Universal child benefits – invest in children, invest in our future

The decision whether to have a child in any relationship is always a momentous one. As a parent, I have worried about the demanding lifetime commitments involved and how to balance them against the huge joy of being a parent. In the UK, we can at least have confidence that, whatever our financial circumstances, our children are able to go to school, get basic healthcare and have something to eat each day.

It can often be a very different story in the world's poorest communities.

During one of my visits to Plan’s work in Ghana I met Ngwenya, a grandmother from a small village in the Bawajiase district. When her husband died, she had no source of income and two children below the age of 10 to look after. Her situation went from bad to worse two years later when her daughter died of AIDS, leaving four grandchildren in her care. She told me how hard it was not knowing where the money to feed her children would come from.

Her concerns and worries echoed mine as a parent, but her condition could not be more different. My wife and I are secure in the knowledge that, should something happen to us and our financial circumstances, there is a safety net for children in the UK. Yet in the countries where Plan works there are many grandmothers like Ngwenya looking after their families and grandchildren, struggling to survive without the social protection we take for granted.

Introduced 60 years ago, the ‘cradle to grave’ welfare state in the UK has helped combat extreme poverty and increase family income. Even modest amounts of cash to families have provided households throughout the country with regular predictable incomes, helping them overcome risks and change of circumstances in their lives.

The UK Government recently introduced the proposal for pre-birth benefits, in the recognition that expectant mothers should receive nutritious meals, enabling them to provide their children with the best start in life.

There is abundant evidence that social protection measures have been successful in helping developed countries grow, and tackle extreme poverty. And this could also be true in developing countries.

In some African countries, the provision of pensions has striking benefits for children. In South Africa for example the social pension scheme project has reduced older people’spoverty by 94 per cent and that of the population as a whole by 12.5 per cent. While pensions may not appear to have an obvious impact on child survival and development, in many developing countries elderly relatives like Ngwenya play a critical role in the care and development of the next generations.

A pilot scheme in Zambia, providing 1,000 households with US $8 per month, shows improved health, nutrition and school attendance amongst these poor families who have been able to accumulate assets, invest in livestock and cultivate bigger gardens.

In Mexico the ‘Oportunidades’ programme of cash transfers to the poorest 20 per cent of families is conditional on pregnant women and babies having regular health check-ups and children attending school. Girls’ school enrolment is up 7-9 per cent and the growth rate for 12-36 month old children has increased by 16 per cent. Ngwenya was lucky. Thanks to Plan she received training in innovative farming techniques. She acquired skills to start a garden project that has since flourished into one of the most successful small-scale business ventures in the area. She now grows a variety of vegetables, including green pepper, lettuce, garlic, onion and can now afford to feed, clothe and pay school fees for her children and grandchildren. But there are many more people like her that we can help.

Plan is campaigning for universal child benefits for the rising numbers of people living in extreme poverty, for the growing number of AIDS orphans and for all those who poverty is currently killing every day.

In 2007, Plan UK will continue to bring to the attention of UK and international policy-makers issues surrounding child benefits and disability benefits in developing countries. I hope you will join Plan to fight for the rights of the poorest and most vulnerable children and their families, and support our work in any way you can.

Even a small donation can make a big difference.

Nigel Chapman
Plan UK Chair