World Social Protection Report 2020-22 by International Labor Organization (ILO)

It provides a global overview of recent developments in social protection systems

• International Labour Organisation (ILO) has released World Social Protection Report 2020-22
• The report provides a global overview of recent developments in social protection systems
• Based on new data, it offers a broad range of global, regional and country data on social protection coverage

Key highlights of the report

• The report highlighted that the pandemic response was uneven and insufficient
• Thereby, Covid-19 has further underscored the critical importance of achieving universal social protection
• ILO is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is the only tripartite UN agency
• It brings together governments, employers and workers of 187 member States, to set labor standards, develop policies and devise programs promoting decent work for all women and men
• Only 47 per cent of the global population had effective access to one social protection benefit, in 2020 while 53 per cent (4.1 billion people) had no protection at all
• People in Europe and Central Asia are among the best covered population. 84 per cent of populations in Europe and Central Asia are having access to at least one benefit
• In America, the rate of social protection is 64.3 per cent. In Asia, the Pacific and the Arab States, lesser than half of people are covered under protection
• In Africa, only 17.4 per cent of the people are getting at least one social protection

Challenges reported by ILO

• Persisting Inequalities: There are significant regional inequalities in social protection, with Europe and Central Asia having the highest rates of coverage – 84% of people are covered by at least one benefit. The Americas are also above the global average, with 64.3%, while Asia and the Pacific (44%), the Arab States (40%), and Africa (17.4%) have marked coverage gaps
• Disparity in Social Security Expenditure: Countries spend on average 12.9% of their GDP on social protection (excluding health), but this figure masks staggering variations. High-income countries spend on average 16.4%, upper-middle-income countries 8%, lower-middle income countries 2.5%, and low-income countries 1.1%
• Limited Protection to Women, Children And Disabled Peoples: Globally, the vast majority of children still have no effective social protection coverage – only one in four children (26.4%) receives a social protection benefit. Just 45% of women with newborns receive a cash maternity benefit. Only one in three people with severe disabilities (33.5%) worldwide receive a disability benefit
• Limited Unemployment Protection: A mere 18.6% of unemployed workers worldwide have effective coverage for unemployment and thus actually receive unemployment benefits.This remains the least developed branch of social protection
• Barriers to Accessing Healthcare: Significant progress has been made in increasing population coverage. Out-of-pocket payments on health services, Physical distance, Quality and acceptability of health services, Long waiting times, Opportunity costs such as lost working time, etc