Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Children in Sub-Saharan Africa face stark challenges with respect to wellbeing and care with many children experiencing poor wellbeing, receiving low quality care and at risk of losing parental care or being separated from their families. Poverty is one of the major risk factors, often interacting with other risk factors such as HIV/AIDS, migration and domestic violence. Social protection can support child wellbeing and care through its provision of income transfers and establishment of linkages to basic and social services.

This paper presents findings from cross-country qualitative research regarding the impact of social protection on child wellbeing and quality of care, prevention of the loss of parental care, and incentivising of foster or kinship care in Sub-Saharan Africa. It investigates large-scale nationally implemented cash transfer and public works programmes in Ghana, Rwanda and South Africa. We find that social protection schemes have the potential to support the prevention of loss of parental care, to provide much-needed financial support to kinship or foster carers and to improve child wellbeing and quality of care for all children. More effective implementation, greater use of sensitisation opportunities and instalment of safeguards are crucial for improving positive impacts and reduce potential negative side effects.