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8/6/2019 ONU - ESCAP The Promise of Protection. Social Protection and Development in Asia and the Pacific, May 2011
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Social Protection and develoPment in aSia and the Pacific
thePromiSe of
Protection
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The concept for the cover design is inspiredby the Ens circle, a sacred symbol in Zenphilosophy representing strength, protectionand enlightenment. In Japanese calligraphy,
the Ens is often painted as a circle with
an opening, signifying that it is part of theinfinite universe. The circle also represents aring a symbol of promise. The cover designis thus symbolic of the aims and underlyingconcepts of universal social protection,and the hope that it offers for a better andmore secure future for the peoples of theAsian and Pacific region.
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the
promise ofprotectionSocial Protection and develoPment in aSia and the Pacific
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Social protection is high on regional andinternational policy agendas. This owesto the convergence o the ood, uel andnancial crises in 2008, which increased the
insecurities o millions o people by heigh
tening economic and social risks, especially
or those living in or close to poverty. Na
tural disasters and extreme weather events
added to the pressures upon these people by
destroying lives, property, community re
sources and local economies. The combinedimpacts o these setbacks prompted a shit in
thinking about social protection. Instead
o approaching it through reactive event
specic interventions, Asia Pacic countries
are now moving towards comprehensive
universal coverage solutions capable o
strengthening coping capacities and resil
ience as crucial underpinnings o their vision
o inclusive development. The resurgence o
the ood and uel crises this year, and the
continuing atershocks o the global nan
cial crisis lend new urgency to their eorts.
iii
foreword
noeleen heyzer
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Asia and the Pacic is home to nearly a billion poor people whose livelihoods rest on a ragile
economic and social oundation. These are people with low and uncertain incomes, ew assets,
limited social networks and no access to political processes. Their lives are onerous even under
normal circumstances, let alone against the kinds o shock and stress visited upon them in
recent years. These people are discriminated against on the basis o caste, ethnicity, gender,
geography, political or religious afliations, and migrant identity. To change their social situa
tion and lie chances, social protection must move rom interventions that address thesymptoms o vulnerability to systemic transormations that remove the underlying causes o
persistent poverty and inequality. This can release them rom structural traps locking them
into inequality and give them the voices and rights to claim their just share o the ruits o
development.
Closing development gaps, increasing income and human security, and reducing poverty and
inequality within and among the countries o Asia and the Pacic are critical to sustain the
economic recovery and dynamism o the region, which currently leads the world on manydevelopment ronts. Member States are now examining ways to integrate social protection into
broader economic and social strategies to guarantee all citizens a minimum level o security. In
turn, this can increase aggregate demand within the region and reduce precautionary savings
that have curtailed productive investments and contributed to global imbalances in the past.
This report is a contribution to the policy debate on the direction o social protection in Asia
and the Pacic. It shows that, while many countries o the region have in place some orm o
social protection, this benets only a raction o those who need it. Nonetheless, as the reportargues, present day programmes can be the building blocks o more integrated protection
systems as a part o the inclusive growth and social equity agenda. The cost o such systems will
vary according to the level o economic development, income distribution and aordability but,
as the report suggests, even at the lower end o the economic spectrum, comprehensive social
protection is within the reach o most countries in the near uture.
noeleen heyzerUnited nationS Under-Secretary-General
and execUtive Secretary, eScaP
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acknowledGementS
The ESCAP secretariat expresses its deep gratitude to those governments that provided
contributions on national experiences and practices on social protection that served as a basis
or the preparation o this report.
Under the leadership o Noeleen Heyzer, the report was prepared by an ESCAP teamcomprising the ollowing members: Nanda Krairiksh (Coordinator), Jorge Carrillo, Donovan
Storey, Donald Clarke, Cai Cai, Anna Coates, Marco Roncarati, Vanessa Steinmayer, Amornsak
Kitthananan, Deuk Yung Ko and Marie Sicat.
The substantive editing o the report was undertaken by Peter Stalker.
The ollowing individuals participated in a messaging workshop with members o the Social
Development Division to dene the scope o the study: Jerrold W. Huguet, Yap Kioe Sheng,Christian Sto and Narumol Nirathron.
The ollowing members o the ESCAP secretariat peer reviewed the report: Tiziana Bonapace,
Alberto Isgut, Nagesh Kumar, Mia Mikic, K.V. Ramani, Ravi Ratnayake, Jenny Yamamoto,
and Zhang Yanhong.
The concept or the graphic design o the publication was developed by Mika Mansukhani.
The cover and layout were created by Daniel Feary.
The editing o the manuscript was undertaken by Orestes Plasencia.
The ESCAP secretariat acknowledges with thanks the contribution o the International
Labour Organization East and South East Asia and the Pacic Ofce, in particular Valrie
Schmitt Diabate and Celine Felix, or their inputs on the Social Protection Floor Initiative.
The ESCAP secretariat also beneted rom the inputs and outcome o the regionalconsultation on Social Protection as Development Policy in Asia: the Long Term
Perspective, 27 29 October 2010, which was organized jointly with Social Protection in Asia
and the United Nations Research Institute or Social Development under the leadership o
Naila Kabeer and Sarah Cook respectively, both o whom also reviewed earlier versions o the
report.
v
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f iiiags vabbs ixiu x
the promise of protection 1
tps s p 5G s p 12t p 15
realizing the dividends of social protection 17
Bug u ps 19og sp p 19rug qu 21ag g 22ag s s ug us 24
contents
chaPter
two
chaPter
one
vi
8/6/2019 ONU - ESCAP The Promise of Protection. Social Protection and Development in Asia and the Pacific, May 2011
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Building asiapacific floors and staircases 27
ab ss 29
h ss 30eu ss 32f ss 35
S ss 36ep gus 36S pss 38c s ss 40
a bu ps 43
esug 45eg p 48lsss : g us 54Sg 60
delivering on the promise 63
mg p s 64Ppu bu ppus 66esbsg gs g s 66mbg sus 70a pg s 79
chaPter
three
chaPter
foUr
vii
8/6/2019 ONU - ESCAP The Promise of Protection. Social Protection and Development in Asia and the Pacific, May 2011
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appendixd g us u s s p 82
notes 85
BoxesB i-1 S p g 7
B i-2 t Gb i S P f 9
B iii-1 S p, hiv / aidS t 31
B iii-2 cs s us 33
B iii-3 dp s p S l 47
B iii-4 t rs Ss B yj s i 51B iii-5 rpg gu Ps 55
B iii-6 S p P 57
B iv-1 isug gs pss sbs Jp 69
figuresfgu i-1 P p pu s p, b subg 4
fgu i-2 S p: ss 13
fgu iii-1 hus pp v ns s p pgs 46fgu iii-2 t s p ss cb 49
fgu iv-1 S pu 2004/2005, b pg g 71
fgu iv-2 au s bs s p pg s as-P us 73
fgu iv-3 fs sp s pu 77
taBlestb i-1 S p p s Jp 10
tb iii-1 c s s pg is 42tb iii-2 eps s pg p, 2006 44
tb iii-3 Pps bs bu ps p s t 53
tb iv-1 au s bs s p pg p p ppu 74
viii
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aBBreviationS
adB Asian Development Bank
aids acquired immunodeciency syndrome
aud Australian dollar
Brac Building Resources Across Communities*
cct conditional cash transer
cnY Chinese yuan
escap Economic and Social Commission or Asia and the Pacic
gdp gross domestic productgni gross national income
hiv Human Immunodeciency Virus
idr Indonesian rupiah
ilo International Labour Organization
inr Indian rupee
mdg Millennium Development Goals
mfi micronance institution
molisa Ministry o Labour, Invalids and Social Aairsncms New Cooperative Medical System
ngo non governmental organization
npr Nepalese rupee
oaap Old Age Allowance Programme
oecd Organization or Economic Co operation and Development
pKh Program Keluarga Harapan
pKr Pakistani rupee
pnpm generasi Program Nasional Pemberdayaan Masyarakat Generasi$ppp purchasing power parity
rsBY Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana
sgd Singapore dollar
spf Social Protection Floor
spfi Social Protection Floor Initiative
sso Social Security Organization
thB Thai baht
tsa Targeted Social Assistanceuhcs Universal Health Coverage Scheme
usd United States dollar
vss Viet Nam Social Security
who World Health Organization
* Originally known as the Bangladesh Rehabilitation Assistance Committee
ixix
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introduction
8/6/2019 ONU - ESCAP The Promise of Protection. Social Protection and Development in Asia and the Pacific, May 2011
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Xi
introduction
introduction
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one billion people still live in poverty in AsiAAnd the pAcific
introduction
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XIII
fIgure tItle
- 1 Countries grouped by level of vulnerability, poverty andinformality Combined, latest year
very low vulnerability (40)
low vulnerability (19)
medium vulnerability (21)
high vulnerability (18)
very high vulnerability (40)
no data (59)
note: numbers In brackets gIve the number of countrIes Included In each group.
sourCe: InternatIonal labour organIzatIon World socIal securIty report 201 0/11: Providing
coverage in times of crisis and beyond(geneva, Ilo 2010).
introduction
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sociAl protection is AffordAble And A cruciAlinvestment in development
introduction
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Xv
1 2 3 4 5 76 8
Aaa
na
baa
taja
caa
la p' da r
s ia
paa n ga
paauza
v na
ia
p
ia
ma
saa
vaata
t-l
fj
s laa
ba
ma
ca
figure title
-2 AnnuAl cost of A bAsic sociAl protection pAckAge,selected AsiA-pAcific countries (As A percentAge of gni)
percentAge of gni
source: escap computations based on data from World bank, World development indicators 2010
(Washington d.c., World bank, 2010). available at http://WWW.data.Worldbank.org/data-catalog/
World-development-indicators/Wdi-2010.
old Age pension / gni child AllowAnce / gni heAlth cAre / gni
introduction
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educAtion, heAlth And employmentAre key priorities in the region
8/6/2019 ONU - ESCAP The Promise of Protection. Social Protection and Development in Asia and the Pacific, May 2011
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XVII
95 per cent and over (50)
70 to 95 per cent (14)
40 to 70 per cent (13)
10 to 40 per cent (12)
less than 10 per cent (21)
no data (87)
fIgure tItle
-3 health protection: proportion of the population coveredby law, latest available year (percentages)
source: NatIoNal legIslatIoN, VarIous dates. see INterNatIoNal labour orgaNIzatIoN, global
eXteNsIoN of socIal securI ty (geNeVa, Ilo, 2009).
note: Numbers IN brackets gIVe the Number of couNtrIes INcluded IN each group.
introduction
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empowering women And girls should beA fundAmentAl goAl for sociAl protection
8/6/2019 ONU - ESCAP The Promise of Protection. Social Protection and Development in Asia and the Pacific, May 2011
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XiX
paa
ia
Azaja
ia
taa
t
p
s laa
r ka
maaa
Jaa
n Zaa
sa
Aaa
ra fa
h k, ca
maa, ca
1 0% 20 30 40 50 7060 80
figure title
-4 percentAge of persons in vulnerAble employment, by seX
men women
source: escap, statisticaL yearbooK for asia and th e Pacific, 2009(united nations publication
sAles n. e.10.ii.f.1).
introduction
8/6/2019 ONU - ESCAP The Promise of Protection. Social Protection and Development in Asia and the Pacific, May 2011
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Social protection SyStemS muSt meet the needSof Society'S moSt vulnerable groupS
8/6/2019 ONU - ESCAP The Promise of Protection. Social Protection and Development in Asia and the Pacific, May 2011
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XXi
figure title
-5 informal workerS aS a proportion of total employment
informal
employment in %
early 90s late 90s 2000s
l a
as
a
50.1
68.5
52.8
52.2
78.3
78.2
60.9
63.6
55.7
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Source: international labour organization and world trade organization. globalization and informal jobs
in developing countries, (wto secretariat, 2009).
introduction
8/6/2019 ONU - ESCAP The Promise of Protection. Social Protection and Development in Asia and the Pacific, May 2011
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sociAlprotectionmust respond
to theemergingchAllengesof rApid
populAtionAgeing in theregion
8/6/2019 ONU - ESCAP The Promise of Protection. Social Protection and Development in Asia and the Pacific, May 2011
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XXiii
introduction
8/6/2019 ONU - ESCAP The Promise of Protection. Social Protection and Development in Asia and the Pacific, May 2011
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the rights of
persons withdisAbilitiesmust bereAliZed
8/6/2019 ONU - ESCAP The Promise of Protection. Social Protection and Development in Asia and the Pacific, May 2011
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XXv
figure title
-6 rAtificAtions/Accessions to the conventionon the rights of persons with disAbilities*
pArticipAnt crpd signAture
crpd Accession A
or rAtificAtion
Aa 30 ma 2007 22 s 2010
Aaa 30 ma 2007 17 J 2008
Azaja 9 Ja 2008 28 Ja 2009
baa 9 ma 2007 30 n 2007
ba 21 s 2010
b daaa 18 d 2007
caa 1 o 2007
ca 30 ma 2007 1 A 2008
fj 2 J 2010
ga 10 J 2009
ia 30 ma 2007 1 o 2007
ia 30 ma 2007
ia (ia r ) 23 o 2009 A
Jaa 28 s 2007kazaa 11 d 2008
la p' da r 15 Ja 2008 25 s 2009
maaa 8 A 2008 19 J 2010
ma 2 o 2007 5 A 2010
ma 13 ma 2009 A
na 3 Ja 2008 7 ma 2010
n Zaa 30 ma 2007 25 s 2008
paa 25 s 2008p 25 s 2007 15 A 2008
r ka 30 ma 2007 11 d 2008
ra fa 24 s 2008
s ia 23 s 2008
s laa 30 ma 2007
taa 30 ma 2007 29 J 2008
ta 15 n 2007
t 30 ma 2007 28 s 2009ta 4 s 2008 A
uza 27 f 2009
vaa 17 ma 2007 23 o 2008
v na 22 o 2007
c ia 8 ma 2009 A
* as of april 2011
source: united nations treaty collection.
introduction
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universAl
sociAlprotectionis everyone'sright
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XXvii
chapter one
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thepromise of
protection
1
1
chapter one the promise of protection
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A hg- pa mg m D Ga, GaA add a d d Kg : d a
m D Ga.1 Wd ad d akg a Ga 2015 g, ag g, g a a d a a a ad a a ad a a. t Aa-pa g a a
a a. sa ga a a a k ga d ag, ag a a gw ad a a-
a. sa a d a a ada awa wad a a ad .
Asia and the Pacic has been the worlds
astest-growing region or some years. The
benets have not always been evenly
distributed however, and in much o the
region income inequality has persisted de-
spite high levels o economic growth. Nev-
ertheless, millions o people have been able
to escape rom poverty : between 1990and 2008, Asia and the Pacic reduced the
number o people living on less than $1.25
a day rom 1.5 billion to 947 million.2 Even
i varied at the country level, the Asia-
Pacic region has made signicant progress
in a number o indicators or the Millen-
nium Development Goals, though much
more needs to be achieved. The regionmust set its sights higher, looking beyond
the MDGs and aiming to shield its people
better rom many o the risks o daily lie
o ill-health and disability, o unemploy-
ment and o alling into poverty in old age
by building comprehensive systems o
social protection. In building such systems,
it is important that they are both universal
and rights-based.
A system o social protection based onrights implies a social contract on what
each citizen is entitled to and how her or
his rights are to be protected and made
viable. All social contracts are the outcome
o bargaining between governments, social
groups and citizens. In order to maintain
positive outcomes, it is important to de-
velop appropriate institutions, standards,programmes and resources. It is equally
important that avenues exist or the
poor and civil society to make claim to
2
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social protection through a rights-based
ramework.
Indeed, the orces uelling migration, inor-
malization o employment, loss o land or
agrarian livelihoods and other insecuritiesgenerally lie ar beyond the boundaries o
local space, specic sectors, or particular
vulnerable groups.3 To be truly eective,
and transormative, social protection needs
to be institutionalized, based on entitle-
ment, and provide universal access to the
services which strengthen peoples capacities
and broaden as well as secure their position
over time. This urther implies the need or
responsive governance and orward-looking
policy rameworks, and a strengthening o
representative voice inclusive o the poor
and civil society which acts to mobilize and
empower communities to make claim on
entitlements and bridge divides in inorma-tion.
A robust system o social protection not
only ulls peoples basic rights, it also es-
tablishes a rm platorm or both social and
economic development and provides an
automatic stabilizer or vulnerable groups
aected by crisis. With a more secure oun-dation, and with greater security against
the risk o ailure, individuals and amilies
can invest in their own utures and have
3
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pa
s Aa
ca Aa
ea Aa (d J d rb K)
ea Aa
figure title
i -1 per cApitA expenDiture on sociAl protection, by subreGion
source: asian Development BanK (2008).
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
greater condence to engage in economic
activity beyond ensuring basic economic
survival in order to meet their own basic
needs and the needs o those who are de-
pendent upon them.
In act, there has been steadily more
comprehensive protection across most
countries in Asia and the Pacic. In some
countries, social insurance and social assis-
tance schemes have existed or some time,
borne out o an entitlement-based political
ideology.4 This is particularly the case in
centrally planned countries, such as Chinaand Viet Nam. Indeed, Chinas success with
poverty reduction can largely be seen to be
a result o these oundations.
In other cases, social assistance schemes
have been a response to economic crises.
In particular, the 1997-1998 nancial crisis
was a catalyst or the emergence o a
number o contemporary social protec-
tion programmes. Following the crisis,Indonesia, or example, began to develop
more systematic orms o support. Other
countries have also extended existing
programmes as in India where the
employment guarantee scheme in the
state o Maharashtra is now part o a
country-wide Rural Employment Guaran-
tee Scheme. In other cases, it has resultedrom political circumstances. In Thailand,
or example, the initiative to oer basic,
and now ree, health care or everyone
4
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has shown that such measures have had
considerable electoral appeal.
Whatever the catalyst, there is already
much to build on or social protection
programmes in the region. Moreover, therealization o a social protection oor
based on universal principles and access
should orm the basis o uture policy.
Such interventions are aordable and
represent a signicant opportunity or
governments to invest in both social and
economic development or the benet
o all.
types of social protection
One o the difculties in discussing social
protection is the diverse terminology that is
used. This is partly due to the dierent
ways in which social protection has evolved
around the world. In the developed coun-
tries, the emphasis has been on oering the
5
chapter one the promise of protection
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population as a whole greater security in the
ace o shocks and lie-cycle events and en-
suring a minimum level o wellbeing, oten
using risk-sharing insurance mechanisms,
and in some instances taxation. Developing
countries, on the other hand, have been orthe most part concerned about deep and
persistent poverty and so, as noted above,
have tended to develop various types o
social assistance or specic vulnerable
groups or in response to particular crises.
Social protection has consequently oten
been dened in terms o a set o measures,such as unemployment or health insur-
ance. Today, social protection can be seen
less in terms o specic methods and more
in terms o overall objectives, such as
reducing vulnerability and strengthening
social and economic inrastructure.
In response to diverse local conditions andaspirations, many countries have thus
employed a variety o denitions, termi-
nologies, and approaches and a number
o these terms (such as social saety nets,
social pensions, social transers) are used
interchangeably and oten overlap. In some
cases this diversity reects the attention
given to the instruments o social protec-tion, rather than its broader objectives.
Similarly, a number o international orga-
nizations, notably ADB, ILO and the World
Bank, have classied social protection
measures in dierent ways some o which
have resulted in social protection rame-
works such as the World Banks Social Risk
Management Framework.5 For an explana-
tion o common social protection terms,and the ways in which they are used in this
report, see Box I-1.
Overall, however, there are two broad
dening eatures o social protection meas-
ures:
universAl or tArGeteD
Universal measures could encompass ree
primary education or health care. Targeted
might include conditional cash transers
based on means-testing, or targetting
based on category (e.g. older persons).
contributory or non-contributoryContributory benets can include pen-
sions to which workers or employers
and also the government contribute.
Oten, the government will delegate the
administration o contributory schemes
to quasi-governmental entities that are
either publicly or privately managed. Non-
contributory schemes involve paying ben-
ets, such as disability allowances, out o
general taxation.
6
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Box title
i-1 sociAl protection terminoloGy
sociAl protection: a b w d db w dd. i ,
d dd d , b d . t,
dd , d , w
d d . t d
, , d b k .
sociAl insurAnce: t d b, . t
dd b b : dd, d . t d
d k w . c
, k, b . t b d
b d w db: w b
wk , , .
sociAl AssistAnce: t dd
d b ngo d d. B d d d d
b w d . idd, b w d
. t wd d, , d bd d d db. i
b d d ,
b d d d.
sociAl services: t d b d dd b b k. t bdd d d
w, w d b d .
sociAl pensions: t -b b, d , w
db, d .
sociAl sAfety nets: t d d
d k b d. t d , d .
sociAl security: t d d w. s ,
d . t d , b
.
7
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The components o social protection will
inevitably vary rom country to country and
will reect levels o development, resources
and needs. For the sake o consistency this
report largely ollows the terminology o
the International Labour Organization,which considers social protection in the
broadest sense to be a set o public policies
and programmes that seek to assure people
o a minimum level o security and support
in meeting their needs.
Social protection can be built incremen-
tally once universal principles have beenestablished. This means rst ensuring that
everyone starts rom those universal, non-
contributory measures that might orm the
basis o a social protection oor (SPF)
(see Box I-2). This should oer a minimum
level o access to essential services and in-
come security or all but then be capable
o extension, according to national aspira-
tions and circumstances, in the orm o a
social protection staircase. This staircase
acts as a oundation in support o a rame-
work or social protection based upon uni-
versal access and rights.
The principle o the Social Protection Floor
was adopted in April 2009 by the United
Nations System Chie Executives Board
or Coordination.6 Subsequently, it was
endorsed by the Economic and Social
Council7 as well as by many international
organizations and by the G20 Labour and
Employment Ministers.
The SPF8 has two components:
AvAilAbility of services: Ensuring the availa-
bility and aordability o access to essential
services, namely as water and sanitation,
ood and adequate nutrition, health care,
education, housing and other social services.
Accessibility throuGh trAnsfers : Realizing
access to services and providing minimumincome and livelihood security through
essential social transers in cash and
in kind.
The SPF is based on solidarity on the
principle that society as a whole accepts
the responsibility to provide basic levels o
benets and services to those in greatest
need. It emphasizes the importance o
guaranteeing services and transers across
the lie cycle, rom childhood to old age,
paying particular attention to vulnerable
groups based on key characteristics such
as socio-economic status, gender, mater-
nity, ethnicity, disability and living with
HIV / AIDS. Other beneciaries include
migrants, or people exposed to natural
hazards and disasters.
8
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spf-i
leD By international laBour organization / WorlD health organization
hiGh-level committee on proGrAmmesJoint crisis initiatives
sociAl protection floor ADvisory Group
GlobAl technicAl cooperAtion netWorK
coalition of agencies focal points
+ Donors + maJor ngo
nAtionAl tAsK forces
ministries, social partners, csos,
uniteD nations agencies, etc.
Box title
i-2 the GlobAl initiAtive for A sociAl protection floor
t gb i u s p f (spf-i) w dd b ud n s c
e Bd a 2009 b d .
ld b i lb o d Wd h o b , s
p f i d ud n d
. c ud n d B Wd d d
b gb t c nwk d spf
ad g.
t ad g d bk spf k , d b d ,
d, w d , d
, d , d d- d ,
d s-s d -w , d.
9
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taBle title
i -1 sociAl protection in A DevelopeD economy the cAse of JApAn
risKs covereD implementation By government
totalcost
Billions
totalcost usD
millions
od a B n p s,
e p i
n pb s p m ad,
l- c i s
44661 527005
D B n p s,
e p i
n pb s p m ad
6447 76075
Db B n p p, e p p
p p g o ,
aw Db, s s
2561 30220
Wk ij id ad c i 982 11588
sk n h i, h i,
v p, pb h s
27469 324137
m d f cd aw, cd r aw,
cd c s
3070 36226
u e i s 1239 14620
s a pb h s, pb a s 2675 31565
source: government of Japan
10
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The SPF does not, however, simply repre-
sent handouts. It promotes individual re-
sponsibility and opportunity with social
protection programmes oering a stair-case or the most vulnerable to graduate
out o poverty and exclusion or example,
recipients should be able to take advantage
o active labour market policies that help
inormal economy workers, oten women,
to gain access to more productive and
secure employment, as illustrated in later
chapters.
Although the SPF concept is intended to be
applied universally, it is also exible and
adaptable. Governments can design their
oors according to national economic
constraints, political dynamics and social
aspirations. Rather than being based on aspecied list o benets, it thus ocuses on
outcomes in terms o standards set in in-
ternationally agreed human rights conven-
tions, including the Universal Declaration
o Human Rights,9 the ILO Conventions
on Social Security, the Convention on the
Rights o the Child10 and the Convention
on the Elimination o All Forms o
Discrimination against Women.11 Each
country can design and implement its stra-
tegy to move progressively towards a
system that ulls these rights.
As well as consolidating existing schemes,
governments aiming to strengthen the
SPF will want to extend them. This can
happen along two dimensions horizon-
tal and vertical. Along the horizontal
dimension across the SPF, this will involve
increasing the number o persons covered
by existing schemes, while also developing
new schemes or those currently missingout, many o whom do not engage in
paid work or who work in the inormal
economy.
11
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For the vertical extension, this will involve
moving up rom the oor, climbing the
social protection staircase, either by in-
creasing the levels o benets in existing
schemes or by designing new schemes,
though trade-os will inevitably occur(Figure I-1). Social protection, in such
a ramework, can be seen as being at the
core o integrated and holistic develop-
ment policy, rather than solely a response
to crisis. Poverty and vulnerability, in turn,
are addressed not as isolated and static
issues but as multidimensional and inter-
dependent experiences.
genDer anD social protection
Social protection policies or both the oor
and staircase need to take into account the
unique circumstances and realities aced
by women. Crucial to ensuring the eec-tiveness o social protection measures is
the consideration o the circumstances and
realities aced by women. The ormulation
and provision o social protection can thus
provide essential links to the aims o
gender equality and the empowerment o
women.
In the Asia-Pacic region, womens activi-
ties related to their household manage-
ment and caring responsibilities, assigned
on the basis o traditional gender roles, act
as signicant deault contributions to
social protection when ormal systems are
inadequate. During recent periods o eco-
nomic crises in particular, the burden oamily survival has oten allen largely
upon women, who have had to increase
their unremunerated (or poorly remuner-
ated within the inormal sector) amily car-
ing and domestic activities to compensate
or loss o income and managing nancial
pressures. These caring and household
activities, thereore, should be recognized
in terms o the role they currently play in
promoting social and economic develop-
ment. However, social protection systems
need to be developed in such a way that
they are not at the expense o womens
own opportunities or development. Limit-
ing women to traditional roles is a hin-drance to a countrys economic develop-
ment, which should be able to rely upon
the ull capacity and productivity o all its
citizens.
Social protection measures in the region
also need to take into account the realities
o those women who participate in
employment outside the home. Rapid
economic growth has been underpinned
12
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sociAl protection floore b
ADApteDsociAl insurAnce
hiGher levelsof income securitys ,
, .
ADDitionAl
contributory benefits
horizontal Dimension
verticalDimension
poor, neAr poor & informAl sector
80%
formAl sector
20% a
figure title
i-2 sociAl protection: the floor AnD the stAircAse
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by the considerable shit o women into
the paid workorce in large parts o Asia
and the Pacic. However, women are more
likely to enter ragile and insecure orms o
employment in the ormal sector, to be
overrepresented within inormal sectoremployment, and liable to lose their jobs
during periods o economic hardship.
More than 8 out o 10 working women,
compared with more than 7 out o 10
working men, are considered to be in
vulnerable orms o employment in the
Asia-Pacic region.12
The overrepresentation o women in acti-
vities outside o the ormal economy means
that, under contributory systems, women
can be unprotected or poorly protected as
secondary beneciaries. This reinorces
their dependence upon primary male bene-
ciaries, which in turn plays a key role in
limiting their ull participation in societyand the economy. Social protection sys-
tems can better promote and support
womens rights, as well as the value o
womens non-remunerated social repro-
duction activities to economic and social
development, by ensuring that women are
adequately covered by social protection
even when not engaged in economic activi-ties outside the home. An example o this
would be the establishment o non-
contributory universal pension schemes,
which can provide greater access or
women to savings schemes.
On the other hand, social protection
schemes which relieve the burden o theexisting caregiving responsibilities o
women (or example, by providing State-
supported child and elderly care) play an
essential role in promoting their ull eco-
nomic and societal participation. Most o
the countries or territories in the region
with a large population o older persons
(where at least 15 per cent o the population
is over 60 years o age) have instituted social
protection schemes, with the promise o
reducing the burden on womens elderly
care.13 However, these countries are pri-
marily higher-income economies. In less
developed countries where such social pro-
tection schemes do not currently exist, theburden o care or the growing population
o older persons alls primarily on women,
particularly poor women. Such schemes,
thereore, allow society and the economy
to ully tap the talents o all the popula-
tion, enabling women to have the option o
undertaking activities outside the house-
hold by allowing them more reedom andchoice to participate in society and the
economy.
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In order or social protection programmes
to meet their explicit objectives efciently
as well as contribute to the empowerment
o women, it is helpul to consider and
evaluate their gender implications.
For example, conditional cash transerschemes aimed at poverty reduction have
congured women as beneciaries be-
cause o their increased propensity, based
upon their traditional gender roles related
to caring, to use the monies received or
amily wellbeing rather than or personal
expenditure. As identied beneciaries,
women are also thereore those responsibleor ullling the conditions o the pro-
grammes hence placing them in a gender
dierentiated position in relation to the
rights and responsibilities attached to
social protection. In Cambodia, or in-
stance, conditional cash transer pro-
grammes include conditions or pregnant
women and / or lactating women, while inthe Philippines, beneciaries o similar
schemes have to comply with three condi-
tions: pregnant women must receive pre-
natal care, child birth must be attended by
a skilled or trained person, and mothers
must receive post-natal care; children 0-5
years must receive regular health check-
ups and vaccinations; children 6-14 must
attend school at least 85 per cent o
the time.
The consideration o these aspects can
help ensure that social protection in the re-
gion is gender-sensitive as well as make apositive contribution to gender equality.
However, it is important to note that, while
integrating gender concerns into social
protection measures is essential, this inte-
gration in itsel does not serve as a substi-
tute or addressing structural inequalities
in the economy and society at the macro
and micro levels which place women in aposition o disadvantage.
time to protect
Extending social protection towards the
provision o basic universal coverage or allwould enable Governments across the re-
gion to ull the rights and entitlements o
all their populations. Governments should
not only be able to aord this, they also
have increasingly strong incentives or
acting now. The next chapter presents the
case, both political and economic, or
extending social protection.
15
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17
reAlizinGthe DiviDenDs
of sociAlprotection
2
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i a, G a dd a a a a qg ga a a . m , w,G a g a adg a g- , g d a a ad a a ad w d a g ddd: a, ad a.
Robust systems o social protection have
multiple benets. They can help reduce po-
verty and ensure healthy, capable and
engaged citizens who can act to deepen and
accelerate economic growth and oppor-
tunity. They can also build more stable socie-
ties and oster trust between government and
their citizens. Seen in this way, social protec-
tion becomes a core component o national
development policy and governance.
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19
BuilDing human capacities
One o the most valuable unctions o
social protection is to build human capa-
city. While it might be thought that incomesecurity, or example, would merely help
deend standards o health and education
at times o stress, in practice it also tends
to raise such standards. Experiences in
South Arica14 and Latin America15 demon-
strate that conditional and unconditional
cash transer programmes bring signicant
improvements in health and education and provide particular benets or women
and girls. These include:
nutrition: Providing cash transers directly
to mothers and grandmothers improves
child nutrition. South Aricas old age pen-
sion has had particularly positive eects on
girls nutritional status: those in recipient
households have been on average 3-4 cen-
timetres taller than their counterparts in
non-recipient households.16 Similarly, the
Child Support Grant has promoted liveli-
hoods, improved nutrition and acilitated
access to education.17 Nevertheless, there
are also concerns about reinorcing wom-ens sole responsibility or amily welare;
heAlth: In Bangladesh, cash transers have
interacted with direct health interventions
to bring a number o benets extending
immunization, increasing consumption o
micronutrients and boosting attendance
or ante- and post-natal care.
18
In Cambo-dia, cash transers have also shown promise
in helping mothers and children aected
by HIV and AIDS;19
eDucAtion : Child benets and school assis-
tance packages improve school attendance.
Family allowances, social pensions and
other cash transers not only improveschool attendance and reduce child labour,
they also have positive gender eects.20 The
school stipend programme in Bangladesh,
or example, has helped achieve gender
parity in primary education. In rural Brazil,
old-age pensions paid to grandmothers
have helped increased girls school atten-
dance.21
offering an escape from poverty
Social protection can be an investment
which helps people escape rom poverty.
Poverty is closely related to vulnerability.
On the one hand, the most vulnerableare typically those living in conditions o
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poverty, who have little to all back
on when disaster strikes. On the other
hand, the reason that many people stay
poor is that they constantly eel exposed:
working hard just to survive, they have lit-
tle time or opportunity to make the smallinvestments or take the risks that might
improve their lives.
Under stress, some poor households adopt
strategies which reduce opportunities in the
long run decreasing the number or quality
o meals, withdrawing children and espe-
cially girls rom school, having children en-gage in child labour, and generally carrying
out activities that are less productive but
appear to be saer. For the poorest, even a
small risk will make them vulnerable. While
richer households can ace substantial risks
without signicant vulnerability, poorer
households can be highly exposed to even
moderate risks and shocks.
I instead the poor can rely on a basic SPF
that provides some stability, their situation
and behaviour change. I they do not need
the ragile insurance provided by child
labour, they are more likely to ensure that
their children, regardless o sex, attend
school regularly. I they have ready access
to ree or inexpensive medical care, they
can take better care o amily health. Social
protection transers in this context have
also served as direct or indirect wage subsi-
dies thus reducing the spectre o the work-
ing poor. They have also had other impor-
tant benets. Grants or child support, or
example, have discouraged child labour,and grants or older persons have enabled
them to stay at home to look ater children,
enabling mothers to go out to work.22
Similarly, armers are less likely to sell the
livestock on which their uture prosperity
depends i adequate cash transers protect
their immediate subsistence. It was ound,or example, in Maharashtra, India, that
armers protected by the original employ-
ment guarantee scheme invested in higher-
yielding varieties o crops than armers in
neighbouring states. A SPF thus serves as a
rm platorm rom which people can
advance and develop their assets.23
To date, many countries have relied or
poverty reduction primarily on the trickle-
down eects o economic growth. How-
ever, i they introduced more comprehen-
sive social protection with appropriate
supporting policies, they would reduce
poverty much aster.24 Thus, rather than
seeing social protection as costly measures,
Governments should see eective social
protection now as an investment that will
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increase productivity and security and
reduce the need or uture spending.
Social protection can achieve this by im-
proving health outcomes, increasing school
attendance, promoting equality betweenmen and women, reducing hunger, im-
proving dietary diversity and promoting
livelihoods and asset accumulation. Indeed
in many developing countries social pro-
tection has become a primary sometimes
the only instrument or addressing
poverty, vulnerability and inequality eec-
tively.25
reDucing income inequality
While reducing poverty, stronger systems
o social protection will also tend to reduce
overall inequality and thus increase eco-
nomic efciency. In recent years, economicgrowth in Asia and the Pacic has been
accompanied by a rise in income inequality
and hence has not translated into com-
mensurate gains in human development.
Well-designed social protection schemes,
on the other hand, can help redistribute
income vertically, towards low-income
groups, and horizontally, or groups with
specic risks and vulnerabilities, such as
persons with disabilities, those suering
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rom poor health, and those with obstacles
to paid labour market participation. There
are also particular benets or women
who oten have multiple care responsibili-
ties.26
It is important to see social protection
programmes as being part o an overall
strategy o reducing inequality, particularly
addressing the exclusion o the most vul-
nerable groups, and oering a path out o
poverty and dependence. Social protection
can be an eective tool or inclusion only i
those most marginalized by current deve-lopment patterns, by virtue o their pov-
erty, or due to structural demographic or
identity-based orms o exclusion or dis-
crimination,27 are included as actors in
decision-making on the basis o entitle-
ment.
The value o social protection or reducingincome inequality has been demonstrated
in a number o OECD countries. Countries
with universal social protection schemes
based on progressive taxation oten appear
to have a more equal income distribution
compared to countries with targeted or
means-tested social protection schemes,
such as Australia, New Zealand, the United
Kingdom o Great Britain and Northern
Ireland and the United States o America.
This eect is even greater in the social
democratic welare States, such as Den-
mark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, where
a wide range o health, educational and
care services, as well as generous social
protection benets and transers, are pro-
vided universally as an important redistri-
bution unction.28
aDvancing economic groWth
While reducing poverty and inequality,
stronger social protection also broadensopportunities and deepens the quality o
economic growth. The most immediate
stimulus is likely to be rom income trans-
ers to poor households which can have a
higher propensity to consume than richer
ones. Transerring resources to the poor
will stimulate particular demand or local
goods and services. This is evident rom anumber o studies in Arica. In Zambia,
or example, 80 per cent o social transers
have been spent on locally purchased
goods. Similarly, in South Arica, greater
consumption by lower-income groups
shited expenditure rom imports to local
goods and by shiting the trade balance
also increased savings.29 In Namibia,
the dependable spending power created
by social pensions stimulated local mar-
22
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kets and revitalized local economic acti-
vity.30
Social protection allows people to better
manage risk. While giving them the neces-
sary condence to take measures that ena-
ble them to escape rom poverty, social
protection also takes better advantage o
their skills and potential encouraging
them to participate more ully in national
economic growth.31
There are also economic benets rom im-
proved health standards. This is not only
because healthier workers are more pro-
ductive, but also because they live longer.
It has been estimated, or example, that a
10 per cent increase in lie expectancy
adds 0.3 - 0.4 percentage points to annual
growth in per capita incomes. A typical
high-income country with an average lie
expectancy o 77 years has a 1.6 per cent
higher annual growth rate than a typical
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low-income country with an average lie
expectancy o 48 years. These human capi-
tal outcomes provide the basis or long-
term, healthy and pro-poor growth.32
achieving social cohesionthrough inclusion
In addition, social protection has many
political dividends. It can, or example,
result in support o those groups who might
otherwise be disadvantaged by essential
economic reorms. In Mauritius, or in-stance, a social pension contributed to the
social cohesion necessary to support the
transition rom a vulnerable mono-crop
economy with high poverty rates into a
high-growth country which now has the
lowest poverty rates in Arica.33
Similarly, labour unions in Nepal asked ormore eective social protection to secure
their support or labour market reorms
that would enhance both equity and
growth. And in Indonesia cash transers
have contributed to economic reorm,
compensating the poor or price rises ater
the reduction o uel subsidies.34 Well-
designed schemes that are accepted by so-
ciety as a whole build social cohesion and
a sense o citizenship, as well as reduce
conict, and thereore contribute to an e-
ective and secure State.35
I systems are universal and rights-based
they can oster solidarity and help build
coalitions among classes and groups and
across generations. Universal social protec-
tion thus promotes social citizenship,
emphasizing collective responsibility or in-
dividual well-being and strengthening the
contract between citizens and the State.
This is especially benecial in ragile States
and those recovering rom conict.36 In
Aghanistan, the National Solidarity Pro-
gramme, which provides block grants to
community development councils or
social and productive inrastructure and
services, aims to strengthen community-
level governance and repair some o the
damage rom three decades o conict
rebuilding trust between the central
Government and its citizens.37 The Solo-
mon Islands Rapid Employment Project
(REP) also seeks to provide targeted, though
temporary, employment or unemployed
youth who in the past have played a
signicant role in civil conict and violence.
At present, ew countries in the region
have developed such implied contracts.
Many do have policies and laws guarantee-
ing basic social protection, but these are
24
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not ormal entitlements that citizens can
use in order to claim support. Indeed citi-
zens may have little eective political voice.
The implied Government promise in many
countries in Asia and the Pacic is more
limited that the Government will try to
guarantee economic growth whose bene-
ts will be broadly shared through wide-
spread employment opportunities and
wage gains.
Governments across the region have the
opportunity to develop more substantial
social contracts by addressing inequality
and exclusion through inclusive and rights-
based instruments o social protection. A
social contract that acknowledges links be-
tween institutions and poverty reduction,
and places social protection within the
process o redistribution will underpin a
sustained challenge to chronic poverty and
exclusion. The harmonization o social
protection with employment, economic
and social policy, or example, also oers
potential or greater impact. This has
already been demonstrated in a number o
countries, as explored in the ollowing
chapter.
25
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27
builDinGAsiA-pAcific
floors AnDstAircAses
3
27
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Dg a Aa-pa g aad a a - da a a a, aa dada-agd ad agad g, a d ad w da. sa d d a a a . b a aw ag ad a agd, ad a a d -
a aa ad ad d. y, a d a a ad .
Even i they have not used the term, many
countries in the region have long experi-
ence in social protection. Sri Lanka, or
example, was one o the earliest to develop
a airly comprehensive system includingincome transers.
In the atermath o the Asian nancial cri-
sis in the late 1990s, as well as in response
to a number o natural disasters, several
countries became concerned about the e-
ects o multiple shocks on the poorest and
attempted to oset the impact throughvarious systems o social transer. More re-
cently, countries have also been looking
beyond these responses and planning ele-
ments o the social protection staircase by
considering contributory pensions or un-
employment benets towards a orm o an
SPF.
Given the diversity o conditions across a
wide region, approaches vary greatly in
terms o coverage, periodicity, ocus and
unding. This chapter will not attempt to
review all the regions social protection
programmes but highlight some important
achievements and good practices, as well assome limitations. This will ocus primarily
on the potential or protection through
government programmes, though in many
parts o the region, notably the Pacic, the
most eective protection has historically
come rom amilies and communities,
while in others civil society has played a
key role.
Although the majority o social protection
programmes are not universal, they do
contain elements, or building blocks, that
could orm a oundation o a potentially
more comprehensive system. In act, most
Governments tend to have a mixture o
both universal and targeted social policies.
However, in the more successul examples,
overall social policy itsel has been univer-
28
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salistic, and targeting has been used assimply one instrument or making univer-
salism eective with benefts directed to
low-income, disadvantaged or excluded
groups within the context o a universal
policy design.38
It is important that lessons are learned
rom existing successul schemes. For
social protection policies, choices between
universal and targeted schemes need to be
context specifc, and depend on a range o
political, fscal and administrative consid-
erations and constraints. The fnal aim,
however, should be access to provisions
and security or the entire population as
a matter o right. This chapter examinesthe range o social protection systems and
programmes in place across the region. In
so doing, it points to the need or gradua-tion towards a universal and rights-based
ramework or social protection.
AvAilAbility of services
The SPF has two main components: avail-
ability o services and social transers. Although many Governments in the
Asia-Pacifc region have been improving
health and education in terms o GDP
spending, this is still lower than the global
average.39 The experience in extending
social protection is documented below and
encompasses both a description o key
examples as well as an evaluation o theirimpact. The overall lesson is that while the
region has much to draw upon, there
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remain a number o challenges in extend-
ing and deepening access to social protec-
tion programmes. This is especially the
case or the regions poorest and most
excluded groups.
health servicesFor most households the service with the
greatest nancial implications relates to
health. Health expenditure can quickly push
many amilies into poverty. Most people
should have access to primary health-care
services through a network o government
clinics. However, or curative care they needaccess to doctors and hospitals, which, pub-
lic or private, generally charge ees. Workers
and their amilies in the ormal sector may
be able to claim health insurance, but or
those in the inormal sector, the outlook
can be bleak. A basic SPF should thereore
oer guarantees o treatment ree at the
point o use.
inDiA
By international standards, public health
expenditure has in the past been relatively
low with about 80 per cent o health
expenditure coming rom out-o-pocket
sources.40 To address this problem and ex-
tend protection to the unorganized sector,which represent 93 per cent o the total
workorce, the Government in 2007
launched the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima
Yojana (RSBY) scheme, targeting amilies
living below the poverty line. The total sum
assured is INR 30,000 per amily per
annum. O the estimated premium per
amily o INR 750, the central Government
contributes 75 per cent and the remaining
25 per cent comes rom the state govern-
ments. Beneciaries need to pay only INR
30 as a registration ee. In the year 2008-
09, the central Government outlay or the
RSBY was INR 2 billion, and by May 2010 it
covered 26 states, with enrolment reaching
about 56 million beneciaries.41 The RSBY
is operated through private insurance com-
panies, selected state by state, through a
competitive bidding process. The scheme
has a number o unique eatures. House-
holds are, or example, empowered to
choose between private and government
hospitals or treatment; moreover, the
scheme is entirely electronic, based onsmartcards (Box III-5). The scheme has
been judged highly eective and could be
extended to other classes o beneciaries,
and the same networks could be used to
deliver other social security benets.
irAn (islAmic republic of)
The Social Security Organization (SSO),the agency administering the unds related
to social protection, also runs a compre-
30
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Box title
i ii -1 sociAl protection, heAlth AnD hiv / AiDs in thAilAnD
a u h c s (uhcs) td
hiv , , d , d d
d w hiv.43 a 2009, uhcs dd 75.8%
( 200,000 ) d b w hiv. a b d aiDs
b d.
a , uhcs d hiv d w ,
--d , d d
td d d . a b b
bw B aiDs, D D c d n h s o. s
w dd 2009 hiv d ,
d-d d , b d dk b
d hiv d k k hiv . nb, uhcs - , w 80 90% bd hiv
d b dd d .
hensive health-care network, and has ser-
vice contracts with private medical institu-
tions. Services provided by the SSO
network are ree o charge, while the health
insurance covers 90 per cent o expenses
or in-patient services and 70 per cent o
expenses or out-patient services provided
by private medical institutions. As o 2005,
43 per cent o the entire population and 62
per cent o the urban population had
access to these services. Inormal sector
workers can have access through voluntary
contributions. The main challenge at
present, in addition to the need to increase
coverage, is the rapid increase in health-
care costs and the pressures to reduce
the contributions to the health-care
und.42
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monGoliA
A major concern ollowing Mongolias
transition process ater 1990 was deterio-
rating health services, with especially
serious consequences or women. Under
the universal medical scheme, care orpregnancy, childbirth and post-natal care
are provided ree o charge by the State
budget without any conditionality or
requiring any contribution to the Health
Insurance Fund. From the th month o
pregnancy, or one year women receive
a cash allowance unded by the State
budget.
thAilAnD
A good recent example o a comprehensive
approach to health provision is Thailands
Universal Health Coverage Scheme
(UHCS). Prior to the scheme, people who
were not government ofcials or private
ormal-sector employees had to rely on the
Medical Welare Scheme or indigent peo-
ple or the government-subsidized Health
Card Scheme, which provided voluntary
health insurance or the sel-employed.
Both schemes required some contributions,
were targeted, and had limited coverage. In2002, however, the Government passed the
National Health Security Act B.E. 2545,
which stipulated that every Thai citizen
should have comprehensive medical care.
To achieve this, it replaced both schemes
with the new UHCS. Everyone is now
entitled to ree in-patient and out-patient
treatment, maternity care, dental care
and emergency care. By 2009, about 48
million people, or about 76 per cent o the
population, were registered. In principle,
everyone can use the scheme, but in prac-
tice civil servants and ormal sector workers
have continued to use their existing
schemes, which they eel oer them a
better service. The scheme is ully nanced
by the Government, with a total budget
in 2011 o THB 122 billion (USD 34
million)44 THB 2,546 (USD 70) per person
or 48 million insured persons which
accounts or 5.9 per cent o the national
budget45 (see also Box III-1);
eDucational servicesOne o the most important measures or
liting people out o poverty and reducing
vulnerability is to improve standards o
education so as to open up opportunities
to enhance capabilities. This has been
especially important or girls, with signi-
cant benets both or womens empower-ment and or child health. Too oten,
however, the poorest children have either
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Box title
i ii -2 chinAs mArch toWArDs universAl heAlth cAre
s 1980, c d d d d k d .
B 1990, w, j d b d, d d w d
b .46 r --k d d d d d
w .
a dw w , d w d c d.
i 2003, c d nw c md s (ncms), d
, j d b g, d . 47 a 2008, w 90 c, 800 , d jd ncms. t d
b , ub rd B md i w d 2007,
b d w .48 i w d b 79 d
d b 2010.
i J 2009, s c d d usD 120 b
- b d d , b
d d . i w d d 90 c b 2011 d k b - b c 1.3
b .
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not enrolled in school or tended to drop
out early. So although many countries in
the region have successully raised enrol-
ment ratios, they have not necessarily been
able to keep children in school.
inDiA
In 2001 the Government launched the
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme aimed
at universal elementary education or chil-
dren aged 6-14 years by 2010. This aimed
to ensure that children and parents ound
the schooling system useul and absorbing,
according to their natural and social envi-ronments. The scheme involved building
more schools and improving many others,
providing almost all rural inhabitants with
elementary schools within three kilome-
tres.49 Children were also oered incen-
tives such as ree books, uniorms, and
mid-day meals. This is also part o the
Cooked Mid-day Meal scheme, launched in2002, which itsel has been ound to boost
school attendance. A sample survey o
schools ound an improvement in enrol-
ment ratios between 2001 and 2007 rom
89 to 93 per cent, along with a notable
increase in access or children with disabil-
ities. Children were also more likely to
stay in school about two thirds o chil-dren reported attendance o more than
75 per cent.50
the philippines
The 4 Ps programme (Pantawid Pamil-
yang Pilipino Programme) is a poverty
reduction and social development strategy
o the national Government o Philippines
aimed at reducing poverty. It provides con-ditional cash grants to extremely poor
households to improve their health, nutri-
tion and education, particularly o children
aged 0-14. Only amilies that keep their
children in school and ensure that children
and pregnant women receive regular
health checkups can obtain the cash grants,
which oset the costs o both health care
and education. To qualiy or cash grants
beneciaries need to comply with the
ollowing conditions:
Pregnant women must utilize both pre-
and post-natal care and be attended to
during childbirth by a trained healthproessional;
Parents must attend amily develop-
ment sessions;
Children under 5 must receive regular
preventive health check-ups and vac-
cines;
Children aged 3-5 must attend day careor pre-school classes at least 85 per cent
o the time.
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Children aged 6-14 must enrol in
elementary or high school and must
attend at least 85 per cent o the time.
Children aged 6-14 must receive de-
worming pills twice a year.
The poorest households in municipalities
are selected through the National House-
hold Targeting System or Poverty Reduc-
tion, through the Proxy Means Test. This
test determines the socio-economic
category o the amilies by looking at
certain proxy variables, such as ownership
o assets, type o housing, education othe household head, livelihood o the
amily and access to water and sanitation
acilities.
Pantawid Pamilyang has dual objectives:
social assistance by providing cash assis-
tance to the poor to alleviate their immedi-
ate need (short-term poverty alleviation);and social development by breaking the
intergenerational poverty cycle through
investment in human capital. The pro-
gramme is administered by the Department
o Social Welare and Development. Cur-
rently, Pantawid Pamilyang operates in 80
provinces covering 734 municipalities and
62 key cities. Pantawid Pamilyang targetedan estimated one million households by
the end o 2010.51
russiAn feDerAtion
In many regions o the Russian Federation,
senior citizen universities are very popular
among older persons. Oering courses in
such areas as health, law and gardening,
creative workshops in theatre, applied artand other activities, and chess and book
clubs, they are ounded as social services
centres to acilitate socialization and to
assist older persons in acquiring new
knowledge and leading active lives.
financial servicesSocial protection has now also become
identied with poverty reduction, so any
SPF needs to encompass services, including
nancial ones, that help people work their
way out o poverty by oering credit, and
particularly microcredit initially through
NGOs, but now increasingly through com-
mercial banks.52
The great strength o dedicated micro-
nance institutions is their capacity in prin-
ciple to reach the poor, not just with unds,
but with a range o support services such
as health advice, training and extension
services either on their own or throughpartnerships with other governmental or
non-government organizations. Neverthe-
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less, there has been some concern that,
while micronance schemes have oered
some protection, they have not necessarily
helped the very poorest people the ultra-
poor escape rom poverty or achieved
some o the gender equality results that
might be expected rom directing schemes
to women.
bAnGlADesh
To address the aorementioned issues,
one o the micronance pioneers, the
Building Resources Across Communities*
(BRAC) has developed a graduation pro-
gramme that includes investments in train-
ing, nancial services, and business deve-
lopment so that within two years the
ultra-poor might themselves graduate
out o extreme poverty. The BRAC pro-
gramme Challenging the Frontiers o
Poverty Reduction: Targeting Ultra Poorwas launched in 2002. For this, they selec-
ted households, oten emale-headed, o
which 85 per cent earned less than the
PPP-adjusted extreme poverty line o
50 cents a day. By 2008, 92 per cent had
graduated. With the support o the Ford
Foundation, this programme has now been
piloted in a number o other Asian coun-tries (Box III-4). It remains to be seen
whether the graduation model has a long-
term eect or i participants all back
without ongoing support.
social transfers
Some o the most difcult programmes to
implement have been those that transer
cash, ood or other resources. The main
concern has been targeting ensuring that
the benets only reach the most in need.
Typically in such programmes, however, a
high proportion o resources have also
leaked to the non-poor, either because o
corruption or because the system was ine-
cient or depended on the discretion o
local ofcials who may have had their own
priorities. Some o the more developed
economies in the region have developed
sophisticated and well targeted systems.
employment guaranteesOne way to sidestep targeting problems is
through public works programmes.
This involves sel-targeting, in that
the benets are set at a airly low level so
that the beneciaries enrol when in need,
but then drop out when better opportuni-
ties arise elsewhere. Generally, such
schemes have been airly limited eitherin terms o reach or commitment over
time.
* Originally known as the Bangladesh Rehabi-litation Assistance Committee
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bAnGlADesh
Bangladesh also provides a similar pro-
gramme o employment generation or the
rural poor under the Employment Genera-
tion Programme. The Programme, which
provides 100 days o employment or therural poor, aims to alleviate seasonal hard-
core poverty and oset increasing ood
and other costs through non-productive
agricultural periods.
inDiAOne o the most impressive large-scale pro-
grammes is Indias National Rural Employ-ment Guarantee Scheme, which oers 100
days o work per amily in rural areas at the
minimum wage or agriculture. In 2007-
2008, the scheme provided jobs or almost
34 million households at a cost o only 0.3
per cent o GDP. One evaluation o the
scheme, in 20 districts, ound that most
households were issued with job cardswithin a couple o days o registration
though oten had to wait longer than the
stipulated 15-day period to obtain work.
More than hal o the beneciaries were
agricultural and unskilled workers, with the
proportion o emale-headed households
ranging rom 12 to 52 per cent depending
on the district. More than hal o bene-ciary households purchased livestock, such
as sheep or goats during the year as a result
o the employment they were oered.
Families also spent more on ood and non-
ood items.53
solomon islAnDsIn response to a request rom the Govern-
ment o the Solomon Islands in 2008, an
employment project targeting the urban
poor in the capital, Honiara, was launched
in 2010. Led by the World Bank, the
Rapid Employment Project seeks to pro-
vide employment or Honiaras urban poor
(especially youth) as the basis or broader
engagement between the Honiara City
Council and its rapidly growing, and large-ly poor, population. The project aims to
provide short term employment especially
to youth and women as a means to
generate income or the poor, but also as
the basis or lie-skill development training
and longer term employment prospects.
A secondary benet would be through
enhanced inrastructure and services,especially those which benet the citys
burgeoning inormal settlements. An esti-
mated 500,000 labour days o work over
the ve years o the project would ocus on
labour-based public works, such as road
repair, maintenance, construction and
garbage collection. The project would be
enhanced through lie skills workshopsdealing with domestic violence, money
management and health awareness.54
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viet nAm
One o the pillars o Viet Nams social pro-
tection scheme is active labour market
policies. These provide a minimum income
guarantee to the unemployed and under-
employed as well as improving the employ-ability o workers through training and job
placement, and the creation o micro-
enterprises.
social pensionsWhile the more substantial old-age or dis-
ability pension schemes generally rely oncontributions through a working lie, in
the poorest countries it is also important
to oer a basic low-level pension to all
nanced by general taxation. This has
advantages or women, in particular those
who oten have not engaged in paid eco-
nomic activity.
nepAl
Nepal is an example o a lower-income
country with both high rates o poverty
and a rapidly ageing population. Nearly
one in three people live below the national
poverty line, while the proportion o the
population aged over 60 will double to 12per cent over the next 30 years. Yet, while
Nepal has limited scal capacity, it is the
only South Asian country with a universal
at pension scheme.55 The Government
has managed to provide this universal
non-contributory pension (the Old Age
Allowance Programme, or OAAP) since
1995. In 1996, two additional social
security programmes, namely the Helpless
Widows Allowance or widows above 60
years o age and the disability pension,
each paying NPR 100 per month, were
implemented. During the International
Year o Older Persons in 1999, the Govern-
ment raised the OAAP rom NPR 100 to
150. In 2008, the age o eligibility or the
pension was lowered to 70 and the
benet rate was increased to NPR 500
(USD 7).56
At a current cost o 0.23 per cent o GDP,
the scheme is now entering its sixteenth
year, indicating the sustainability o thistype o cash transer even or a lower-
income country. A recent survey indicated
that the OAAP has supported older persons
and their amilies to improve ood security,
access health-care services and invest
in their livelihoods. For many older women,
particularly widows who live alone and have
no children, the pension oten providesthem with their only source o income.
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sAmoA
Samoa pays a universal pension equivalent
to USD 40 a month to residents over the
age o 65 around 5 per cent o the popula-
tion. This is less than their average mon-
thly costs, but older persons in Samoa holdan honoured place in their extended ami-
lies and are traditionally supported by
them. The benet thus provides some
additional cash income. The total cost is 1.5
per cent o GDP and comes rom general
taxation. Because o the relatively undeve-
loped banking system, this pension is dis-
tributed monthly in cash.57
conDitional cash transfersFollowing a number o success stories rom
Latin America, conditional cash transer
(CCT) programmes have become increas-
ingly popular in Asia and the Pacic. Not
only are these transers targeted (means-
tested) at poor households they alsorequire the beneciaries to ull certain
conditions, such as sending their children
to school, joining nutrition programmes
or making use o health services. This is
particularly the case or girls.
inDonesiA A recent example is Indonesias Program
Keluarga Harapan (PKH) or amily hope
programme. This is aimed at poor house-
holds with children aged up to 15 years,
children under 18 years who have not com-
pleted primary school, or pregnant or lac-
tating mothers. To qualiy or unds, preg-
nant women must have our prenatal visits,
take iron tablets and have their deliveriesassisted by trained health proessionals,
and they should make two post-natal care
visits. For children, the health conditions
are that their growth should be monitored
monthly or those under 1 and quarterly
or those aged 1-6. Children under 5 must
receive vitamin A doses twice a year and
those younger than 6 must be ully immu-
nized. For education, all children aged 6-12
are to be enrolled in primary school and
those aged 13-15 in secondary school and
must attend classes on at least 85 per cent
o school days. Following a pilot period, the
programme has been continually expanded
to cover more households, with benets
ranging between IDR 600,000 (USD 60)
and IDR 2.2 million (USD 220) per year,
depending on household characteristics,
such as the age o children and amily size
(Table III-1). A emale head o household
receives the benet on a quarterly basis
through the post ofce or six years.
In addition to the PKH, Indonesia has
a programme which permits transers to
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