A Matter of Choice? Cost sharing in health and education from a rights of the child perspective in Pangani, Rombo and Geita Disticts in Tanzania : Final report to Sida/Sarec

• This report analyse findings from extensive field research on local level in Pangani, Rombo and Geita districts in the period 2000-2004, on the effects of the introduction of user fees in health and eduction for various types of childrens rights to health and education. The report conclude that a number of reforms have been decided upon and implemented. Still however, the rights of the child to health and education as spelled out in the by Tanzania signed convention on Children’s rights has not been fully respected. Particular children to poorer families, and to a certain girl child’s, rights are violated. Especially vulnerable are orphaned or abandon children, even if they are taken care of by grandmothers. Access to health and education for all children is important for ensuring not only improved life chances for individual children, and households, but also for long term development of the whole country. To increase the fees to health and education does not seem to be a viable road to achieve that, if not poor peoples incomes increase first.Concerning choice health was considered as an emergency cost and always had priority, gender or type of child did not matter. Education was considered to be an investment, and in times of scarce resources, the child considered to have the best opportunities to pass school was given priority, and gender played a lesser role then the team had assumed from the beginning. In no few cases girls were given priority to boys, as girls was considered to be more trustworthy to return the investment in the future. Children belonging to the core family was to a larger exten given priority then other children in the family. 

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Statsvetenskap -- Globaliseringsstudier (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Political Science -- Globalisation Studies (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Cost-sharing

user fees

school-fees

right's of the child

gender

girls right´s

education

health

poverty

poverty reduction

local level development

Rombo

Pangani

Geita

Dar es Salaam

Freds- och utvecklingsstudier

Peace and Development Studies

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

rap (ämneskategori)