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THE
national government’s slow progress in reducing poverty
and improving the education and health situations may
find its roots in the poor targeting of social programs
that are also underfunded and politically marred,
according to the World Bank.
In a
slide presentation titled “Poverty Reduction Through
Conditional Cash Transfers,” the bank’s country sector
coordinator for human development Jehan Arulpragasam
said that while there are numerous cash/in-kind transfer
programs for the poor, targeting is “extremely poor” and
the task of targeting programs has become susceptible to
political intervention.
The
Washington-based lending agency said that an example
would be the food-for-school program of the government,
where only a third of the benefits are estimated to go
to the poor.
“[There
are] numerous small transfer programs. [The] largest
ones are rice distribution programs [while the] DSWD
[Department of Social Welfare and Development] programs
are relatively small [and comprise] only 3 percent of
[the] national budget,” the bank said.
“Targeting is extremely poor. [In fact], only 38 percent
of [the] food-for-school program [is] estimated to go to
the poor. Targeting [is also] susceptible and has [a]
long history of political intervention,” the bank added.
The
untoward results of these underfunded and
politically-marred programs contribute to the current
situation which, the bank said, showed limited progress
in reducing poverty, with one-third of the population
living below the poverty line.
The bank
said nearly half of the poor live below the $2-a-day
poverty line, which has significantly increased the
country’s poverty rate between 2003 and 2006.
Besides
poverty, also affected are education indicators that
continue to regress. The bank noted primary net
enrollment rate having fallen in recent years to 84.4
percent in 2006 from 90.29 percent in 2002; while the
primary drop out rate increased to 7.3 percent in 2006
from 6.9 percent in 2003.
“[The
Philippines also has] one of the higher maternal
mortality rates in the region, especially among
middle-income countries,” the Bank added.
In hopes
of improving the conditional cash transfers (CCT)
situation, the World Bank said a CCT program pilot study
should be implemented.
Carrying
out a CCT pilot would address chronic poverty and human
capital problems, break the cycle of poverty and cushion
the poor from shocks and other adverse effects of
untoward events such as high food prices.
“[The]
CCT pilot could also be [a] strategic entry point to
help [the] country shift to better targeting systems and
better M&E [monitoring and evaluation] systems [as well
as moving] from badly targeted commodity subsidies to
better targeted cash transfers,” the bank said.
The bank
suggested that a CCT pilot be done in Agusan del Sur,
Misamis Occidental, Pasay, and Caloocan by the DSWD.
The CCT
program will determine the payments based on certain
responsibilities households must meet. The payments will
be made bi-monthly through ATM or direct cash transfer.
The
program, to be carried out by social workers, will get
regular verification from health centers and schools.
DSWD personnel will also be the ones to liaise with
beneficiary families at the village level and will
explain the program, relay information, and record
complaints.
In order
to create a well-targeted CCT program, household details
must be collected by the DSWD; apply household
eligibility criteria; implement proxy means-testing; and
base eligibility on a weighted index of characteristics
that are easily observed but not manipulated and
associated with poverty.
The bank
also said there must be a broader multidimensional
notion of poverty and move away from subjective or
“politically motivated” targeting.
For
recipients, social workers must verify and issue
identification cards to beneficiary households that are
valid for five years and then ‘graduate’ from the
program.
In
return, households must be able to ensure the regular
attendance in school, particularly children aged six to
14 years.
In terms
of health and nutrition, all children aged 0 to five
years must also complete the entire Department of Health
protocol, which includes full vaccination and monthly
growth monitoring.
Pregnant
women must obtain regular prenatal and postnatal
check-ups at health clinics and their delivery must be
conducted by skilled health professionals.
The bank
said CCTs are generally provided for poor households
chosen through an objective poverty-targeting mechanism
on condition that their children go to school and use
preventive health care. |
