Social Budgeting
UNICEF puts social and gender-sensitive budgeting in context.
UNICEF’s mission is to help countries ensure that all children enjoy the right to conditions necessary for a safe and happy childhood, as well as those that will allow them to develop to their full potential as human beings and citizens. The extent to which public investments are appropriately targeted toward boys and girls makes a huge difference in the fulfilment of these goals.
In trying economic times where economic growth and budgets are threatened, it is particularly important to ensure budgets protect services for children. Without this protection, not only is the progress made toward the Millennium Development Goals threatened, but the seeds of poverty for future generations is also planted. From a child rights perspective, social budget work focuses on building long-term institutions for child-friendly policies and budgets. Among the outcomes of social budget work are more—and more effectively channeled—resources for children, women and poor families.
To maximize resources for children, UNICEF supports governments to identify funding sources, create consensus around the need to invest more in children, and to use the central and local government budgets as tools to achieve sustainable progress in the fulfilment of children’s rights.
