Why is child protection in many African countries perennially underfunded? - A political economy perspective

Background

At a time when many children suffer from various kinds of abuse, child protection is chronically under-funded in government budgets. Whether a government decides to increase or cut spending on health, education, child protection and other issues boils down to political choice, which is influenced by social, economic, and political realities within which decisions on resource mobilization and allocation are made.

Objectives

Explore how political economy dynamics influence decisions on public spending on child protection in Africa.

Participants

and Setting: 192 key informants selected through stratified and purposive sampling including government officials, academics, and civil society organizations from Botswana, Kenya, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe. The country selection reflects the different levels of fragility.

Methods

Using a multi-disciplinary conceptual framework, the study entailed document review, participant observation and in-depth interviews guided by an-open ended interview guide. The study applied a qualitative analysis methodology to identify common trends and themes.

Results

The under-prioritization of child protection in budgeting is a consequence of a mosaic of political economy dynamics including prevailing socio-cultural and legal constructions of childhood, fiscal politics throughout the budget cycle, how the state is structured, and power exercised to drive national development.

Conclusions

Instead of viewing under prioritization of child protection in government budgets as a purely technical problem, child-focused organizations should do some soul-searching and be intentional in seeking to understand and to navigate the politics and economics of public budgeting which influence decisions, if they are to trigger positive changes in government spending on child protection.