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A Policy Forum and Workshop Jointly Organized by
Fordham University’s Center for International Policy Studies (CIPS) - Social Justice and Policy Unit, Fordham’s International Political Economy and Development (IPED) Program, and the United Nations Children’s Fund
18-19 February 2010, New York City
Recovery from the global economic slowdown confronts governments everywhere with the challenge of protecting social spending even as fiscal resources remain limited and unemployment persists. This is especially true in developing countries just emerging from the global recession and coping with volatile food prices. In order to ensure that recovery is inclusive and benefits children, women and poor families, these governments will need to take decisive steps in 2010 and beyond to support economic recovery while protecting vital human development programs related to health and education. Haiti represents an extreme case of the threats to child health and development faced by countries emerging from the compounded effects of food price volatility, economic slowdown and natural disaster.
Recovery with a human face requires adequate resources be channelled to effective programs targeting children, women and poor families. This conference will focus on three main policy areas:
1) Ensuring budget transparency and citizen participation and engagement in order to ensure that enough resources are allocated and these are effectively channelled;
2) Implementing robust countercyclical social spending programs in response to crises and to support social services and minimize harm to children;
3) Building and financing child-sensitive social protection systems that address both longer term structural poverty as well as crisis-response.
This meeting brings together development practitioners, researchers and other experts to discuss emerging empirical evidence and deliberate on key policy responses, notably those related to social budgets and public finance policy.
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