Roundup: Worrying global picture for social protection of mothers, children

As the world prepares to celebrate Mother's Day, two new studies released Thursday provided new global and country data showing the urgent need to increase social protection for mothers and children.

According to studies released Thursday by the International Labour Organization (ILO), 36 percent of employed women are legally entitled to cash benefits during their maternity leave, while in practice, only 28 per cent of working women are covered in case of maternity because legislation is not implemented effectively.

Another ILO study on social protection for children revealed a considerable gap with regard to the availability of adequate child and family benefits. A total of 108 countries have specific child and family benefit programs rooted in legislation, but they often cover small groups.

The studies showed that maternal and child mortality rates in developing countries are still very high, with around 800 women dying from childbirth and 18,000 children passing away daily.

"Most of these deaths are preventable with adequate social protection. Universal maternal and child health care is key to reducing high mortality rates, together with cash transfers to ensure adequate food, clothing, and access to social services," Isabel Ortiz, director of the ILO Social Protection Department, said.

According to the two studies, the worrying trend is that in some countries the levels of maternity and child protection benefits have dropped as a result of fiscal consolidation policies. For example, several European countries have reduced the level of maternity and child benefits or have limited the level of coverage.

"Child poverty increased in 18 of the 28 countries of the European Union between 2008 and 2013," said Ortiz.

On the other hand, though several low and middle-income countries have either extended the duration of paid maternity leave or introduced cash benefits for mothers and children. However, large coverage gaps remain.

The ILO studies, including detailed national data on maternity protection and child and family benefits for 188 countries surveyed, showed that the projected costs for a basic universal child benefit vary greatly between countries, ranging from 5.2 percent of GDP for Niger to 0.2 percent of GDP for Guyana.

The same variation applies to basic universal maternity protection, where it ranges from less than 0.1 percent of GDP in Bhutan, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Morocco, Sri Lanka and Vietnam to 1.1 percent of GDP in Niger.

Meanwhile, the total cost of universal benefits to all pregnant women and all children in 57 lower income countries is just 0.6 percent of what G20 countries used to bail out the financial sector in 2009.

"At a time when the world is discussing a post-2015 development agenda, it is essential that the international community identifies financing sources for social protection," said Ortiz. Endit