This assignment goal was to develop country Budget Briefs, and subsequently sectoral budget briefs, that included analysis of links between national and sectoral development policies and public expenditure on social sectors: education, social protection and child protection. The purpose of the Briefs was to inform advocacy regarding child-related expenditure, improve budget allocation decisions, and suggest measures to improve budget execution performance, by developing key messages for policy and national and sectoral financing. A further aim was to increase UNICEF and government staff’s knowledge on budget issues that are linked to sector results, including developing tools and guidance notes on their use. Budget Briefs are an important tool for facilitating an informed debate on the allocation of resources towards meeting national goals and in pursuit of the achievement of planned service delivery and performance targets. Through this project, UNICEF aimed to help these countries to improve the analysis and evidence base for budget allocations to the social sector, in order to improve the circumstances of children, who comprise 25% of the population in the Eastern Caribbean. A significant percentage of children live in poverty, which has a negative impact on their ability to survive and thrive.
The sector budget briefs comprised:
Trinidad and Tobago – Education, St Lucia – Social Protection, St Kitts and Nevis – Social Protection, Antigua and Barbuda – Social Protection, British Virgin Islands – Education.

The outputs from this assignment remain internal documents for governments and UNICEF.