ANNA WILLIAMS, AG. DEPUTY DIRECTOR, HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT DIANA POOK, CIVIC EDUCATION COORDINATOR, HUMAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation - BELIZE

 National Poverty Elimination Strategy  Ministry of Human Development ◦ Pro-poor programmes  Public Assistance  CCT: BOOST  Action and Results  Strengths and Weaknesses  Challenges  Expectations

 Population Size: 0.3 Million  80,000 HH ◦ 31% Poor [2009, CPA]  HH which cannot meet basic food and non-food needs; poverty line: US$ 1, p.a. ◦ 10% Extreme Poor [2009 CPA]  HH cannot meet basic food needs[cost of national food basket; indigent line: US$ 1, p.a

National Poverty Elimination Strategy 1. Economic Policies for Enabled Growth 2. Transparency and Accountability for Good Governance 3. Investment for Human Capital Development 4. Infrastructure for Growth and Sustainability 5. Strategic Support for Equity and Social Development

NHDAC MHDSTPA Pro-poor Programmes MOEMOH…… MFED Inter-Ministerial Social Sector Caucus [Social Cabinet]

VISION MHDSTPA is the lead entity of the Government of Belize in the development of people, enabling them to realize their full potential and play a meaningful role in their communities MISSION In collaboration with all relevant partners, to facilitate policy development and to implement programmes that promote social justice and equity, enabling people to be self-sufficient, responsible and productive citizens Portfolio Responsibilities Children and Families Child Protection Juvenile Justice Gender Affairs Aging/Care of the Elderly Portfolio Responsibilities Homeless Disabilities Poverty Alleviation Community Development Anti - Trafficking in Person

 Basic Social Services: Child Protection; Gender-base Violence  Public Assistance ◦ Food ◦ Rent ◦ Medical ◦ Education ◦ Fire ◦ Burial  Parenting and Early Childhood Stimulation  Subsidized Food Programme: Pantry  CCT Programme: BOOST

 Pre-2010: ◦ Only able to quantify levels of poverty; ◦ Rising and deepening levels of poverty ◦ Counting the poor for > 3 decades ◦ Interventions targeted at the district level  Post 2010: ◦ BOOST Programme introduced  PMT endorsed by Cabinet  Identify and target poor and indigent HH  Shift from “counting the poor” to “making the poor count”

 CCT Scheme: differentiated benefit payment scheme ◦ Education: 85% attendance ◦ Health:  complete course of immunization  Early ante-natal visits [first 12 weeks]  Annual health checks for the elderly [60+]  Coverage: ◦ 8300 beneficiaries in 3200 HH  12.5% of poor HH; 6.1% of the poor  17% of extremely poor HH [indigent]  81% ‘bankarization’ rate

 Elderly/persons with Disabilities: BZ$44.00/month  Children Age 0 – Std II: BZ$44.00/month  Std III – Form 4: Based on table below

 Case Management: ◦ Families at risk of dropping out of the scheme ◦ OVC [HIV and AIDS] ◦ Support services:  birth registration  Social security cards

 Programme is manage cross-unit ◦ FSS: Programme Management ◦ COMPAR: Compliance Monitoring ◦ PPU: Targeting, MIS/M&E Support ◦ Finance: Benefit payments/reconciliation

 Ministry of Education ◦ MOU ◦ Compliance Monitoring: School Attendance  286 Schools ◦ Case Management Support  Beneficiaries dropped-out/at-risk of dropping out of school ◦ Access to System Tools and use Common Protocols  BOWA; BOOST Handbooks

 Ministry of Health ◦ MOU: OVC Component of CCT Scheme ◦ Access to system tools and complete HH intakes ◦ HH Status Verification: affected/infected  Data exchange protocol  Basic excel password protected file ◦ Compliance Verification: Immunization; early ante- natal care and health checks  Via BHIS [under development]

 National PRS exists and coordination entity identified  Achieved considerable gains in programme coverage and quality in short course  BOOST as a wider system leverage[reform]: ◦ intra- ministerial: cross units and departments ◦ inter-ministerial: MOH; MOE; MEDF  Fostering wider collaboration across SP agencies; early indications of convergence towards formalized social sector+ ministerial caucus[social cabinet]  Forging stronger programme linkages by design; integrated SSN with early discussions on “promotion” strategies  Contributing to a culture of M&E and evidence base practice  High degree of ‘goodwill’ among actors

 NHDAC collapses under its own volume and weight  Inadequately resourced mechanisms ◦ Lack of focus and follow-up  Communication Issues: inter-ministerial  Early days…left to be seen

 Territorialism  Coordination in principle, progress is slow in practice  Paradigm shift: from counting the poor to making the poor count; counter-culture  Traditionally, low administrative capacity in social service agencies now required to manage complex programmes [CCT]  Shift from the silo approach to an effective SSN requiring integrated family services and intensive case management  Weak data systems and protocols for data sharing  ICT applications in SP: ground breaking, limited capacities/experience

 Explore opportunities for policy learning and transfer based on the experiences of countries with advance/mature social services networks: