Social Protection System: An Afghan Case Study

UNICEF is considering the development of a social protection programme with a specific focus on children, within the already existing framework developed by the World Bank and the Ministry of Labour Social Affairs, Martyrs, and Disabled (MoLSAMD). With the goal of articulating children-sensitive programming with the World Bank’s own safety net programme in mind, the first step in this direction is for the organisation to launch a pilot programme in Balkh to test the best modalities of programming to cover children’s needs for social protection in the country. In the longer run, both organisations aim at increasing the scale of interventions, with the government eventually taking ownership of the system.

In order to support the design of this pilot, UNICEF commissioned Samuel Hall Consulting to conduct formative research in five districts to be targeted by UNICEF. The overall objective of this research project is to advise UNICEF on the design of a child-focused social protection cash transfer programme in Balkh province.