Just How Low is Social Protection Spending across Eastern and Southern Africa?
Urgent expansion in social protection financing required to lift children out of poverty
By UNICEF - Catherine Agg and Sarah Hague
As Governments convene this week for the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, we share little known findings on financing and coverage of social protection across the region. Our analysis reveals an urgent need to increase the financing of social protection, to achieve the 2030 Agenda and Agenda 2063 for inclusive and sustainable development across the continent.
Strong social protection systems are critical for reducing poverty, addressing inequalities, and building economic resilience.
“By providing social assistance for vulnerable populations —particularly children and families — social protection programmes can catalyze improvements across other sectors, including health, education, and nutrition. ”
On this basis, UNICEF advocates for the progressive realization of universal social protection, and supports governments in establishing social protection systems based on an inclusive lifecycle approach, that is responsive to the needs of all children. While there is positive evidence of progress in some countries (here Eswatini stands out having successfully increased expenditure), inadequate financing of social protection in Eastern and Southern Africa requires urgent action, with levels of expenditure on social protection around half that of other regions.
A new policy brief from UNICEF’s East and Southern Africa office finds that countries allocate under 10% of government spending to social protection, almost half the average for low-and middle-income countries. This means that social protection spending equates to just over 2 USD per person per month. Furthermore, children receive only a quarter of the region’s total social protection spending, with only one in 7 children aged under 18 covered.
Countries also spend significantly less on social protection in the region, than on other social sectors (Figure 1)
Figure 1. Share of Government Expenditure on Education, Health and Social Protection
Sources: For health and education: World Bank Development Indicators, data from 2021 or latest. For Social Protection: ILO 2024, data from 2022 or latest. Data missing for Burundi, Eritrea and South Sudan.
In order to expand social protection coverage and lift children out of poverty, increased financing of the sector is urgently needed. Sustainable progress will require a boost in government spending, financed through increasing tax revenue, and strengthened social security contributions. In designing these reforms, it is crucial to ensure that fiscal policies do not impact negatively on the poorest, and that increased spending on the sector is allocated equitably.
Sustainable financing ultimately rests on improving domestic resource mobilisation, although so far overseas development aid (ODA) remains important in low-income countries. However, less than 4% of total ODA to Eastern and Southern African countries goes to social protection. A greater prioritisation of social protection by both governments and development partners will be critical in reducing child poverty.
To find out more: Financing Social Protection in Eastern and Southern Africa | UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa
Catherine Agg SP Cash Plus Financing & Programming Consultant at UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO). Sarah Hague is the Social Policy Regional Adviser at UNICEF ESARO.