Georgia has made impressive progress in tackling poverty among children, with the child poverty rate falling from one in five to less than one in three from 2009 to 2013. Yet most children in Georgia continue to grow up in families with highly insecure incomes, and this can prevent their current and future wellbeing.
We authored a report to provide evidence-based recommendations and lay out policy options to inform UNICEF’s engagement in the social protection sector in Georgia. Child Wellbeing and Social Security in Georgia: The Case for Moving to a More Inclusive National Social Security System presents innovative new analysis on income dynamics and movements into and out of poverty.
Our work used data from a representative panel survey that tracked the same households over a five-year period. It underpins the report’s argument that the majority of children in Georgia live in vulnerable and insecure families and in response develops policy options for strengthening the social security system. They include: expanding the Child Grant, introducing maternity and unemployment insurance, and developing childcare services for working families.