Making Every Child Count : National Policies and Programmes to Reduce Disparities

Transcription

1 Making Every Child Count : National Policies and Programmes to Reduce Disparities DISCUSSION PAPER 1 7th East Asia and Pacific Ministerial Consultation on Children Siem Reap, Cambodia March This paper has been prepared to provide information and stimulate discussion. The views expressed are not necessarily those of UNICEF. 1

2 Executive Summary 4 I. Introduction 4 Definitions of Disparity 5 Dimensions of Disparity 5 II. Examples of Disparities in East Asia and the Pacific 8 Income Inequality and Trends 8 Differences between countries in MDG status 9 Social Dimensions of Disparity 10 Geographic Disparities 12 Urban-Rural Disparities 13 Ethnic Disparities 15 Gender Disparities 16 Especially Vulnerable Groups 18 Multiple Risks of Disparities 18 III. Key Processes Leading to and Perpetuating Disparities 20 Economic Processes 20 Very rapid economic growth 20 Privatisation of basic social services and cost sharing 20 Socio-demographic and epidemiological processes 22 Location 22 Discrimination 22 Lack of access to information 25 Lack of data for planning 26 Legislative Processes 26 International conventions and covenants 26 Legislative procedures 27 IV. Key Governmental Actions for Addressing Disparities 28 State obligations to act 28 Discrimination 29 Birth registration and entitlements of children 30 Women 31 Legal representation 31 Political and economic action 31 Decentralisation 31 Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and Sector Wide Approaches (SWAps) 34 Basic social services 35 Privatisation of basic services 36 Social safety nets 37 Key sectoral actions 38 Education 38 Health, Nutrition, Water and Sanitation 38 HIV/AIDS 39 Child Protection 40 Natural Disasters and Recovery Policies 40 V. Conclusions 40 Annex on National Status of Human Rights Instruments 42 Bibliography 43 Tables 2

3 Table 1: A MD-MDG based template to monitor disparities... 6 Table 2: Social disparities by wealth, various countries Table 3: Rural poor and urban poor, various indicators: Cambodia Table 4. Spending on education for richest and poorest: Thailand & Viet Nam Table 5: Fiscal decentralisation, various countries Table 6: Political decentralisation and sub-national elections Figures Figure 1: Income disparities, Gini co-efficient trends, various countries... 8 Figure 2: Disparities in income: Ratio of richest 20% to poorest 20%... 9 Figure 3: Country status for selected MDG indicators, developing countries in EAP Figure 4. Regional disparities in Mongolia, various indicators Figure 5: Regional variation in adequately iodised salt consumption (%), Mongolia Figure 6: Birth registration, various countries Figure 7: Child marriage, various countries Figure 8: Maternal mortality: Australia Figure 9: Ethnic disparities in secondary education net enrolment: Viet Nam Figure 10: Women in non-agricultural wage employment: the Pacific Islands Figure 11: Parliamentary seats held by women, various countries (%) Figure 12. Pro-rich, and pro-poor, public spending on education Figure 13. Stunting of children, various countries (%) Figure 14: HIV/AIDS discrimination, various countries (%) Figure 15: Ever-married women who have heard of HIV/AIDS (%): Timor-Leste Figure 16: Percent of unregistered births, by global region Glossary: ASEAN Association of South East PLWA People Living With HIV/AIDS Asian Nations PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy CEDAW Convention on the Elimination Paper CRC of all forms of Discrimination Against Women Convention on the Rights of SWAp Sector Wide Approach UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights the Child WB World Bank DHS Demographic and Health Survey WES Water & Environmental Sanitation EAP East Asia and Pacific WFFC World Fit for Children EAPRO East Asia and Pacific Regional Office of UNICEF WTO World Trade Organization EFA Education for All GDI Gender Development Index GDP Gross Domestic Product GEM Gender Empowerment Measure IDU Injecting Drug User IMF International Monetary Fund MD Millennium Declaration MDG Millennium Development Goal MICS Multiple Indicator Clutter Survey Pc Per capita 3

4 Executive Summary Rapid economic growth in many countries in East Asia and the Pacific has resulted in significant decreases in poverty. But while some groups have greatly benefited from economic progress, the progress of other groups has been quite limited. The result has been increases in disparities in most of the region. These increased disparities can constrain overall national development and have caused a certain amount of political unrest. Governments are now actively seeking solutions that may result in increased growth with increased social harmony. While most countries show increasing income disparities, several have avoided increases, and Thailand has managed to reduce them. The Millennium Development Goals all either refer to, or focus on, non-income dimensions of development, such as health status and educational attainments. Data on trends in non-income disparities are scarce, and evidence of progress is mixed. Usually, the worst off groups are those living in geographically remote or poor districts, those living in rural areas, members of minority ethnic groups, women, children, other young people and the old. A range of economic, social, and legislative processes together create, reinforce and perpetuate the social exclusion of these groups. Economic development is geographically concentrated, favouring urban areas over rural and distant provinces. State provision of public services, such as health and education, is similarly geographically concentrated. Deficiencies in access result in inferior educational and health status even stunting is more common among poorer and more distant groups. Inferior mental and physical development leads to lesser employment opportunities the classic cycle of poverty. Following their ratification of key international human rights instruments, governments are now periodically reporting on progress in the key areas of implementing and reviewing legislation. Legislative action needed includes legislation on discrimination, birth registration, access to basic social services, gender issues and rights to legal representation. The key areas of change in the political and economic domains are decentralisation, privatisation of basic services, creation of social safety nets, poverty reduction strategies and sector-wide approaches. To ensure success, a short list of priority governmental programmatic actions is posited, covering the areas of education, health, HIV/AIDS, water and environmental sanitation, natural disasters and child protection. These include: Improved collection of disaggregated information on progress on the MD/MDGs; Increased government expenditure on provision of key social services, especially public goods with positive externalities, and adaptation of service provision according to local needs regarding language, culture and specific vulnerabilities; Improved coverage of vulnerable groups with social safety nets; Decentralisation policies that include pro-poor financing of poor districts, transfers of authority and ethnically and gender-based representative local participation in decision-making; Comprehensive signature and ratification of key international Human Rights Instruments, regular reporting on progress and more comprehensive review; and implementation of national legislation with special attention to protection of children If implemented in a consistent and integrated manner these interventions should significantly reduce disparities. I. Introduction 4

5 Disparities are natural, but extreme disparities are a sign of processes that do not work and can cause problems. Unbalanced growth can create bottlenecks that affect national growth, the development of just and equitable societies, cultural progress and human dignity. This paper describes some of the main types of disparities that exist in the East Asia and Pacific region. It analyses concrete examples of disparities, their impact on people s lives and the social processes that generate and sustain disparities. It then describes some types of governmental action that could be taken to resolve these issues. The paper takes as its framework international Human Rights Instruments, especially the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as the Millennium Declaration and Millennium Development Goals, the Bali Consensus and the working draft of the Siem Reap Declaration. Definitions of Disparity Poverty and disparity are interrelated but different. Absolute poverty is often defined as the percentage of the population below some threshold level of income, such as US$1 or US$2 per day. If everyone is poor together, then there is not much disparity. If some are very poor, while others are very rich, then income disparities are high. It is possible for poverty to be reduced, even while disparities and the social tensions that go with them are increasing. Poverty and disparities are not just a matter of low, or relatively low, income. There are nonincome dimensions of disparity and poverty. If a child in a poor district does not go to school, then that child is experiencing one form of poverty, and is more likely to be poor in the future. A child who is not immunised is experiencing a disparity that also increases the risk of suffering from disease in the future. If household salt in rural areas is not being iodised adequately, then those rural children are likely to suffer from impaired intellectual development, to make poorer decisions and to be less productive in the future. Legal status is another type of disparity. This disparity is more complex. In some cases, equal treatment before the law is itself a source of disparities. Children require special treatment, different from adults, in court procedures. People who only speak a minority language require special court procedures. Achieving equality before the law requires special allowances for some groups, over and above the conventional notion of equal treatment. The presence of significant disparities in the realisation of human rights is not only an affront to human dignity, social justice and equity; it also affects nations in several important ways. Economic growth, social cohesion, even political stability can all be damaged by high levels of disparity. These problems of economic and social disparities are not always simple problems with simple solutions. Resolution of some disparities may take concerted government attention over significant periods of time. Others may be resolved rapidly by focused government action. It is widely felt that, in some countries in this region, rapid economic growth has resulted in increased disparities. This paper explores that perspective, identifies areas of success and areas of continued concern, and discusses some of the options available to governments. Dimensions of Disparity Disparities may be of different types, and they may also affect different types of people. This gives us two dimensions: the What? and the Who? The What? is sometimes considered in three broad categories. Economic disparities are manifested in inequalities in income, wealth and investment. Social disparities are reflected in unequal access to social and economic goods, to social and political decision making, and ultimately in poor social outcomes for disadvantaged groups. Legal disparities are reflected in unequal access to the 5

6 law and differences in legal status, due for example to deficiencies in state coverage with birth registration. Usually, the Who? dimension of disparity includes categories such as sex, geographic location, income/poverty, ethnicity, people with vulnerabilities (the disabled, the poor, women and/or children, groups suffering disease-related discrimination such as the HIV-infected, illegal migrants, injecting drug users and commercial sex workers). In table 1 below, the characteristics of people who may be affected by disparities are schematically linked to the MDGs. This table is a model matrix for the disaggregation of data on achievement of MDGs. Most national data systems have only, until recently been reporting on the last column of total or average national achievement. A focus on disparity reduction requires a more subtle and more complete approach. Table 1: A MD-MDG based template to monitor disparities Dimensions of some disparities Substantive area: the What of disparity as listed in the MD/MDGs Affected Group: the Who of disparity Location (urban-rural, poor districts) Gender, Age (femalemale, the young and the elderly) Ethnicity (minority or disempowered groups) Vulnerable (disabled, HIV positive, migrants, displaced) TOTAL or AVERAGE 1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger 2. Achieve universal primary education 3. Promote gender equality and empower women 4. Reduce child mortality 5. Improve maternal health 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases 7. Ensure environmental sustainability 8. Develop a global partnership for development Millennium Declaration cross-cutting: Freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature, shared responsibility Both the Beijing Declaration agreed upon at the Fifth Ministerial Consultation and the Bali Consensus agreed upon at the Sixth Ministerial Consultation cover these substantive areas, as does the draft of the Siem Reap Declaration. The Siem Reap Declaration, for the first time in this series of meetings, makes the following specific reference to the reduction of disparities in these areas: Expand and improve sub-national and other disaggregated data systems providing usable information on those most affected by disparities. Strengthen sub-national implementing bodies to deliver services to under-served and un-reached groups. Increase public investment in basic social (health, education, water, sanitation) and economic (infrastructure, communication) services going to under-served regions and groups. 6

7 Children suffering from disparities may belong to several types of disadvantaged groups at the same time and may suffer from more than one type of disparity. Suffering from more than one type of disparity is called multiple deprivation. Disadvantaged groups may experience social exclusion, which often includes exclusion from social processes that would enable them to improve their situation. Often, the children who experience the most extreme suffering in a society are the children who are affected by multiple disparities and also belong to several types of disadvantaged groups. The proliferation of ways in which disparities can be measured is itself a reflection of the complexity of its manifestations. 7

8 II. Examples of Disparities in East Asia and the Pacific Income Inequality and Trends Disparities in income receive a lot of justified attention. After all, disparities in income are considered to be the foundation from which a wide range of social disparities result. Some experts state that disparities will decrease with economic growth; others state that they have been increasing. Fortunately, data are available on trends for many countries in the region. Figure 1: Income disparities, Gini co-efficient trends, various countries Papua New Guinea Malaysia << less inequality < > greater inequality >> Cambodia China Australia Singapore New Zealand Philippines Thailand Viet Nam Lao PDR Indonesia Republic of Korea Sources: WB. East Asia Update, Strong Fundamentals to the Fore, April 2004; UNDP. HDR 2004 Figure 1 shows that disparities are high, but have not changed much in Malaysia and Papua New Guinea (though they have remained at a high level), Lao PDR and the Republic of Korea. In all other countries for which time series data are available, disparities have increased - except in Thailand. Thailand is the only country in this region with a long-term trend of success in reducing income inequalities. Only single year data on the Gini coefficient were found for Singapore, Australia and New Zealand. 2 Societies perceptions of what is an acceptable level of disparity vary from one country to another. A useful intuitive measure of income inequality is a comparison between the income of the richest 20 per cent of people and the poorest 20 per cent of people. As shown by figure 2, in Malaysia and China, the richest 20 per cent of people have times as much income as the poorest 20 per cent. In Viet Nam and Indonesia, the richest people have 5-6 times as much income as the poorest. There is no systematic trend. Some rich countries have large disparities and some do not. Some poor countries have large disparities and some do not. 2. The Gini coefficient is the most common indicator of income disparities. It ranges between 0 and 1. The higher the number, the greater the degree of inequality (disparity). The Gini coefficient equals 1 if all income in a society accrues to one individual. It is 0 if income is equally shared between all. 8

9 Figure 2: Disparities in income: Ratio of richest 20% to poorest 20% Richest 20 % / Poorest 20 % Cambodia Lao PDR Mongolia Viet Nam Indonesia China Philippines Malaysia Thailand Republic of Korea << Smaller dispaities < - > Bigger Disparities >> ,080 1,100 2,190 3,780 12,020 Source: World Development Report. WB 2005 Per capita income Economic dimensions of inequality, often expressed in the language of poverty, have been the dominant form of analysis of disparities for some decades. Analysis of income inequalities is important because child survival, development, protection and participation are all quite closely related to income. Differences between countries in MDG status More recently, attention has been turning to direct measurement of the social dimensions of inequality. This progress in depth of analysis is possible because of steady improvements in the range and quality of data that governments have been collecting. This progress is useful because analysis of the social dimensions of inequality often leads to specific governmental policy proposals and actionable programmes. It is often possible to use government financed social programmes to improve the situation of the poor quite rapidly if the specific type of inequality, and the group most affected, are both identified. Increases in income may take longer and be more difficult to achieve. Economic activity income resulting from agricultural and industrial labour is usually less directly controlled by government than is the provision of basic social services. And the free functioning of private markets may have effects on income distribution that are not easily reversed by government policy. Social dimensions of disparity have become a higher priority on the world s development policy agenda in recent years. All eight Millennium Development Goals cover non-income aspects of disparities. Seven of these goals focus specifically on non-income issues. 9

10 Performance of developing countries in East Asia and the Pacific, for key MDG indicators, is summarised in figure 3. Figure 3: Country status for selected MDG indicators, developing countries in EAP Highest EAP Average Lowest Pop. on < $1 Under-5 Education Net Literate Infant Births Pop. access Registered per day children survival rate enrolment women 15- mortality attended by to safe births underweight (G1-G5) ratio 24 years as rate skilled drinking (%) (%) secondary % of men personnel water (%) Sources: UNICEF. The State of the World s Children education 2005; UNESCO. EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005; (%) UNDP. HDR 2004 The range of differences between countries in East Asia and the Pacific is very large. In some cases, the wide variation is not surprising. The percentage of population living in poverty, on less than $1 per day varies dramatically, from 2 per cent to 34 per cent. But this is mostly a reflection of differences in levels of economic development. Poorer countries have more poverty. Other variations are more surprising. The percentage of children receiving DPT3 immunization varies from 49 per cent to 99 per cent, even though the cost of ensuring that children are immunized is very low. The indicator on gender disparities, literate women as percent of literate men varies from 85 per cent to 101 per cent, even though the financial cost of educating a woman is the same as the cost of educating a man. In principle, these disparities could all be remedied by appropriate government policies. A detailed national analysis of the specific dimensions of social disparities would be needed to formulate country specific policies. Country-specific analysis is beyond the scope of this paper, but some generic symptoms, causes and proposals are identified below. Social Dimensions of Disparity The sharpened focus of world attention on social dimensions of disparity has led to a steady increase in the availability of indicators of disparities in national, and sub-national, statistics. Government Statistics Offices have made excellent progress in recent years. One very important theoretical development was the invention of the wealth index. Data on household income are hard to collect. The questionnaires needed are long and timeconsuming. And some households do not report their income very accurately. Perhaps they fear that taxes will be increased! The wealth index is an indirect measure of income. It is based on a household s possession of durable items such as sewing machines, bicycles, TVs, automobiles, etc. Questions on the presence or absence of these items are easily included in standard 10

11 household surveys. Accuracy of responses is high since the interviewer can check to see if these items are really there. A questionnaire module to obtain information on common possessions was included in the 2000 round of multiple indicator cluster surveys (MICS) in the EAP region (and will be included again in the 2005 MICS). The results were analysed in terms of quintiles, or 20 per cent segments, of household wealth. Examples of the effect of differences in household wealth on some key indicators of disparities in child welfare are shown in table 2 below. Table 2: Social disparities by wealth, various countries Quintiles (wealth) Lao PDR Children attending primary school (%) Mongolia Stunting (%) Myanmar Early childhood education (%) Philippines Working children (%) Viet Nam Births registered (%) Poorest Second Middle Forth Richest Richest/poorest Source: UNICEF. MICS database. National MICS. Government Statistics Offices (various), The countries whose situations are highlighted in this and subsequent analyses are not necessarily those with the greatest disparities. Rather, they are the countries for which data are most readily available. In many cases, they may be the countries that are making the greatest efforts to solve problems of disparity. All the indicators in table 2 show situations for the poor that are worse than for the rich. All are striking. As one example, the data on stunting shows almost three times as many poor children (and, since stunting is irreversible, future adults) being affected by stunting. Birth registration is also less complete for children who are poor. Birth registration often affects the right of children to be included in public schooling and, in some countries, public health services. In some countries, failure to register birth can affect the right of citizenship, especially for children of minority groups or whose parents have uncertain nationality. Often, it is internal migrants to urban areas who fail to register births, sometimes because registration of the birth would require travel, with the newborn infant, back to the parent s original village. Such travel is especially difficult for parents with very young children. Frequently, the expense of registering a birth is also a problem. Simplifying birth registration procedures is within the capacity of every government. Every child is entitled to have their birth registered. And it is in the interest of the State to ensure that all births are registered. Birth registration promotes the integration of children into the mainstream of society and is an essential component of national social and cultural development. Denying children registration of their birth is an affront to their human dignity, their human rights, and their sense of national identification. Damage to an individual s sense of national identification will harm, in the long run, both the development of the individual and the development of the nation. 11

12 Geographic Disparities Some regions of a country may be disadvantaged compared to others. For example, the proportion of people in the Northeast Region of Thailand living in poverty is more than four times the proportion of people in the Central Region living in poverty. Figure 4 illustrates a range of regional disparities for Mongolia. The differences are quite systematic. The regions that are worst off for one indicator are usually also the ones that are worst off for many others. Conversely, the best-off regions are generally best off across the board for most indicators. The most extreme differences are for safe drinking water and iodised salt. Consumption of adequately iodized salt in Central-2 region is more than five times that in the West region. Figure 4: Regional disparities in Mongolia, various indicators West North East South Central1 Central Child labour Stunting Attend early child education Source: UNICEF. MICS database Iodized salt Safe drinking water Consumption of adequately iodised salt is perhaps the cheapest and most effective education technology available. In a four country study, learning capacities of children were found to be 11 per cent higher when adequately iodised salt was consumed. Iodising salt costs a mere $0.05 per capita, about 0.01 per cent of the GDP of the poorest countries in the region. Unfortunately, governmental legislation requiring that all salt for human consumption must be iodised is sometimes unevenly enforced. A graphic display reveals additional information. The map in figure 5 shows the consumption of iodised salt by Aimag (province-level administrative unit). The map shows the geographic areas of problem and highlights the areas of low iodised salt consumption. It is visually evident that, in general, more peripheral Aimags have lower consumption of properly iodised salt. This suggests that government development of sub-national strategies to increase consumption of iodised salt could help to improve the intellectual development of children. 12

13 Figure 5: Regional variation in adequately iodised salt consumption (%), Mongolia Source: Ministry of Health/Japan International Cooperation Agency. Nationwide IDD Survey Report in 2002 and Changes of IDD Status in Mongolia, Distance increases the administrative complexity of achieving results. This is one reason why many countries are engaged in decentralisation processes. The issue of distance is especially important in island communities in the Pacific. Kiribati has vast distances between islands. These distances increase the cost of delivery of education and health services. Sub-national strategies to overcome disparities based on geography must be adjusted to the specific conditions of each country and require special consideration in the Pacific Islands. Urban-Rural Disparities For most social and economic indicators, including those for internationally-agreed goals and targets (MDG, WFFC, EFA, etc.), there is a clear urban-rural gap. Three quarters of the poor live in rural areas, and most social and economic indicators are worse in rural areas. The disparities are often large. These differences contribute to rural-urban migration and the overloading of urban infrastructure. Figure 6: Birth registration, various countries Cambodia Timor Leste Urban Mynmar Rural Lao DPR Indonesia Philippines Viet Nam Korea, DPR Source: The State of the World s Children 2005, UNICEF, New York Mongolia One good example of a child-protection indicator very relevant to rights realisation that has significant urbanrural differences is that of birth registration. In most countries, fewer births are registered in rural than in urban areas. Mongolia has almost complete registration of births. Other countries, including some that are not especially poor countries, such as Indonesia and the Philippines, are doing less well overall and show significant urban-rural differences. Rural-urban differences extend across a wide range of social disparities. Injuries tend to be more severe in rural settings in part 13

14 related to the frequent amputations and severe scalds associated with agricultural machinery and harsh living environments. Post-accident treatment accentuates these differences. Injured urban children receive more and more timely, medical care and social services than rural children. Figure 7: Child marriage, various countries Urban Rural Cambodia Indonesia Philippines Thailand Vietnam Source: The State of the World s Children 2005, UNICEF, New York Differences in service access between urban and rural areas may be explained, to a certain extent, by administrative difficulties of service provision in rural areas. Other urban-rural differences require quite different types of explanation. Child marriage is more common in rural than in urban areas. This is more of a cultural difference, and can perhaps be explained by the more conservative cultures of rural areas. Education and law enforcement could help to reduce this problem. Some urban-rural differences are quite intriguing. Data from Cambodia in table 3 show a vast gap between access to services by rural poor and the rural rich. Interestingly, there is a similar gap between the condition of the urban poor and the urban rich. The conditions of poor people in rural areas are quite similar to those of poor people in urban areas. And the condition of the rich in rural areas is quite similar to those of the rich in urban areas. Table 3: Rural poor and urban poor, various indicators: Cambodia Cambodia Rural poor Rural rich Urban poor Urban rich Immunisation measles Diarrhea ORT use ARI - seen medically Severely underweight Antenatal visits - trained persons Delivery - by medical personnel Use of modern contraceptive Knowledge of HIV/AIDS Infant mortality rate Source: Cambodia DHS. Macro International, 2000 Data on this key area are scarce and need to be improved. The information presented for the urban poor is not complete. Yet it is clear that it is important not to exaggerate ruralurban differences and to realise how much these differences depend on differences in income. While differences of location are important, poor people in urban areas are probably often not much better off than poor people in rural areas. Different forms of disparity can conceal each other. In this case, income poverty may be more important an issue than urban-rural location. Migration to an urban area does not necessarily resolve household poverty problems, it may simply relocate them. 14

15 Ethnic Disparities While wide disparities between ethnic groups, and especially between ethnic minorities and the dominant group, are known to exist in many countries, detailed data on substantive areas according to ethnicity are not commonly available. Figure 8: Maternal mortality: Australia 2002 Indigenous Non- Indigenous Deaths per 100,000 births Source: WAW Walters et al, Maternal deaths in Australia. Medical Journal of Australia, 6 May, (9) Some countries, such as Australia and Viet Nam have done some very good work on this subject that promises future progress. Figure 8 shows that maternal mortality in Australia is more than three times higher for indigenous than for non-indigenous populations. There has been a persistent, though improving, difference for some decades, and this is probably linked to other issues such as income and access to the full range of basic social services, as well as cultural factors. In Viet Nam, ethnicity is explicitly incorporated as a key variable in national statistics for a number of indicators. Figure 9 shows some of this very interesting data. There are very striking differences between ethnic groups for net enrolment in secondary education. The Hmong have the lowest net enrolment rate and the Kinh (Vietnamese) have the highest. But, within ethnic groups, gender differences are not consistent. In six ethnic groups enrolment of boys is higher than of girls. But in the Hoa, Muong, Nung and Tay groups, enrolment of girls is higher than that of boys. Figure 9: Ethnic disparities in secondary education net enrolment: Viet Nam Ba-na Dao Gia-rai Hmong Boys Girls Hoa Khmer Kinh Muong Nung Tay Thai Xo-dang Source: Ethnic Minority Development in Viet Nam: A Socio-economic Perspective, Baulch B. et. Al. IDS Sussex, 2002 High quality information of this type is usually only available in countries committed to serious work in this area. Availability of such high quality information makes it clear that one size fits all policies are not adequate to deal with complex disparities. Universalisation of education is often an article in national constitutions and a goal of national policy. But achievement of these national aspirations requires consideration of ethnic cultures and local environments. The solutions that are needed are generally local ones, necessarily designed with the participation of those with the best understanding of the reasons these for these 15

16 differences the members of ethnic groups involved. Without such participation, it is unlikely that these differences can be resolved. There is an additional implication of this information. If differences in school enrolment are primarily geographical, perhaps due to differing wealth of provinces, then solutions may be found at policy and budgetary levels, perhaps with preferential block grants to poorer provinces. If the cause of these differences is primarily local culture, then policy and budgetary proposals will certainly need to be allied to participatory local planning. The issues associated with education of minority groups are not simple ones. All governments need to balance their desire to include ethnic minority children in the mainstream of society with the desire to preserve, respect and strengthen existing traditional cultures. The decisions to be faced, such as decisions on how to implement education in ethnic languages, are decisions with significant social implications. These choices implicate a wide range of ethical and cultural issues. For these reasons, many governments engage in significant consultative processes as part of the decision making process. Minority ethnic groups often have special problems with birth registration which add difficulty to issues of nationality (including sense of national identity) and to school enrolment. In countries seeking to reduce ethnic discrimination, minority ethnic groups are provided with varying degrees of native language education. These may include native language reading materials, elective courses in minority languages and full bi-lingual programmes. In others, members of minority groups that have lived in a country for generations may still have problems obtaining citizenship. Most countries have a number of significant differences between ethnic groups. Since ethnicity is often omitted from survey questionnaires, these differences are not always well statistically documented. But even when not formally documented, these differences are known by people, especially those negatively affected. Sometimes, they may be imagined to be worse than they actually are. Perceptions, and misperceptions, of social exclusion based on ethnicity are a significant cause of social unrest in some countries. Often, too little is known about ethnic disparities. Minority ethnic groups may fail to appear in national statistics in the same way, and perhaps for the same reasons, that they do not appear in schools. For government policy to be effective in these areas, it is essential to have good quality information, not just on numbers, but also on the opinions and perceptions of minority groups. Qualitative information, obtained through participatory consultative processes, will be needed to supplement statistical data. Gender Disparities Globally, gender disparities are pervasive and one of the most challenging issues of our time. These disparities are manifested in legal rights such as marriage law, in access to income, ownership of land and other property, participation in decision making, workload, and vulnerability to violence and abuse. Many of these disparities are based on traditional practices and cultural attitudes, and sometimes traditional law, which conflict with the ethical norms and standards appropriate to a modern society. These impede social and economic progress in addition to their direct negative consequences for women. In almost all countries, national legislation is being amended in accordance with the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW, 1979) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC, 1989). Addressing gender disparities is also central to the third Millennium Development Goal to Promote gender equality and empower women. The UN has developed some aggregate measures for gender disparity. The Gender Disparity Index (GDI) refers to the ratio of the Human Development Index (HDI) for women to that for men. The Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) combines four elements of empowerment into a single index. The four elements of the GEM are: proportion of parliamentary seats held by women; proportion of legislators, senior officials and managers 16

17 who are women, the proportion of professional and technical workers who are women and the ratio of earned income between females and males. Figure 10: Women in non-agricultural wage employment: the Pacific Islands Figures 10 and 11 show gender disparities 50 as measured by two of the key components of the Gender Empowerment Measure, for the countries for which data 30 are available. These countries span a wide range of levels and types of socioeconomic and cultural 20 development. Percent of total 10 0 Cook Is Fiji FSM Kiribati Marshall Is Niue Source: Pacific Islands Draft MDG Report, 2005 Palau PNG Solomon Is Tuvalu Vanuata Figure 10 shows the percentage of women, compared to men, in non-agricultural wage labour in 1990 and Most countries show significant improvements in participation of women over this period. Figure 11 shows the percentage of women in parliamentary seats. In many countries, even developed ones such as Japan, this rate is surprisingly low, less than 10 per cent. Other countries, such as Lao PDR, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam are doing relatively well. These figures indicate that the level of gender disparity in a society may be more a matter of social policy and culture, than a matter of economic development. Enforcement of government labour market policies, in countries that have ratified CEDAW, would help to decrease employment disparities. There seems to be no systematic relationship between the level of gender disparities and the type or level of economic development. Equal participation by women in the labour force and in political processes is partly an outcome of social processes such as education of women (including at secondary and tertiary levels) and partly conditioned by government policy and culture. The group of countries that makes poor use of its female labour force includes both poor countries and rich countries. And the group of countries that makes good use of its female labour force also includes both poor and rich countries. Figure 11: Parliamentary seats held by women, various countries (%) Cambodia Lao PDR Timor-Leste Source: UNDP. HDR, 2004 Mongolia Viet Nam PNG Solomon Is Indonesia Philippines China Vanuatu Tonga Samoa Thailand Fiji Malaysia Rep Korea New Zealand Singapore Australia Japan Similar observations apply to gender disparities in participation in political processes. Ensuring equitable participation in political processes is perhaps the most effective strategy for disparity elimination. Experience has shown, time and time again, that it is essential to include those affected by discrimination at all levels in the process of preparation, review and implementation of policy and legislation. Failure to ensure that these processes are participatory tends to result in policy and legislation that are difficult to implement or have unintended consequences. It is perhaps unsurprising, globally, that the countries that have won the largest number of Olympic medals for women s events are also the countries with the highest female labour 17

18 force participation rates. Women s empowerment can serve quite a wide range of important societal functions! The need for girls to participate in sports in schools is not one that is universally recognised. But there is a growing awareness of the value of sports in building up girls confidence, their ability to work in teams and their sense of achievement as individuals. Effective utilisation of the whole of the potential labour force is a good argument for promoting gender equality and women s empowerment. But it is not the best one. The best argument is that the continued existence of gender disparities of this type damages the essential dignity of women and indeed reflects poorly on society as a whole. In recent years, improvements in data availability have called attention to some serious and previously hidden aspects of gender disparities. These include trafficking of young girls and a socially pervasive violence against women. Especially Vulnerable Groups This last category of people affected by disparities is an umbrella group, comprising people with a range of characteristics that render them less competitive in economic markets and less included in social situations. People included in these groups are those that suffer from mental or physical disabilities, people whose capacities are diminished by disease and people who suffer from displacement, including migrants. People in these groups may experience, in addition to their diminished coping capacities, direct or indirect discrimination. Most civilized people consider discrimination based on vulnerability due to diminished capacities, or indeed any of the other distinctions described above, to be unacceptable. Many countries have text in national law, including in their constitutions, that forbids such discrimination. Some kinds of vulnerable groups are provided with special education. In other cases, education for vulnerable groups may be part of the mainstream of national education systems. An estimated 5 per cent of Asia-Pacific populations are disabled. The majority of disabled children do not receive any schooling. This generally leads to a life-long perpetuation of their disadvantage. It is usually not sufficient that the State simply provide limited basic services for these groups. Public education is also needed. People living with HIV/AIDS typically suffer from discrimination based on a wide range of misconceptions about that disease. These misconceptions can be remedied by public education initiatives and the development and enforcement of anti-discrimination laws. Multiple Risks of Disparities Various types of disparities have been described and it has been shown that people who are disadvantaged tend also to access basic services less and have poorer outcomes. Data are only rarely collected in a way that enables multiple disparities to be assessed, but available information indicates that it is likely that this is commonly the case that the person who is suffering from one type of disparity is also suffering from others. Similarly, types of disadvantage may also tend to be clustered. Some people view belonging to many of these groups as an accident of birth. The implication is that anyone could have found themselves in such an unfortunate situation and that we should, therefore, do our best to ensure that people have equal opportunities to advance, no matter where they are born. Other people believe that place of birth is not an accident but rather the result of merit earned in previous lives. In this perspective, those who are more fortunate earn merit through assistance to the less privileged. So in all systems, helping the disadvantaged is desirable. Marginalised children, or children from the least privileged environments, often come often into contact with such child institutions as detention centres, orphanages and other 18

19 institutions where further abuses may happen. Usually, these are due to inappropriate or non-existent child sensitive procedures, or low sensitivity and weak capacities of personnel dealing with them. Multiple neglect affecting children from disadvantaged situations also might happen outside of institutional settings. Violence by law enforcement officials affects not only children in conflict with the law but also street children, children with unclear immigration status and child victims of exploitation driven into the streets due to a prior history of abuse. 19

20 III. Key Processes Leading to and Perpetuating Disparities It is clear that disparities can take many forms. The following section briefly describes some of the social and economic processes that have serious potential for the generation of disparities or for the perpetuation or aggravation of those that already exist. Economic Processes Very rapid economic growth Economic growth is largely driven by industrialisation processes. Market led industrialisation can create a concentration of wealth in the hands of a small number of individuals. Even when industrialisation is mostly led by state-owned enterprises, the industrialisation process is one that tends towards, even requires, a geographic concentration of activity. This geographic concentration of activity leads to increased geographic income inequalities. Earnings of industrial workers are normally higher than those of agricultural workers in order to attract labour to urban areas, higher added value of processing raw materials or information into products and also because special skills are often required. Together, these forces of concentration of wealth increase geographic disparities in income. Governments are limited in the measures that they can take to counter these tendencies. There are valid concerns that excessive taxation of industry may discourage investment and damage economic growth. In an increasingly globalised economy, countries are competing for foreign direct investment. Governments often offer international investors tax-breaks as an incentive to invest in their country rather than locate elsewhere. External pressures from globalisation of trade and economic activity may reinforce the tendency of the industrialisation process to concentrate wealth and create disparities by discouraging potentially redistributive taxation. International investment strongly encourages growth of the private sector and certain responsibilities of governments, especially rule of law as regards property rights and stable banking institutions. Growth of private sector infrastructure in health and education services reinforces pressures already present from national elites who desire a higher quality of service than the State is normally able to provide. The growth of a two-tier structure, private and public, in the provision of social services is a process that accentuates disparities in health and education beyond the levels that are present as a result of income inequalities. Higher quality education of existing elites will tend to perpetuate and enhance existing disparities. Participation in the global economy and World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership require national implementation of various regulatory frameworks. But these opportunities for economic development may themselves increase disparities and institutionalise processes that perpetuate disparities. Privatisation of basic social services and cost sharing In the last two decades, many countries have attempted to reform their social service sector extending their outreach and improving efficiency, effectiveness and quality, while at the same time reducing the burden on the State budget by turning over some of the responsibility for delivery to private sector providers. Some governments have turned to cost-sharing, requiring user fees to be paid for the consumption of public goods as an alternative to, or in conjunction with, increased private sector participation in the supply of social services. Privatization of social services can leave the poorest and most disadvantaged segments of the population without any real options for basic health care and education. Private providers can deliver good-quality services, but the services they offer are often unaffordable to the poorest groups and unsuited to their particular needs for basic education and health care. Services offered by the private sector tend to focus on more profitable high tech, curative services, involving sophisticated equipment, highly-skilled personnel and higher overhead and maintenance costs. And they will tend to concentrate in locations where the 20

21 population is large and dense enough to support significant investments in facilities and staff. Disparities in education and health outcomes are often due to these underlying disparities in access, which themselves result from poverty and lack of service infrastructure in rural areas. Privatisation affects the poor and the rich in different ways. Being able to choose between a higher quality of health care service and a lower cost service (usually with a long waiting time!), is often attractive to richer groups. It is generally assumed that government expenditures on social services will be pro-poor to compensate. But this is not always the case. Table 4: Spending on education for richest and poorest: Thailand & Viet Nam Share of public education spending by level and wealth Viet Nam (1998) Thailand (2000) Primary education Secondary education Primary education Secondary education Poorest 20% Richest 20% Rich/Poor Source: Sinnathambu A. Equity in Public Financing for Basic Education: Evidence from Thailand, Proceeding of the 5 th Int l Conference on Education, AT.I.E.R, Greece, 2003., pp The rich are more able to pay than the poor. As shown by table 4, in Viet Nam, public expenditure on primary education counteracts this bias by spending more the poor. This pro-poor result is achieved by higher public expenditure in poorer areas. In Thailand, expenditures on primary education are almost wealth neutral with 21 per cent spent on the poorest and the similar amount of 17 per cent spent on the richest. For secondary education, the situation is completely different. In both Viet Nam and Thailand, expenditure on the richest 20 per cent of the population is more than their fair share of 20 per cent. It is 31 per cent in Viet Nam and 27 per cent in Thailand. Much less is spent on the poor eight per cent in Viet Nam and 15 per cent in Thailand. This is a little artificial. In secondary schools, the poor are probably under-represented and the rich are probably over-represented. Expenditure on each secondary school student may well be equal, whether the student comes from a rich family or a poor one. But the net result is that taxation monies, which are public funds, are disproportionately spent on the rich. The data from table 4 are illustrated in figure 12. Figure 12: Pro-rich, and pro-poor, public spending on education < pro-poor <- Neutral -> pro-rich > >> very pro-rich >> VIET NAM Primary Secondary THAILAND Primary Secondary Neutral Expenditure Source: Sinnathambu A. Equity in Public for Basic Education: Evidence from Thailan Proceeding of the 5th Int l Conference on E AT.I.E.R, Greece, 2003., pp