Universal Social Protection Country Cases

Organization(s): ILO, World Bank
Country: Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Cabo Verde, China, Georgia, Kosovo, Lesotho, Maldives, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, South Africa, Thailand, Timor Leste, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, Zanzibar
Year: 2018
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Countries have used many options to finance universal social protection. Those options include: (i) re-allocating public expenditures (e.g., from financing public subsidies to financing specific programs); (ii) increasing tax revenues, including revenue generated from taxation of natural resources; (iii) using the reductions of debt or debt servicing; (iv) expanding social security coverage and contributory revenues, among other financing options. Regardless of financing mechanisms and sources, universal social protection systems should be equitable and sustainable.

This publication presents country examples that document different pathways to achieve universal social protection coverage. These country cases encompass a wide range of programs, country settings and regions, including Sub-Saharan Africa (Botswana, Cabo Verde, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Zanzibar), Europe and Central Asia (Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kosovo and Ukraine), Latin America and Caribbean (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago), East Asia and Pacific (China, Mongolia, Thailand and Timor-Leste), and South Asia Region (Maldives, Nepal). As all these case studies indicate, there is no “one size fits all” in achieving universal social  protection objectives. Every country has its own vision and path for achieving it, depending on the country priorities, financing and implementation
capacity.

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