As part of a new Madagascar country programme for 2021-2023, UNICEF implemented a multisectoral programme in mica mining villages in the Anosy region of the country, with the aim of reducing child labour and the negative impacts of economic exploitation on children. The programme included a universal child allowance for families, as well as an equal opportunity grant for children with severe disabilities, in selected villages in the mica provinces. This was a geographical expansion of the government’s previous national safety net programme.
In order to increase national and international investments in social protection in mica communes, with a view to further scaling up social protection programmes in the coming years, UNICEF commissioned ECOPER to develop an advocacy document, whose target audience will include international donors, the private sector working in the mica supply chain and the Government of Madagascar. The consultancy ran from January to June 2022.