World Social Protection Report 2020-22

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Recently, International Labour Organisation (ILO) released  World Social Protection Report 2020-22.

Major Findings of the report 

• Coverage: Currently, only 47 per cent of the global population are effectively covered by at least one social protection benefit, while 4.1 billion people (53 per cent) obtain no income security at all from their national social protection system.
  • Over half of all people in the world have no social protections, even after the pandemic spurred countries to offer more services to their populations.
• Impact of COVID-19 pandemic :  The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed and exacerbated the social protection gap between countries with high and low-income levels.
  • The pandemic response was uneven and insufficient, deepening the gap between countries with high and low-income levels and failing to afford the much-needed social protection that all human beings deserve.
• Regional inequalities: There are significant regional inequalities in social protection. 
  • Europe and Central Asia have the highest rates of coverage, with 84 per cent of people being covered by at least one benefit. 
  • The Americas are also above the global average, with 64.3 per cent. Asia and the Pacific (44 per cent), the Arab States (40 per cent) and Africa (17.4 per cent) have marked coverage gaps.
• Government spending: Government spending on social protection also varies significantly. On average, countries spend 12.8 per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on social protection (excluding health), however, high-income countries spend 16.4 per cent and low-income countries only 1.1 per cent of their GDP on social protection.
• Suggestions 
  • The world community must recognize that effective and comprehensive social protection is not just essential for social justice and decent work but for creating a sustainable and resilient future too.
  • This is a pivotal moment to harness the pandemic response to build a new generation of rights-based social protection systems. 
    • These can cushion people from future crises and give workers and businesses the security to tackle the multiple transitions ahead with confidence and with hope. 
  • To guarantee at least basic social protection coverage, low-income countries would need to invest an additional US$77.9 billion per year, lower-middle-income countries an additional US$362.9 billion per year and upper-middle-income countries a further US$750.8 billion per year.
    • That’s equivalent to 15.9, 5.1 and 3.1 per cent of their GDP, respectively.

What is Social protection? 

• Social protection includes access to health care and income security measures related especially to old age, unemployment, sickness, disability, work injury, maternity or the loss of the main breadwinner in a family, as well as extra support for families with children.
• It is an important tool that can create wide-ranging social and economic benefits for countries at all levels of development. 
• It can underpin better health and education, greater equality, more sustainable economic systems, better-managed migration and the observance of core rights. Building the systems that can deliver these positive outcomes will require a mix of financing sources and greater international solidarity, particularly with support for poorer countries. 
• Importance of Social protection 
  • It helps individuals and families, especially the poor and vulnerable, cope with crises and shocks, find jobs, improve productivity, invest in the health and education of their children, and protect the ageing population. 
  • It enhances human capital and productivity, reduces inequalities, builds resilience and ends the inter-generational cycle of poverty. 
  • It also helps ensure equality of opportunity by giving them a chance to climb out of poverty and become productive members of society. 

Image Courtsey: ILO

Source: TH