Social protection is becoming a new buzzword in development assistance, and there is an increasing awareness that social cash transfer mechanisms are underused tools in efforts to address vulnerability, risk, inequality and chronic poverty affecting persons with disabilities, older people, children and orphans in particular. Increasing evidence suggests that social cash transfers are necessary for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, and that they can protect and support the building up of assets, promote access to essential services, support livelihood development and lead to more equitable economic development.

A meeting in Johannesburg recently reviewed and discussed how civil society and citizens can engage critically with national social protection policy processes. This was the first step at a regional level to attempt to deepen the debate about the nature and objectives of social protection programmes and share lessons.

It is clear that a number of African governments are currently developing social protection policies and initiating social cash transfer programmes, partly as a follow up to the Intergovernmental Regional Conference on Social Protection held at Livingstone, Zambia in March 2006. In the declaration of the conference, The Livingstone Call for Action, representatives of 13 participating African governments undertook to put together costed national social cash transfer plans within 2-3 years which development partners could support or supplement. The Livingstone Conference recognised the need for mobilisation of all stakeholders, including governments, parliaments, civil society and the donor community to address chronic poverty, deprivation, exclusion and the promotion of human rights.

African disability groups and other civil society organisations have become aware that the design and piloting of cash transfer programmes in some countries is being carried out with very little consultation or public debate. This is not only a constraint on effective national policymaking but endangers the successful establishment of sustainable and embedded programmes. Even in this day of ICT, you cannot be shaven in your absence. Either you go or the barber comes to you. Once again, there is need for united action to ensure the active participation of the disability community in the development of national plans.

It is time we build consensus, deepen understanding of disability & social protection and social cash transfers debate among disability activists at national level, including engagement with the media. A window of opportunity still exists to contribute to this thinking. All leaders and activists in the disability movement in the region must build on existing networks and take an active role in national development planning processes.

The in-country advocacy drive should urge for implementation of the Livingstone Call as a core demand, and to become involved in national social protection coordination mechanisms. It is non negotiable, we must ensure that disabled citizen’s voices are involved in the design and delivery of social cash transfer programmes.

Given the importance of this subject, its’ nature and complexity, disabled leaders must join all regional undertakings to enhance ‘intra Africa’ learning initiatives, and networking, including building the case for social transfers using existing best practice in southern Africa as a key support.

What is social protection?

Social protection is seen as encompassing a range of protective public actions carried out by the state, NGOs  or others in response to unacceptable levels of vulnerability and poverty. 

Social protection  includes social assistance & insurance to protect citizens against the risks and consequence of livelihood discrimination and abuse. This can be in the form of cash or kind; food, fee wavers, grants etc. It is not a panacea and needs to be combined with a wider social protection, rights and development framework.
 
Disabled peoples’ equal right to social protection does not signal a return to welfarism. Social protection is not meant to replace action to claim rights but to support and underpin the rights of persons with disabilities.

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This article was published in Human Rights Africa number 2, 2007.