Child Poverty study Iran’s Report June 2008

1. Child Poverty studyIran’s ReportJune 2008

2. Main Topics • Background • Existing of Social Disparities • Subsidy Program • Welfare and Social Security System • National Policy on Poverty Alleviation • Social Welfare Security Umbrella • Institutional frame work for the study • Source of information and databases used • Major Challenges • Opportunities

3. Background • Adopting Pro-poor policy since last three decades through: • 4 five years socio-economic development plans • Road map 2025 as a long term development vision for Iran • Successfully achievement on basic social services : • -U5MR has been reduced to 34/1000 live birth comparing to 68/1000 in 1990 • - Educational opportunities for children improved significantly in recent years to 97%

4. Existing of Social Disparities • Not much progress on social disparities as the Gov. has dealt with poverty more through charitable transfers than sustainable job opportunities and empowerment, • Existing sever disparities in access to social services: • Primary enrolment in disparity provinces, e.g.. S&B province is 76% while national average is 97% • Child malnutrition rate in the same province is 16% comparing to the national average 5%

5. Subsidy Program • Gov. program to provide free education and health services has been very successful, but its program to provide energy and basic food items with subsidized prices to all has benefited rich people more than poor (in the name of the poor, but in the pocket of rich) • Subsidy program has caused major misallocation of resources in the economy

6. Establishment of Comprehensive structure of Welfare and Social Security System • Adoption of subsidy-based policies to set purposeful subsidy system for : • Reducing or phasing out the level of subsidies from higher income group and • The income yielded by reduction of subsidies will be used to work out a comprehensive social security system to reduce social gaps

7. National Policy on Poverty Alleviation • Some principles of the policy include: • The poor should be viewed as individuals who can play an important role in poverty alleviation programs • The most deprived people should be given the priority in receiving supportive measures • All the measures should be aimed at eliminating the factors which contribute to the emergence of poverty; as well as additional measures such as financial, cultural and educational assistance to empower individuals

8. Social Welfare Security Umbrella • Families suffering from extreme poverty are completely covered by social welfare security umbrella. Provision of services are prioritized on : • Focusing on children left behind and Children without parents/guardian • Female headed households • The elderly • People living with disability • Others ( the jobless, drug addicts, people living with mental, physical and etc…chronic diseases) Amendment:Ministry of Welfare is responsible to define criteria for identification of target groups ( considering the level of vulnerability and priorities to provide social services)

9. Institutional Framework for the Study • Steering Committee has been established and several meetings were held. The committee includes: • Ministry of Welfare (as the leading Gov. organization • Imam Khomeini Relief Committee: acts as the biggest and most powerful charity organization • State Welfare Organization • Ministry of Health and Medical Universities

10. Source of information and databases used for the study • Iran Statistic Center Census (ISC) ISC conduct national population and housing census every ten years. Collected data are appropriate source for identification of target group (latest produced 2007) . 2. ANIS (Anthropometric Nutrition Indicator Survey) national nutrition Survey on wasting, stunting and underweight indicators for under five children (latest 2007) 3. DHS (latest in 2000 and possibly another survey very soon)

11. Major Challenges • Preliminary Assessment: • Lack of consensus on definition of poverty among academic professionals and the executive branches (households income rather than deprivation of basic needs) • Dealing with poverty through charitable transfer and individual contribution traditionally (dependency of people on social assistance and absent of self-reliant) • Untargeted Subsidy System and state-based economy • High Inflation Rate (first in the region, fifth in the world) • Lack of disaggregated data • Poor intersectoral Coordination • Significant increase of food prices (since the problem is not yet reflected in the national statistics, it is hard to judge the scale, but the situation will definitely hit the vulnerable population harder

12. Some other Challenges • The issue of Good Governance , as the main prerequisite for design and implementation of poverty reduction program • Some national social scientists and economists argue that the governance indicators in Iran have been weak in recent years and the policies of the current government has aggravated it • They also believe in the absence of institutional capacity and clear direction, the Gov. efforts to improve the situation of poor will end up with a lower economic growth, higher inflation rate and more unemployment. All of which is harmful for the poor and deprived.

13. Opportunities • Benefiting from innovative and new conceptual framework ,the global study on child poverty and disparities will definitely make policy and decision makers to identify and address gaps in existing economic strategies and social policy response in favor of children • And the last but not the least, UNICEF advocacy will foster to move toward the human-right based approach to child poverty.