IBSER conducted a training on child-responsive budgeting in the health sector for representatives of local communities

The Institute for Budgetary and Socio-Economic Research (IBSER) conducted the training "Expenditures on Children, Youth and Families with Children: Child-Responsive Budgeting in the Health Sector." The event brought together 27 representatives from 14 territorial communities across eight regions of Ukraine.
The training aimed to strengthen the professional capacity of local self-government authorities to apply child-responsive budgeting approaches in planning and financing the healthcare sector.
During the training, participants enhanced their knowledge and practical skills in expenditure structure analysis, strategic planning, resource needs forecasting, budget programme performance assessment, investment decision-making, and the implementation of modern approaches to financing healthcare services for children, youth, and families with children.
Special attention was paid to the transition from process-based financing to budgeting focused on achieving measurable outcomes for children. Participants also explored modern approaches to developing preventive services, strengthening intersectoral cooperation, applying medium-term budgeting tools, and assessing the financial sustainability of healthcare systems at the community level.
An important component of the training was hands-on work with practical case studies from territorial communities. Participants analysed expenditure structures for children's healthcare, calculated the cost of healthcare services, forecasted resource needs, developed performance indicators for budget programmes, and assessed the effectiveness of investment decisions related to healthcare infrastructure.
The practical value of the child-responsive budgeting approach is confirmed by the experience of communities that are already applying the tools introduced through the project.
"Thanks to the knowledge gained through this project, our community has been able to implement a number of important changes. First of all, we improved our comprehensive social protection programme, making it more responsive to the needs of children, families with children, and other vulnerable population groups. We also strengthened our approaches to planning activities in the fields of education and healthcare.
Importantly, we enhanced interdepartmental cooperation, enabling our structural units to coordinate their work more effectively, which is already producing tangible results for community residents," said Liudmyla Kvoka, First Deputy Head of the Kehychivka Settlement Council (Kharkiv Oblast).
At the end of the training, participants reflected on the results of their work and provided feedback on the practical value of the knowledge and tools acquired, as well as their potential application in planning, financing, and evaluating the effectiveness of healthcare expenditures at the territorial community level.
The training was organised by the Institute for Budget and Socio-Economic Research (IBSER) within the framework of the project "Integrated Social Services for Conflict-Affected Children and Their Families in Western and Central Ukraine," implemented with the support of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and funded by the Government of Germany through KfW.