Financing social protection and accelerating coverage in times of crisis and beyond: options for a human-centred recovery, 15 April 2022
The low coverage of social protection in Africa (17.4 per cent, compared with a global average of 46.9 per cent) is associated with low spending on social protection (3.8 per cent of gross domestic product, compared with a global average of 12.9 per cent). According to analysis by the International Labour Organization (ILO) that factors in the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), for low-income countries to close the financing gaps and achieve targets 1.3 and 3.8 of the Sustainable Development Goals, they would need to invest an additional 15.9 per cent of their gross domestic product every year (8.3 per cent for sub-Saharan African countries).
Social protection was at the centre of the crisis response. Across Africa, more than 230 new social protection interventions were introduced to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. A key message from the World Social Protection Report 2020/22 was that many countries needed to choose between the high road, which would entail adopting a comprehensive range of social protection benefits, investing in adequate benefit levels, and striving towards sustainably financed systems, and the lowroad, which would entail austerity, fiscal consolidation and underinvestment in social protection. The high road approach is key for resilience, decent work, social justice and a human-centred recovery.
Given the pressing need to extend social protection in Africa, the ILO Regional Office for Africa launched the Africa Regional Social Protection Strategy 2021–2025, which represents the continent’s high road and aims to extend social protection coverage from the current 17 per cent to 40 per cent by 2025, with a strong focus on the informal and rural economy, formalization efforts, and sustainable financing and fiscal space for social protection.
The International Labour Organization and the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa are hosting an event on "Financing social protection and accelerating coverage in times of crisis and beyond: options for a human-centred recovery" on the sidelines of the 54th session of the Economic Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers of Finance, Planning
and Economic Development.
The event takes place on:
Date: 15 May 2022
Time: 16h-17h30 GMT
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