In most countries, parliamentary debate on and approval of the national budget is required. This makes parliamentarians critical actors in ensuring that budget allocations and expenditures are undertaken in a transparent, accountable and fair manner. Gender responsive budgeting (GRB), is a strategy to achieve gender equality, by ensuring that interventions required to eliminate inequalities between women and men and boys and girls are adequately financed.

Public assistance in the Caribbean generally does not include special provisions for sole parents. Instead, such families—if they are fortunate—receive support through the limited general public assistance schemes.

The social safety net assessments conducted in Eastern Caribbean states in and around 2009 recommended that countries should develop a proxy means test (PMT) to replace the diverse approaches they were using to target poverty-related benefits.

Eastern Caribbean countries are currently developing and implementing substantial social safety net reforms. Governments of six Eastern Caribbean countries conducted social safety net assessments in 2009 – 2010, with the support of UN Women and UNICEF in partnership with the World Bank.

Conditional Cash Transfers: Learning From The Literature

The social safety net assessments conducted in Eastern Caribbean states in and around 2009 recommended that countries should develop a proxy means test (PMT) to replace the diverse approaches they were using to target poverty-related benefits.

Establishing gender and child responsive social protection schemes that ensure universal access to health care including maternity care, and basic income security, will protect women and their families from the effects of economic shocks and crises that may result in job and wage losses.