The ILO’s General Survey 2019 , compiled by the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR). The Survey (published under the title Universal social protection for human dignity, social justice and sustainable development) focuses on the ILO’s Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202), which calls for...

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is confronted by significant challenges resulting from multiple shocks and complex emergencies: countries in the region face various risks in terms of natural disasters, including earthquakes, floods and drought; violent conflicts, such as in Syria, pose unprecedented challenges related to the...

This Compendium documents the broad range of UNICEF’s social protection interventions in MENA from 2014-2017. The Compendium illustrates how UNICEF has worked hand in hand with partner governments in both humanitarian and development settings and succeeded in reaching the most vulnerable children with social protection mechanisms. Thetimeframe selected represents UNICEF’s previous global Strategic Plan, which...

Voisin de l’Arabie saoudite, des Émirats arabes unis et du Yémen, Oman se trouve sur la pointe sud-est de la péninsule arabique et figure parmi les six pays du Golfe à revenu élevé. Sa population compte environ 4,5 millions d’habitants, dont 1,1 million (25 pour cent) et 0,4 million...

Bordée par la mer Méditerranée au Nord et voisine de la Tunisie, de l’Algérie, du Niger, du Tchad, du Soudan et de l’Égypte, la Libye comptait en 2016 une population de plus de 6 millions d’habitants, dont et 10 pour cent étaient alors respectivement âgés de moins de 18...

Le Maroc est un pays d’Afrique du Nord à revenu intermédiaire de la tranche inférieure. En 2016, sa population a été estimée à 35,27 millions d’habitants, dont 10 pour cent (3,5 millions) ont moins de 5 ans et 32 pour cent (11,4 millions) ont moins de 18 ans (Banque...

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam and considered a religious duty for wealthy people to support those in need. In Muslim-majority countries, zakat has a long tradition of providing income, goods for consumption and other basic services such as health care and education to poor and...

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam and considered a religious duty for wealthy people to help those in need through financial or in-kind contributions. In Muslim-majority countries, it has a long tradition of being part of the provision of social welfare. Countries vary significantly in the...

Around the world, there are between 93 million and 150 million children and adolescents living with disabilities. Most of those children (80%) live in the global South, where 80% of persons with disabilities live below the poverty line. Children and adolescents with disabilities are far more likely than their...

To offer a multidimensional view of socioeconomic well being, Egypt’s Social Progress Indicators (ESPI) measure six topics: health; education; labour; urbanization; food, water, and agricultural land; and economic policy as a determinant of social progress. By incorporating gender analysis across these six topics, ESPI also highlights the gender gaps...

Despite the recent slowdown of the global economy and the weakening of Africa’s economic performance with the attendant implications for inclusion and sustainability, the long-term growth outlook for Africa remains promising. The region’s long-term fundamentals remain strong as the pace of growth stands to benefit from a demographic dividend...

Through the definition of the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), countries have acknowledged the importance of social protection for poverty reduction. Namely, target 1.3 of SDG 1, “End poverty in all its forms everywhere”, calls for the implementation of nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for...

This article studies the relationship between firms’export and import status and the quantity and types of employment they offer, using firm-level data from 47 African countries for the period 2006–14. The article also analyses how the quality of policies at the country-level can relate to the difference between exporters...

Food security is universally recognized as paramount to human well-being. But what exactly does it mean, and what is required to achieve food security? A comprehensive definition put forward by the World Food Summit in 1996 holds that “food security [is] a situation that exists when all people, at...

Persons with disabilities in the Arab region, as elsewhere in the world, are one of the most marginalized and excluded population groups. They are often not visible in public life, as the social and physical environments remain inaccessible, and they are disproportionally affected by crises and disasters. Reporting on...

When countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) achieved independence, formal social protection schemes established by former colonial powers were, to varying degrees, assimilated or mimicked by the State, particularly pension systems for government and formal-sector workers. These systems, however, have proven to be highly subsidized and...

This paper presents the results of costing universal social protection floors in 34 lower middle-income, and 23 low-income countries, consisting of: (i) allowances for all children and all orphans; (ii) maternity benefits for all women with newborns; (iii) benefits for all persons with severe disabilities, and (iv) universal old-age...

This One Pager explains that to address internal development issues in Saudi Arabia such as poverty, vulnerability and inequality, the Vision 2030 plan and its programmes have, inter alia, pointed to a number of specific goals, targets and policy measures to reduce social vulnerability, address labour market issues for women and promote...

This report builds on the findings of the Open Budget Survey 2015, by taking a closer look at the 31 African countries included in the survey. It seeks to promote transparency and accountability in the use of government budgets in Africa. The rationale for this report is twofold. First,...

Social protection has become prominent in the global development agenda over recent decades, with social protection systems now being included as a target under Sustainable Development Goal 1: “End poverty in all its forms everywhere”. In developing countries, these policies have played an important role in alleviating extreme poverty,...

Making sustainable development a reality by 2030 will require a substantial transformation to be made to development practices. The significant increase in the number and quality of social protection systems throughout the Global South brings renewed hope and enthusiasm. In Africa, 48 countries have established flagship programmes, with more...

This report presents Africa’s sustainable development priorities and goals, prepared under the framework of the Africa post-2015 consultations, and the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (“Rio+20”) follow-up processes. It is based on information gathered through consultations undertaken in the five subregions of Africa and from an extensive literature...

Basic social services such as education, water and sanitation, health care and housing are intended to meet essential human needs. States are responsible for guaranteeing equal access to these services, either through direct provision or through the regulation of services provided by the private sector and civil society organizations....

The Yemen National Social Protection Monitoring Survey (NSPMS) is a household longitudinal survey with a nationally representative balanced sample of 6,397 households (of an initial sample of 7,152). Each household in the balanced sample was visited on a quarterly basis over a 12-month period between October 2012 and September...

ESCWA puts out an newsletter, Social Development Bulletin, which discusses current development issues in the Western Asia region. This edition covers social protection as a method to achieve just and sustainable development.   Link to Arabic...