Capri study reveals that outcomes not reflecting money being spent on sectors to cater for children

A recent study by Capri has found that while enough funds are being spent on sectors that cater to children, the greater concern is the outcomes. 

The Caribbean Policy Research Institute, (Capri), in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, (Unicef) launched its report “Room for improvement: the gap between public spending and child outcomes in Jamaica,” last evening.

The study is the first evidence-based analysis of how Jamaica’s National Budget reaches its children, covering 9 fiscal years from 2017/18 to 2025/26.

In outlining the findings, Capri’s Director of Research Dr. Diana Thorburn noted that the sectors most critical to children in their earliest years -health, nutrition, child protection and social protection, are  the areas where Jamaica’s spending is thinnest, least protected and most opaque.

She lamented that money is being spent, but its not reaching the children.

She expressed concern that there is no performance framework linking expenditure to outcomes.