Transcript Child Poverty study Iran’s Report June 2008 Main Topics  Background Existing of Social Disparities Subsidy Program  Welfare and Social Security System  National Policy on.

Child Poverty study
Iran’s Report
June 2008
Main Topics
 Background
Existing of Social Disparities
Subsidy Program
 Welfare and Social Security System
 National Policy on Poverty Alleviation
 Social Welfare Security Umbrella
 Institutional frame work for the study
Source of information and databases used
Major Challenges
Opportunities
Background
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Adopting Pro-poor policy since last three decades through:
4 five years socio-economic development plans
Road map 2025 as a long term development vision for Iran
Successfully achievement on basic social services :
-U5MR has been reduced to 34/1000 live birth comparing to
68/1000 in 1990
 - Educational opportunities for children improved significantly
in recent years to 97%
Existing of Social Disparities
• Not much progress on social disparities as the Gov.
has dealt with poverty more through charitable
transfers than sustainable job opportunities and
empowerment,
• Existing sever disparities in access to social
services:
 Primary enrolment in disparity provinces, e.g.. S&B
province is 76% while national average is 97%
 Child malnutrition rate in the same province is 16%
comparing to the national average 5%
Subsidy Program
• Gov. program to provide free education
and health services has been very
successful, but its program to provide
energy and basic food items with
subsidized prices to all has benefited rich
people more than poor (in the name of the poor, but in
the pocket of rich)
• Subsidy program has caused major
misallocation of resources in the economy
Establishment of Comprehensive structure of Welfare
and Social Security System
• Adoption of subsidy-based policies to set
purposeful subsidy system for :
 Reducing or phasing out the level of
subsidies from higher income group and
 The income yielded by reduction of
subsidies will be used to work out a
comprehensive social security system to
reduce social gaps
National Policy on Poverty Alleviation
• Some principles of the policy include:
 The poor should be viewed as individuals who can
play an important role in poverty alleviation
programs
 The most deprived people should be given the
priority in receiving supportive measures
 All the measures should be aimed at eliminating the
factors which contribute to the emergence of
poverty; as well as additional measures such as
financial, cultural and educational assistance to
empower individuals
Social Welfare Security Umbrella
• Families suffering from extreme poverty are completely
covered by social welfare security umbrella. Provision of
services are prioritized on :
 Focusing on children left behind and Children without
parents/guardian
 Female headed households
 The elderly
 People living with disability
 Others ( the jobless, drug addicts, people living with
mental, physical and etc…chronic diseases)
Amendment: Ministry of Welfare is responsible to define criteria for
identification of target groups ( considering the level of
vulnerability and priorities to provide social services)
Institutional Framework for the Study
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Steering Committee has been established and
several meetings were held. The committee
includes:
Ministry of Welfare (as the leading Gov.
organization
Imam Khomeini Relief Committee: acts as the
biggest and most powerful charity organization
State Welfare Organization
Ministry of Health and Medical Universities
Source of information and databases used for the
study
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Iran Statistic Center Census (ISC)
ISC conduct national population and housing
census every ten years. Collected data are
appropriate source for identification of target
group (latest produced 2007) .
ANIS (Anthropometric Nutrition Indicator Survey)
national nutrition Survey on wasting, stunting and
underweight indicators for under five children
(latest 2007)
DHS (latest in 2000 and possibly another survey
very soon)
Major Challenges
 Preliminary Assessment:
• Lack of consensus on definition of poverty among academic
professionals and the executive branches (households income
rather than deprivation of basic needs)
• Dealing with poverty through charitable transfer and individual
contribution traditionally (dependency of people on social
assistance and absent of self-reliant)
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Untargeted Subsidy System and state-based economy
High Inflation Rate (first in the region, fifth in the world)
Lack of disaggregated data
Poor intersectoral Coordination
Significant increase of food prices (since the problem is not yet
reflected in the national statistics, it is hard to judge the scale, but the
situation will definitely hit the vulnerable population harder
Some other Challenges
• The issue of Good Governance , as the main
prerequisite for design and implementation of
poverty reduction program
• Some national social scientists and economists
argue that the governance indicators in Iran have
been weak in recent years and the policies of the
current government has aggravated it
• They also believe in the absence of institutional
capacity and clear direction, the Gov. efforts to
improve the situation of poor will end up with a lower
economic growth, higher inflation rate and more
unemployment. All of which is harmful for the poor
and deprived.
Opportunities
• Benefiting from innovative and new conceptual framework
,the global study on child poverty and disparities will
definitely make policy and decision makers to identify and
address gaps in existing economic strategies and social
policy response in favor of children
• And the last but not the least, UNICEF advocacy will foster
to move toward the human-right based approach to child
poverty.