Logo UNICEF Innocenti
Office of Research-Innocenti
menu icon

Child Marriage and Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program

Analysis of protective pathways in the Amhara region
Child Marriage and Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program: Analysis of protective pathways in the Amhara region

Author(s)

Maja Gavrilovic; Tia Palermo; Elsa Valli; Francesca Viola; Vincenzo Vinci; Karin Heissler; Mathilde Renault; Ana Gabriela Guerrero Serdan; Essa Chanie Mussa

 

Publication series:
Innocenti Research Report

No. of pages: 83

Download the report

(PDF, 4.27 MB)

Abstract

Emerging evidence suggests that social protection programmes can have a positive role in delaying marriage for girls. But the pathways and design features by which programmes may influence child marriage outcomes remain unknown. This mixed-methods study explores whether and how the Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) in Ethiopia, given its national reach and potential to address poverty, can also affect child marriage practice. It draws on descriptive quantitative and qualitative data from an ongoing impact evaluation of the Integrated Safety Net Program (ISNP) pilot in the Amhara region. 

It finds that PSNP, through an economic channel, is effective in reducing financial pressures on families to marry off girls and in improving girls’ education opportunities. Income-strengthening measures must, however, be accompanied by complementary efforts – including girls’ empowerment, awareness-raising and legal measures – to transform deep-rooted social and gender norms and attitudes that perpetuate the harmful practice of child marriage.  

Available in:
English

More in this series: Innocenti Research Report

Data Must Speak: Comprendre les facteurs de performance des écoles ivoiriennes
Publication

Data Must Speak: Comprendre les facteurs de performance des écoles ivoiriennes

Pour faire face aux défis auxquels son système éducatif est confronté, la Côte d’Ivoire a décidé, au-delà d’une analyse sectorielle classique, d’approfondir l’analyse des données existantes afin de trouver des solutions innovantes. Pour y parvenir, la Côte d’Ivoire a sollicité l’appui de l’UNICEF, dans le cadre de la recherche Data Must Speak (DMS), afin d’identifier des pratiques et des comportements modèles positifs. Quelles ressources et quels facteurs contextuels sont associés à de bonnes performances scolaires en Côte d’Ivoire ? En fusionnant et en analysant les bases de données administratives existantes en Côte d’Ivoire, ce rapport permet d'identifier les écoles modèles positives - celles qui obtiennent de meilleurs résultats que les autres écoles bien qu'elles partagent des contextes et des ressources similaires.  La recherche DMS sur les modèles positive est cocréée et mise en œuvre conjointement avec les ministères de l'Éducation et des partenaires clés. La recherche DMS s'appuie sur des méthodes mixtes et des approches innovantes (c'est-à-dire l'approche modèle positive, les sciences du comportement, la recherche sur la mise en œuvre et la science de la mise à l'échelle) pour générer des connaissances et des enseignements pratiques sur " ce qui fonctionne ", " pourquoi " et " comment " mettre à l'échelle des solutions locales pour les décideurs politiques nationaux et la communauté internationale travaillant dans le secteur de l'éducation. La recherche DMS est actuellement mise en œuvre dans 14 pays : Brésil, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Éthiopie, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Népal, Niger, République démocratique populaire lao, République-Unie de Tanzanie, Tchad, Togo et Zambie. 
What works to increase uptake of childhood immunization: a rapid evidence assessment of the impact of interventions targeting caregivers, healthcare workers and communities
Publication

What works to increase uptake of childhood immunization: a rapid evidence assessment of the impact of interventions targeting caregivers, healthcare workers and communities

Vaccination is one of the most effective measures for preventing illness, disability and death among children. However, current vaccination coverage provides insufficient protection for all children, and deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases account for an estimated 21.7 per cent of deaths in children under 5 years old globally. This rapid evidence assessment (REA) looked at the global evidence regarding the effectiveness of interventions to increase uptake of vaccination services. The findings have global relevance but were also used to make more specific recommendations to address challenges identified in consultations with UNICEF’s Europe and Central Asia Regional Office (ECARO).
Teachers for All: Improving primary school teacher deployment in Zambia
Publication

Teachers for All: Improving primary school teacher deployment in Zambia

The equitable and effective deployment of teachers is critical to achieving quality education for all. However, the uneven distribution of teachers – both across and within schools – contributes to significant disparities in class sizes and learning conditions. Recognizing the critical role that teachers play in learning, the Government of Zambia has committed to addressing teacher allocation through large-scale teacher recruitments. This report aims to provide policymakers an overview of the magnitude and distribution of teacher shortages, and inform ongoing efforts to address teacher shortages and improve teacher allocation.
Data Must Speak: Unpacking Factors Influencing School Performance in Ghana
Publication

Data Must Speak: Unpacking Factors Influencing School Performance in Ghana

The Ministry of Education of Ghana (MoE) has developed the Education Sector Plan 2018–2030 (ESP) that establishes the vision for achieving equitable access to quality education and effectively managing education service delivery. Beyond traditional sector analysis, the MoE of Ghana is invested in deepening its use of existing data to enhance education quality. What resources and contextual factors are associated with school performance in Ghana? By merging and analyzing existing administrative datasets in Ghana, this report helps to identify positive deviant schools – those that outperform other schools despite sharing similar contexts and resources. Data Must Speak – a global initiative implemented since 2014 – aims to address the evidence gaps to mitigate the learning crisis using existing data. The DMS Positive Deviance research is co-created and co-implemented with Ministries of Education and key partners. DMS research relies on mixed methods and innovative approaches (i.e., positive deviance approach, behavioural sciences, implementation research and scaling science) to generate knowledge and practical lessons about ‘what works’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ to scale grassroots solutions for national policymakers and the broader international community of education stakeholders. DMS research is currently implemented in 14 countries: Brazil, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Madagascar, Mali, Nepal, Niger, the United Republic of Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.