The 2014 Human Development Report – Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience provides a fresh perspective on vulnerability and proposes ways to strengthen resilience. According to income-based measures of poverty, 1.2 billion people live with $1.25 or less a day. However, according to the UNDP Multidimensional Poverty Index,...

This working paper identifies the social protection policy design and implementation details that enable timely and adequate shock response. It also examines developments in securing adequate social protection financing and crisis preparedness....

This report consists of two parts. The first part was prepared under the authorship of the Global Sustainability Institute (GSI) and reflects the latest research and views of the Institute. It considers the issues of climate change and natural resources scarcity as well as their potential impacts on society...

This paper reflects on the methodological implications of operationalising an expanded framework for evaluating social protection programmes. It specifically discusses the combination and integration of methods as part of the expanded evaluation framework, and does so by using an ongoing evaluation of a cash transfer pilot programme in Tigray, Ethiopia as...

This discussion paper – based on a review of literature on SWS in both social protection and other sectors – will discuss the different design features particularly focusing on developing country and emerging economy contexts. In the first chapter, the evolution of SWS in general as well as in...

Poverty and Shame: Global Experiences, edited by Elaine Chase and Grace Bantebya-Kyomuhendo,  explores Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s contention that shame lies at the absolutist core of poverty. It draws on a wealth of empirical evidence to demonstrate how paying greater attention to the psychological and social consequences of poverty...

The Shame of Poverty, edited by Robert Walker, presents comparable evidence from the seven countries, challenges the conventional thinking that separates discussion of poverty found in the Global North from that prevalent in the Global South. It demonstrates that the emotional experience of poverty, with its attendant social and...

In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights presents fiscal policy, and particularly taxation policies, as a major determinant in the enjoyment of human rights. Taxation is a key tool when tackling inequality and for generating the resources necessary for poverty reduction and the...

Recalling previous recommendations, the Committee observed that the austerity measures in conjunction with the continuous contractions of the economy, employment and public finances posed a threat to the viability of the Greek national social security system, resulting in the impoverishment of the population, thus undermining the application of all...

The Federal Court reviewed the effects of changes to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) in relation to sections 7, 12 and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, pertaining to the right to life, liberty and the security of the person, the prohibition of cruel and...

In recent years, there has been greater focus on coordinating and harmonising systems for social protection, which  has led to growing interest in and pressure on exploring ways to integrate data and better handle information management across social protection programs. This paper aims to resolve some confusion by discussing the advantages...

This report is the result of collaboration between the Government of Namibia and the ILO. Drawing on the Social Protection Expenditure and Performance Review (SPER) and Social Budget methodologies, the objectives of the report are: 1) to improve the knowledge and information base on the coverage and performance of...

This paper systematically compares and evaluates the reforms of private pensions systems in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, and Hungary due to initial failures in design and performance after its implementation. The document presents advantages and flaws of the structural reforms and private pension systems before the re-reform and analyses legal...

This handbook provides examples of successful interventions and highlights the benefits to social security systems and society as a whole of meeting the challenge of covering internal and international migrants. Link to this...

The present report focuses on the implementation of the right to social protection through the adoption by all States of social protection floors. The very widely endorsed Social Protection Floor Initiative aims to guarantee basic income security and access to essential social services for all. In the report, the...

This paper proposes policy options based on ILO research and experiences that aim at universal coverage and equitable access to health care. The policy options discussed focus on ensuring the human rights to social security and health and on the rights-based approaches underpinning the need for equity and poverty...

This policy paper: (i) provides a global overview of the organization of pension systems, their coverage and benefits, as well as public expenditures on social security, in 178 countries; (ii) analyses trends and recent policies, e.g. extension of coverage in a large number of low- and middle-income countries; (iii)...

This policy brief summarizes the limited coverage of health protection today. It suggests three steps to rapidly extend health protection and achieve universal health coverage that is sustainable and allows for returns in terms of socio-economic development and growth. Link to this...

This report reviews national legislative provisions on maternity protection at work in 185 countries and territories (including leave, benefits, employment protection, health protection, breastfeeding arrangements at work and childcare), statistical coverage in law and in practice of paid maternity leave as well as statutory provision of paternity, parental and adoption leaves....

This report presents the most recent estimates of undernourishment and shows the progress towards the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) and World Food Summit (WFS) hunger targets. Findings show that progress in hunger reduction at the global level and in many countries has continued but that substantial additional effort is needed in...

This Thematic Study takes a retrospective glance at social protection related developments over a span of a decade from 2004 to 2014. It starts off mentioning the historical shift in development policymaking in the early 2000s from a narrow focus on risks to a wider focus on rights. This...

Here, you can access a series of one-page briefs entitled Social Protection Systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. Link to...

Outcomes of the international seminar “Public Policies for Equality: Towards Universal Social Protection Systems”, which was held in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 4 and 5 December 2013. The objective of the seminar was to foster the debate on and the construction of universal social protection systems in the countries of Latin America...

Summary: Over recent years, social protection strategies have rapidly gained striking political support and widespread acceptance in development discourse and practice. However, although development actors generally acknowledge that human rights should play an essential role in poverty reduction, there has been a lack of deep analysis of the implications...