Exploring the Policies on Equity

A pro-equity approach focuses on the most deprived and vulnerable children that are disproportionately concentrated in the poorest and most marginalised parts of the population. UNICEF has put forward the argument that an equity-based approach will help countries meet the Millennium Development Goals quicker and more cost-effectively than currently is the case, and that an equity-based approach is not only a moral obligation but also a necessary condition for achieving sustainable human and economic development. These are important considerations also in a post-2015 perspective. 

The objectives of the seminar are to:

• Gain a better understanding of the evidence base and the theory of change that underpin UNICEF’s equity-based approach
• Explore how an equity-based approach with a focus on the most marginalized children and communities fits with other models for poverty reduction and development, for example universal welfare approaches and insurance schemes.
• Learn more about and discuss how an equity-based approach is being implemented by UNICEF at country level, what the implications are for field offices and how they engage with national governments, civil society and other partners.

This will provide a base for further work on equity and also inform Norway’s institutional dialogue with UNICEF. 

Programme:

08:45-09:15 - Registration and coffee
09:15-09:30 - Opening and welcome – Villa Kulild, Director of Norad

Part I: The Evidence Base and Theoretical Perspective of the Equity Approach . Chair: Bernt G. Apeland, National Committee UNICEF Norway

09:30-09:50 - The Theoretical Perspective and Argument for UNICEF’s focus on a Pro-Equity Approach. Presentation: Christian Salazar, Deputy Director, Programme Division, UNICEF NYHQ

09:50-10:40 - 7 min prepared interventions

• Inequality and Social Policy: Universal Access vs. Targeted Interventions. Discussant: Katja Hujo, Research Coordinator, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)
• Equity Approach: Implications for Financing, Universal Access vs Targeted Interventions. Discussant: Eva Kløve, Research Fellow, Centre for the Study of Equality, Social Organisation and Performance, Department of Economics, University of Oslo

Coffee/Tea

• Equity and Human Rights in Development, Differences and Similarities. Discussant: Margot Igland Skarpeteig, Team Coordinator Rights and Social Equity Team, Norad
• Equity, Entitlement, and National Poverty Reduction Policies. Trade Offs and Cost Efficiency. Discussant: Dan Banik, Associate Professor and Research Director, Center for Development and Environment, University of Oslo

10:40-11:30 - Session on Discussion, Questions and Answers  -  UNICEF wrap up.
                      Moderator: Camilla Helgø Fossberg, Norad

11:30-12:30 - Lunch

Part II: Operationalisation of the Equity Approach
Chair:  Paul Fife, Norad

12:30-13:15

• Strategies for the Equity Approach: Decentralised Monitoring for Action. Presentation: Rudolf Knippenberg, Deputy Director, Programme Division, UNICEF NYHQ ,UNICEF
• Operationalisation of the Pro-Equity Aapproach: Comparative Case Studies from Africa (Nigeria, DRC, Benin). Presentation: Rudolf Knippenberg, Deputy Director, Programme Division, UNICEF NYHQ ,UNICEF
• UNICEF Case Study from Georgia: The Equity Approach and Child Protection. Presentation: Georgia, Roeland Monasch, Representative, UNICEF Georgia

13:15-13:30 - Coffee/Tea

13:30-14:00 Comments by

• Save the Children Norway: Kim Terje Loraas (on Operationalising an Equity and Human Rights Based Approach for Child Wellbeing)
• UNICEF Norwegian National Committee: Bernt G. Apeland, (on application of a Pro-Equity Approach in a Norwegian context)

14:00 – 14:45 - Session on Discussion, Questions and Answers
                         Moderator:  Paul Fife, Norad