions and implementation of the Ethiopian Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program (2002-2005) are making a difference in poor children's lives in Ethiopia. It is also looking at how these changes are influenced by gender, ethnic and regional differences.

Although the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) framework introduced by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank emphasised civil society consultations children and young people were often ignored or completely left out of the process. An analysis of 23 PRSPs from Asia, Africa and Latin America revealed that most lacked any comprehensive strategy to address the needs of poor children and their families and frequently overlooked important elements of children's experiences of poverty, work and education, including child trafficking and sexual exploitation. Although PRSPs included universal education for boys and girls and measures to address infant mortality and malnutrition, issues relating to child protection and participation were often left out.

Preliminary findings suggest that:

• Children involved in time-consuming activities such as collecting firewood and water and animal herding have to walk long distances and are exposed to multiple dangers such as wild animals, abduction or lack of food and water.
• Growing pressure from local government to increase school enrolment has helped persuade more parents to educate their children. Children are widely viewed as a source of labour, however, and during non-school hours are expected to contribute to household work rather than do their homework or play.
• Although primary education is free, in the name of 'community participation' families have to pay for new buildings or additional teachers' salaries either with cash or labour.
• Although microcredit programmes, especially for women, are aimed at improving family incomes and people's lives, they are having unintended negative effects on children, who are becoming increasingly involved in animal herding, with older children taking over adult work such as caring for younger brothers and sisters.

A broader understanding of children's work including unpaid and domestic work is needed. Research findings from the Young Lives project will be discussed by the Poverty Action Network of Ethiopia, donor groups and the government's PRSP technical committee during the PRSP revision process to be completed by August 2005. This aims to persuade policymakers that children's needs cannot be addressed in isolation but need to be integrated into any development strategy. Tackling child poverty can be a means to ending chronic poverty and preventing inter-generational poverty.

Nicola Jones
Young Lives
Save the Children
1 St. John's Lane
London EC1M 4AR
UK
T +44 (0)20 7012 6400
F +44 (0)20 7012 6963
n.jones@savethechildren.org.uk

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