ILO calls for urgent action to tackle inequality through social protection

ADDIS ABABA/ABIDJAN (ILO News) – Social protection is vital in addressing the structural causes of inequality, ILO Regional Director for Africa, Aeneas Chuma said at the opening of a three-day regional policy forum on inequalities held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 25-27 November 2016.

“Social protection policies play a critical role in realizing the human right to social security by reducing inequality”, Chuma told policymakers, senior experts, representatives of civil society organisations, academia, international development agencies and the UN system.

The meeting – organised by Society for International Development with support from Swedish Development Cooperation in Addis Ababa (Sida) and in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) - brought together participants from across Africa to discuss suitable interventions against the rising inequalities in the context of Africa’s structural transformation.

The forum is expected to define a forward-looking policy and research agenda for addressing the various forms of inequalities in the African region.

“Social Protection helps in addressing vulnerability and supports income security in different stages of life”, ILO’s Chief for Africa underscored.

The ILO is engaged in a global debate and extensive and multidisciplinary research on “what works” to create Decent Work that can help to overcome poverty and reduce inequality. “African countries can learn from this research that provides robust evidence on the positive effects of social protection interventions”, Aeneas Chuma highlighted.

“What works” to address inequalities

The ILO has engaged in different activities to address inequality worldwide. Many of the key international labour standards adopted through tripartite consensus at the global level work towards balancing the playing field.

Yet, while the need for social protection is widely recognised, the fundamental human right to social security remains unfulfilled. Only 27% of the global population enjoy access to comprehensive social security systems, whereas 73% are covered partially or not at all.

“The lack of access to social protection constitutes a major obstacle to economic and social development”, Aeneas Chuma stated underlining the fact that “inadequate or absent social protection coverage is associated with high and persistent levels of poverty and economic insecurity”.

Globally, governments allocate 0.4% of GDP to child and family benefits, while this figure stands at 0.2% of GDP in Africa. Also for Africa, 0.5% of GDP is allocated to social protection expenditure during working age. In sub-Saharan Africa, some 80 % of the population is excluded from legal health coverage. In North Africa 10.5% & in Sub Saharan Africa 5.9% of working age population is estimated to be covered.

However, social protection has successfully reduced poverty, including in Africa, Chuma emphasised.

South Africa’s non-contributory grants have reduced the poverty gap by more than one-third. Social protection programmes significantly increased school enrolment & attendance as well as labour market participation.

Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs) have been adopted around the world to help individuals in general, and vulnerable groups in particular. ALMPs help address inequality by facilitating job opportunities. At the national level, ALMPs can also translate into less poverty and lower levels of inequality.

The Pan African Forum on inequalities will adopt key recommendations on how the future research agenda should be shaped to better understand what kind of policies can reduce inequality and poverty in Africa.

For more information, please contact, Guebray Berhane, Email: [email protected]