Approaches to Improving the Delivery of Social Services in Difficult ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Approaches to Improving the Delivery of Social Services in Difficult Environmentshumanitarian law and seeking to get monitoring missions on the ground tohold state and non-state forces accountable for their actions.49. Reduce the costs of accessing services: one challenge for the poor indifficult environments (in common with the poor across most developingcountries) is meeting the cost of accessing services, both direct andindirect. A full review of all the possible approaches and responses isbeyond the scope of this paper, but it is worth focusing here on user fees.There are strong advocates for the removal of user fees in the health andeducation sectors, but this may not be feasible in many difficultenvironments where non-state actors are a major provider of services, andlack of government capacity makes effective regulation virtuallyimpossible. More promising may be efforts to increase the amount ofdisposable income that the poor have access to. One way to do this isthrough cash for work programmes. Other social protection 58 initiativesthat may have the potential to offer a safety net for the poor and enablethem to access services include conditional cash transfers, nutritionsupport services, and fee exemptions 59 . The latter have also been used totarget orphans and vulnerable children in countries heavily affected by HIVand AIDS and thereby assist them in accessing services, particularlyeducation. Alternatively, incentives for attendance can be built into theservices themselves. School feeding programmes, for example, have hadsome success in increasing access to school in difficult environments.58 Defined here as a range of measures that aim to prevent shocks and stresses (including long-termsevere poverty) having a harmful effect on wellbeing.59 Marcus, R. with Piron, L.H. and Slaymaker, T. (July 2004).This working paper is intended to stimulate public discussion. It is not necessarily DFID orUK Government policy24
Approaches to Improving the Delivery of Social Services in Difficult EnvironmentsV. What are the implications for DFID and other agencies?V.1 Understanding of context is crucial49. It is critical to understand the capacity and will dimensions of difficultenvironments in order to inform programming decisions, and to minimisethe risk of aid doing more harm than good. Figure 2 gives an indication ofhow approaches could be mapped on to a three-fold typology of difficultenvironments, depending on whether, in any particular area or region, thestate exhibits a lack of capacity, a lack of political will, or a lack of both 60 .Figure 2: Possible approaches to strengthening service delivery relationships and actors in difficultenvironments+ WILLWill but limited capacityWill and capacityPolicy maker• Partner with central government and lineministries to develop, implement andfinance pro-poor policyProvider• Encourage partnerships between the stateand non-state providers• Build state provider capacity wherepossiblePoor people• Strengthen the voice of poor people todemand their rights to services• Use community based approaches thatwork through central and local governmentstructures and link to sector interventions• Facilitate provider accessPolicy maker• Strengthen government system to developpro-poor policy, monitor the compact,respond to voice, and be accountable tocitizensProvider• Build organisational and frontline providercapacity and provide incentives for frontlineworkers• Work to make providers more responsive tothe poorPoor people• Build client power and voice- CAPACITYLimited will and limited capacityCapacity but lack of will+ CAPACITYPolicy maker• Use non-state mechanisms for policycoordinationProvider• Deliver services through humanitarianagencies and INGOs in ways that buildcapacity and institutions where possible•Poor people• Use community based approaches thatbuild local governance structures andcommunity capacity to manage their ownservice delivery needs• Facilitate provider accessPolicy maker• Use non-state mechanisms for policy andfinancing coordination and look for entrypoints to support political willProvider• Harness both state and non-state providersthrough some form of partnershiparrangementPoor people• Use community based approaches that buildlocal governance structures and developcommunity capacity to manage their ownservice delivery needs• Facilitate provider access- WILL60 See PRDE Working Paper 1 for a fuller explanation of the typologyThis working paper is intended to stimulate public discussion. It is not necessarily DFID orUK Government policy25
Page 1 and 2: Approaches to Improving theDelivery
Page 3 and 4: Approaches to Improving the Deliver
Page 23: Approaches to Improving the Deliver
Page 37: Approaches to Improving the Deliver

Approaches to Improving the Delivery of Social Services in Difficult ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?