Evaluation of the Single Parent and Foster Care Social Protection Schemes in the Maldives

This report presents findings of an evaluation focusing on two schemes within the social protection sector, namely the Single Parent (SPA) Allowance and the Foster Care (FCA) Allowance. These are the main child-focused social protection schemes provided by the Government of the Maldives, implemented by National Social Protection Agency (NSPA). This evaluation has been conducted by a team of Development Pathways, as part of

UNICEF’s support to the Government of the Maldives in the improvement of child-focused social protection services.

The study has been conducted using a number of criteria that are based on a modification of the OECD/DAC evaluation criteria. The criteria used for this evaluation include: relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, sustainability, child-focused, rights-based and gender equality. Due to limitations for evaluating these schemes in the absence of baseline data or budget availability for further data collection, the study did not measure impacts of the scheme. Rather, focus was placed on the efficacy of the schemes in addressing the key vulnerabilities identified by respondents through qualitative evaluation, which has been contextualised by desk-based literature research. It analysed the overall national social protection systems of the Maldives, specifically assessed the operations of the SPA and FCA schemes using the above mentioned criteria, and made recommendations for a more comprehensive child-sensitive social protection programme for the Maldives.