TY - JOUR
T1 - The financing need for expanding paid maternity leave to support breastfeeding in the informal sector in the Philippines
AU - Ulep, Valerie Gilbert
AU - Zambrano, Paul
AU - Datu-Sanguyo, Janice
AU - Vilar-Compte, Mireya
AU - Belismelis, Graciela Ma Teruel
AU - Pérez-Escamilla, Rafael
AU - Carroll, Grace J.
AU - Mathisen, Roger
N1 - Funding Information:
Thanks to Adiatma Siregar, Mario Chen, Jessica Alegria‐Escobar, Tuan Nguyen and Amy Weismann for participating in the review of this manuscript prior to submission. This project was supported by Alive & Thrive and the Becoming Breastfeeding Friendly (BFF), an initiative funded by the Family Larsson‐Rosenquist Foundation through a grant to Yale University (PI, Rafael Perez‐Escamilla). The Alive & Thrive initiative, managed by FHI Solutions, is currently funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Irish Aid, the Tanoto Foundation, UNICEF, and the World Bank. The BBF project is funded by The Family Larsson‐Rosenquist Foundation through a grant to Yale University (PI, Rafael Pérez‐Escamilla). Yale University has received a one‐off grant for BBF by the Family Larsson‐Rosenquist Foundation. Selection of test sites for BBF has been within the sole and full discretion of Yale University. There is no agreement for follow‐on funding based on results and all results of BBF must be made publicly available. The Family Larsson‐Rosenquist Foundation is an independent foundation set up in 2013 by the Larsson family and it functions strictly in line with the Swiss law. The foundation pursues charitable objectives and acts completely independent from the companies it owns assets of. As such, no member of the board of the Family Larsson‐Rosenquist foundation has a commercial role within the field of breastfeeding. The foundation owns the Olle Larsson Holding, which comprises several companies, including a property investment portfolio, and medical technology companies, such as Medela. Regardless of these assets, the foundation can receive funding from different sources.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Authors. Maternal & Child Nutrition published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd
PY - 2021/4
Y1 - 2021/4
N2 - In low- and middle-income countries, almost three-fourths of women in the labour force lack maternity protection. In the Philippines, current laws do not guarantee paid maternity leave to workers in the informal economy. A non-contributory maternity cash transfer to informal sector workers could be used to promote social equity and economic productivity and could provide health benefits by helping mothers meet their breastfeeding goals. The objective of the study is to provide a realistic cost estimate and to assess the financial feasibility of implementing a publicly financed, non-contributory maternity cash transfer programme to the informal sector in the Philippines. Using a costing framework developed in Mexico, the study estimated the annual cost of a maternity cash transfer programme. The methodology estimated the unit cost of the programme, the incremental coverage of maternity leave and expected number of enrollees. Different unit and incremental costs assumptions were used to provide a range of scenarios. Administrative costs for running the programme were included in the analysis. The annual financing need of implementing maternity cash transfer programme in the Philippines ranges from a minimum scenario of USD42 million (14-week maternity cash transfer) to a more ideal scenario of USD309 million (26-week maternity cash transfer). The latter is financially feasible as it is equivalent to less than 0.1% of the country's gross domestic product substantially lower than the share cost of not breastfeeding (0.7%). The annual cost of the programme is only 10% of the total cost of the largest conditional cash transfer programme.
AB - In low- and middle-income countries, almost three-fourths of women in the labour force lack maternity protection. In the Philippines, current laws do not guarantee paid maternity leave to workers in the informal economy. A non-contributory maternity cash transfer to informal sector workers could be used to promote social equity and economic productivity and could provide health benefits by helping mothers meet their breastfeeding goals. The objective of the study is to provide a realistic cost estimate and to assess the financial feasibility of implementing a publicly financed, non-contributory maternity cash transfer programme to the informal sector in the Philippines. Using a costing framework developed in Mexico, the study estimated the annual cost of a maternity cash transfer programme. The methodology estimated the unit cost of the programme, the incremental coverage of maternity leave and expected number of enrollees. Different unit and incremental costs assumptions were used to provide a range of scenarios. Administrative costs for running the programme were included in the analysis. The annual financing need of implementing maternity cash transfer programme in the Philippines ranges from a minimum scenario of USD42 million (14-week maternity cash transfer) to a more ideal scenario of USD309 million (26-week maternity cash transfer). The latter is financially feasible as it is equivalent to less than 0.1% of the country's gross domestic product substantially lower than the share cost of not breastfeeding (0.7%). The annual cost of the programme is only 10% of the total cost of the largest conditional cash transfer programme.
KW - Philippines
KW - breastfeeding
KW - costing
KW - informal sector
KW - maternity leave
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096696248&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/mcn.13098
DO - 10.1111/mcn.13098
M3 - Article
C2 - 33146460
AN - SCOPUS:85096696248
SN - 1740-8695
VL - 17
JO - Maternal and Child Nutrition
JF - Maternal and Child Nutrition
IS - 2
M1 - e13098
ER -