In a context where social policy making is dominated by external ‘donor’ agencies and international financial institutions, is the version of social policy being offered in Africa degrading development and undermining the building of democratic culture on the continent?
This is the key question guiding this conference, which is the second in what is intended to be a regular biennial scholarly gathering. As well as being co-host, UNRISD is well represented with the speakers and panels listed below. The
full programme is available here.
Welcome Addresses
- Prof Mandla Makhanya: Vice Chancellor, University of South Africa
- Prof Jimi Adesina: SARChI Chair in Social Policy
- Prof Les Labuschagne: Executive Director, Research and Innovation, University of South Africa
- Dr Katja Hujo: UNRISD Director (Rep)
1ST PLENARY SESSION: Governance of Africa’s Social Policy
Chair:
Katja Hujo (UNRISD, Geneva)
- Jimi Adesina (University of South Africa, South Africa): Don’t Call Dog Monkey for Me: Policy Merchandising and Social Assistance in Africa
- Marion Atieno Ouma (University of South Africa, South Africa): (Un)democratic social policymaking: examining the dynamics of social protection adoption in Kenya
- Neo Simutanyi (Centre for Policy Dialogue, Zambia): Populism and the politics of inclusive social welfare provision: Interrogating the efficacy of the Social Cash Transfer Programme as a poverty reduction strategy in Zambia
2ND PLENARY SESSION: The Politics of Domestic Resource Mobilization
Chair:
Charles Hongoro (HSRC, South Africa)
Speakers:
- Katja Hujo (UNRISD, Geneva): The Politics of Domestic Resource Mobilization for Social Development: Overview and Lessons from an UNRISD Research Project.
- Andrés Mejia-Acosta (King's College London, UK): Sharing the Wealth: The Politics of Subnational Distribution of Natural Resource Revenues.
- Richard Saunders (York University, Canada): A Political Economy of Contestation and Resource Bargaining in Zimbabwe.
3RD PLENARY SESSION: Global Governance of Social Policy
Chair:
Julie Drolet (University of Calgary, Canada)
Speakers:
- Ilcheong Yi (UNRISD, Geneva): New Directions in Social Policy: Global Governance and Social Policy.
- Heath Prince (University of Texas, Austin, USA): Economic growth, youth unemployment, and political and social instability: A study of policies and outcomes in post-Arab Spring: Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Tunisia.
- Naren Prasad (ILO, Switzerland): Measuring social policy: towards a social policy index.
- Stephen Devereaux (IDS, Sussex, UK): Whose social policy? External actors and social protection in Africa.
3RD BREAK-AWAY SESSION: Access to Healthcare Services
Chair:
Ilcheong Yi (UNRISD, Geneva)
Speakers:
- Doreen Anyamesem Odame (University of Ghana, Ghana): Assessing the determinants of quality of care under the free maternal health care policy.
- Afeez Folorunsho Lawal (University of South Africa, South Africa): Ability to pay for healthcare in rural Nigeria: Insights from a community-based health insurance study.
- Thea de Gruchy (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa): Sustainability & the state in South Africa: Towards an improved understanding of policy making, a case study of migration and health.
- Sivuyisiwe Wonci (University of South Africa, South Africa): ‘We don’t need health services; we need jobs, so that we can put food on the table’: the experiences of Community Health Workers in the NHI pilot program in Tshwane District.
- Masauso Chirwa (University of Zambia, Zambia): Universal Health Coverage in Zambia: Implications to Access Health Care.