Helpdesk Reports
The literature suggests that the effects of social protection initiatives such as cash transfers and vouchers on social cohesion are positive, but there is very little empirical evidence to back this. This review found no research comparing cash transfers and vouchers from the perspective of social cohesion. However, experience of cash transfers in developing countries,… Read more
The report begins by addressing the challenge of defining disability. It is recognised that there is variation in the nature and severity of disability, and that no single description is adequate to define it (Mont 2007; DFID 2015). Despite this challenge, the definition the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) (2006)… Read more
This review looks at the availability of funds to tackle modern slavery and human trafficking, and the availability of data in this regard. It seeks to move beyond the findings of Martina Ucnikova’s 2014 paper, OECD and Modern Slavery: How much aid money is spent to tackle the issue?, and identify updated (post-2013) data on… Read more
The current conflict in Yemen, which began in 2015, has resulted in a humanitarian catastrophe. As of March 2017, 18.8 million people are in need of humanitarian support, and 10.3 million are in acute need (Sikurajapathy and Al-Fotih, 2017). Women, men, boys and girls have been affected in different ways by the conflict. This rapid… Read more
This rapid review is based on 5 days of desk-based research. It is designed to provide a brief overview of the key issues, and a summary of pertinent evidence found within the time permitted. The literature was identified using two methods. Firstly, a number of experts were identified and contacted. They were asked to provide… Read more
The Western Balkans remains a region dominated by patriarchal gender norms. The biggest challenge for improving gender equality is changing the mentality of women and men towards traditional gender roles (Petričević, 2012). The literature consistently identifies social attitudes as a barrier to increasing gender equality. Many people are not aware of women’s rights or gender… Read more
‘Modern slavery’ encompasses a variety of situations in which one person is forcibly controlled by one or more others for the purpose of exploitation (Cockayne, 2015). ‘Forced or compulsory labour’ is defined by the ILO Forced Labour Convention as ‘all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty… Read more
Financing for social protection often comes from government funds. Any way of expanding fiscal space could therefore be useful with the political will for prioritisation (UNESCP, 2016). Egypt created an Economic Justice Unit in the Ministry of Finance to review expenditure priorities, and Costa Rica and Thailand shifted military spending to finance universal health services… Read more
This report provides a rapid literature review of the evidence on what data and evidence exists, to identify, categorise and support children with disabilities to access education and achieve measurable learning outcomes in Tanzania and other similar resource-constrained contexts. Literature focused on the debate between mainstream and specialist education for children with disabilities is discussed…. Read more
The evidence found for this report shows that vending machines have been used to make contraceptives available to vulnerable groups in low and middle income countries in a number of programmes. Examples from different parts of the world include: A six-year HIV prevention pilot programme started in 2009, which plans to install 100 CVMs using… Read more
Social capital in Yemen is informed primarily by tribal affiliation, particularly in rural areas and in the north. Other important sources including faith based institutions, local community solidarity initiatives, civil society organisations and support from the diaspora. While social capital has been eroded due to political, social and economic changes in recent years, the strong… Read more