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C H A P T E R 1 0

Social protection is a strategic tool that can be used to achieve several SDGs simultaneously and generate spillover effects that go far beyond the initially stated goals.

A � sherman casting a net from a � shing boat o� the coast of Joal, Senegal. ©UN Photo/J MohrMcIlwaine

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C H A P T E R 1 0

Moving Forward on Social Protection in the 2030 Agenda1

1 This paper was written by Laura Jungman, Layla Saad and Romulo Paes-Sousa, UNDP World Centre for Sustainable Development (RIO+ Centre).

Social protection schemes have provided an e� ective means of reducing extreme poverty and securing a � oor of social rights for the poorest, while forging new paths to greater socio-economic inclusion. Even though social protection systems around the world vary signi� cantly, their role in the construction of more inclusive and fair societies where vulnerabilities to social, environmental and economic shocks are minimized is fundamental. Recognized as a key part of the sustainable development agenda adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, social protection policy and practice must be conceived within a broader strategy that goes beyond strictly addressing income poverty and inequality.

This report provides important insight into the social protection experiences of Brazil and Africa. It sheds light on the main opportunities and challenges to be considered when conceptualizing and institutionalizing social protection into national policy and practice, particularly within the sustainable development framework. These experiences and the lessons they bring provide valuable input for the design and improvement of comprehensive social protection systems that address the multiple dimensions of human vulnerability, including those arising from climate change and environmental degradation. In developing countries, a signi� cant portion of the population lives without any social safety net,

which only exacerbates their exclusion. Under the newly adopted Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, which advocates for excluding no one from human development and dignity, social protection provides an important tool for enabling citizens to exercise their rights to basic services related to health, social security and income, among others. Even in advanced economies, strong social protection programmes help growing economies reduce the proportion of people who are left behind.

Sustainable development requires taking action on the social, environmental, economic and political fronts and must be implemented through integrated and coherent policies that spur long-term change. Fragmented and piecemeal efforts have not proven effective in addressing vulnerabilities since they are multiple and inextricably linked. Therefore, policymakers need to look at how social protection can serve as an enabler and driver for the achievement of other sustainable development goals and targets and expand policy impact in the long term.

This chapter draws on the main insights raised in previous chapters to identify the various elements that need to be taken into consideration for the design, implementation and sustainability of social protection systems.

E C O N O M I C S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y: E N S U R I N G T H E V I A B I L I T Y O F S O C I A L P R O T E C T I O N

Social protection can have signi� cant spin-o� e� ects on economic development by contributing to both economic growth and income distribution. The development of social protection policy must be tailored to the economic conditions of each country. Issues such as tax systems, economic returns and funding are intrinsically interrelated and have to be given equal consideration to create the necessary conditions for integrating social protection into a broader economic strategy.

As discussed in chapters 2, 4 and 9 of this report, one of the main challenges for social protection

is to establish a stable source of funding that sustains social protection programmes in the long term. Such programmes are still commonly seen as una� ordable or unsustainable, despite growing evidence of their a� ordability, even in low-income countries. The ability to guarantee funding is also closely related to issues of governance and legal structure, which will be addressed below.

Chapter 2 suggests that funding for social protection can be secured through tax reforms or enforcement; by reallocating resources away from underperforming programmes or ine� cient

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©UN Photo/J Mohr

subsidies; or by channelling funds from debt payment towards social protection using debt relief initiatives, among others. Also, chapter 7 stresses the importance of sustaining funding over time. Governments may have to continue making investments over a considerable amount of time, since the gains from social protection can be reduced or even lost if funding is only made available on a short-term basis.

The report also makes the case for the a� ordability of social protection and the economic sustainability of social spending by highlighting the economic returns obtained from investments in this area. Data presented in chapter 7 demonstrate the multiplier e� ect of investment in social policy on GDP: 56 percent of the resources invested in social policies return to public co� ers through taxes or social contributions. In addition to the economic gains it can generate, social protection may promote a much greater good to the economy as a whole by increasing the purchasing power of a part of the population that would not be as integrated into the economy had the programmes not existed. As shown in the Annex of the report, one of the recommendations of the Seminar on Social Protection in Africa is to recognize the multiplier e� ect of social protection, as it promotes inclusive economic growth, job creation, the development of local markets and economic inclusion.

Chapter 7 also identi� es actions that governments should take to avoid annulling the positive e� ects

of social protection. First, the economic activity generated by the increase in social expenditure has to be accompanied by the expansion of the country’s production structure in order to meet the new demand it creates. The country has to scale up its production capacity for both durable and non-durable goods and services; otherwise, the increase in demand will produce in� ationary pressures, which will partially undermine positive income distribution e� ects. Second, a regressive tax system, such as that of Brazil, creates a greater tax burden for the poorest population, which partially cancels out the positive e� ects of social spending on distribution and a� ects the sustainability of the model. Therefore, the discussion on funding and e� ectiveness of social protection is necessarily a discussion on the tax system in place. Countries with an ine� cient tax system should implement reforms to avoid the pitfalls of regressive taxation. Adopting a progressive tax system is key for ensuring the coherence of both economic policies and social protection systems, as it is economically fairer and more sustainable in the long term.

Another necessary step in this area is to strengthen coordination on the use of existing funds. As shown in chapter 3, this was an important measure taken by the Ethiopian government in 2005: after 30 years of emergency food programmes with little or no coordination between them, the Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) consolidated funds from donors, which were then used for the management and implementation of the programme.

201©UN Photo/J Mohr

E N V I R O N M E N TA L S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y: M A I N S T R E A M I N G E N V I R O N M E N TA L C O N C E R N S I N T O S O C I A L P R O T E C T I O N P R A C T I C E S

At the present stage, the links between social protection and the social and economic aspects of development are now much clearer and stronger. Nonetheless, there are areas in which there is still considerable space and opportunities for creating synergies with environmental policies, which are essential to e� orts to build a broader strategy for sustainable development.

For instance, according to the estimates presented in chapter 3, 60 percent of the labour force in Africa is concentrated in the agricultural sector, which means social protection must be adapted to the speci� c conditions of this � eld of activity. In many places, there is a need to put adequate institutional and distribution structures that are capable of reaching people in rural and more isolated areas into place. In general, economic shocks, volatility in food prices, natural hazards and climate impacts are other major challenges that have to be addressed by social protection in situations where environmental factors play a central role.

Moreover, as argued in chapter 9, the use of natural resources is central in alleviating poverty and supporting livelihoods. Therefore, in light of the unregulated use of resources, especially by extractive industries and in poorer countries,

strengthening governance and regulations on resource use and management is fundamental.

Mainstreaming environmental concerns in social protection also requires taking into account the impact that potential shocks in agriculture can cause on social protection and how to mitigate such impacts. Climate change and natural disasters may have long-lasting e� ects on poverty, food security and vulnerability, which could undermine development e� orts. As such, social protection schemes must consider the constraints imposed by these environmental components and integrate environmental aspects in its policies, whenever possible, to ensure the e� ectiveness of social protection policies in the long run.

The current debates and practices on disaster risk reduction and adaptation e� orts aim to address the root causes of vulnerabilities and increase resilience in the long term. As such, there is clearly space for building synergies between these � elds and social protection. As put forward in chapter 2, emergency employment schemes, cash-for-work programmes, education and training, insurance schemes and cash transfers are areas that o� er prime opportunities for converging e� orts towards common goals and agendas.

S U S TA I N A B L E G O V E R N A N C E : G U A R A N T E E I N G A D E Q U AT E I N S T I T U T I O N A L C O N D I T I O N S F O R S O C I A L P R O T E C T I O N

When designing and implementing social protection schemes, actors must consider the institutional and legal aspects of a governance structure to ensure it is stable and consistent with a country’s context and needs. Social protection cannot be a temporary or ad hoc policy; it has to last as long as chronic deprivation and extreme poverty persist. As such, social protection must be guaranteed and protected by legislation and a governance structure capable of ensuring that it is maintained as a policy of the state, and not of one government.

One way to achieve this is to adopt a rights-based approach to social protection. As stated in chapter 2, legal recognition of the right to social protection would help strengthen equity and the access of the most vulnerable to services and programmes, who will be able to reclaim them as

rights-holders. These safeguards would also help maintain social protection as a right guaranteed by the state, despite changes in groups or political parties in power. As mentioned in chapter 5, the Brazilian Constitution recognizes social protection as a public responsibility, which has ensured that social protection programmes continue to occupy an important place on the public agenda at the national level in recent decades.

Moreover, the broader the social protection policy is, the more complex the governance structure required to coordinate it is. The e� ectiveness of a programme depends highly on the capacity to deliver services and guarantee their quality, which requires the functions of the di� erent government bodies to be well-established and well-coordinated. The Plano Brasil Sem Miséria (PBSM, Brazil Without Misery Plan) programme

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discussed in chapters 5 and 6, for example, is a federal government programme whose multilevel governance structure includes state and municipal governments. As the PBSM’s budget and governance are shared across ministries and programmes, three governing bodies had to be created to coordinate the implementation of the plan. Comprehensive and multidimensional, PBSM coordinates more than 120 activities and connects social protection to employment and other income-generating policies.

Due to the complexity of social protection, greater coordination is called for among not only national and local governments, but also government actors and initiatives undertaken by NGOs, international organizations and even the private sector. This is fundamental for avoiding redundancy and ensuring complementarities among programmes and a more e� cient use of resources.

As argued in chapters 1, 3 and 8, adaptation to the local context is also crucial for the successful implementation of social protection. While the overall institutional design is key to the e� ectiveness and delivery of a social protection programme, the particularities of the programme and its design may vary greatly according to the local context. Therefore, as the experience of Brazil and African countries analyzed in this report show, while similarities may exist and there are clearly

lessons to be learned from the experience of other countries, each place and programme has its own unique conditions that must be taken into account during the design and implementation phases.

Still, regardless of the di� erences in context, some challenges are common throughout Africa. Described in more detail in chapter 3, these include shortcomings related to institutional capacity, � nancial sustainability, targeting and the challenge of adapting programmes to issues that go beyond poverty reduction.

Finally, e� ective participatory mechanisms must be created and incorporated into governance structures. The e� ectiveness of social protection depends greatly on its capacity to connect with local issues and engage with the bene� ciaries of the given policy. Legitimacy can only be built from engaging with the a� ected population, which requires mechanisms of communication and participation that permit stakeholders to partake in the process. As pointed out in chapter 3, lack of participation is one of the main issues currently a� ecting social protection schemes in Africa, which must be urgently tackled. Chapter 6 also stresses that, in order to implement policies and communicate clearly with the population, countries must develop and convey a clear concept of what the social protection programmes involve.

S Y S T E M I C S U S TA I N A B I L I T Y: M A K I N G T H E M O S T O F T H E I N T E G R AT I O N O F S O C I A L P R O T E C T I O N A N D O T H E R D E V E L O P M E N T N E E D S

If social protection is to provide the most vulnerable with minimum conditions for development, factors other than income that contribute to vulnerability must be taken into account. While designing a social protection model, policymakers need to be mindful of multiple vulnerabilities such as those linked to gender, age, ethnicity, race and HIV status, among others. The failure to do so could reinforce inequalities rather than reduce them. Chapter 3 explores the importance of integrating youth and women in social protection schemes in Africa due to the high unemployment and underemployment rates among young Africans and the weaker integration of women in the labour market. Limitations in terms of coverage, management and targeting can cause greater exclusion among vulnerable groups.

This report advocates for a broad and comprehensive social protection strategy. Social protection comprises - but is not restricted to - income transfers. Such programmes produce more effective outcomes when coordinated with other policies. Chapter 5 argues that the case of social protection in Brazil provides an example of how greater impacts can be made by strengthening ties between social protection and other social policies focusing on multiple vulnerabilities, such as social, labour and environmental policies. Along the same lines, chapter 8 discusses the growing trend to shift from emergency food aid to initiatives that help countries structure national policies and programmes on the underlying causes of hunger, malnutrition and food scarcity. The need to coordinate among policy areas to tackle the structural causes of poverty and

203 ©UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe

inequality is a key lesson for countries to keep in mind while planning their efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Social protection can also create opportunities for bolder South-South cooperation initiatives. Some of the most successful cases of social protection schemes are being implemented in countries of the South. Exchanges between these countries on these experiences offer the added advantage of being rooted in a developing country perspective. Besides providing a new kind of cooperation, which is less attached to practices, conditions and even funding from developed countries, such initiatives also afford developing countries opportunities to leapfrog past common challenges through mutual, solidarity-based cooperation. Chapter 8 makes the case for expanding South-South cooperation activities on food security between Brazil and Africa. These activities have helped various African countries break new ground in public policy in this area thanks to constant dialogue and the sharing of Brazil’s successful experiences in

implementing food security policies over the past decade.

C O N C L U D I N G R E M A R K S

This report calls for the horizontal and vertical expansion of social protection as a key strategy for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. Social protection is a strategic tool that can be used to attain several SDGs simultaneously and generate spillover e� ects that go far beyond the initially stated goals. Inherently linked to a range of sectors, it can help further the debate on responsible governance and to promote South-South cooperation. Therefore, it has great potential to strengthen developing countries’ e� orts around the 2030 Agenda.

The debates present in this report give policymakers a solid background on social protection. The lessons from Brazil and Africa make a strong case for the viability of social protection as a central policy for developing countries and help identify the main challenges and opportunities that come with it, thus providing us the tools to shape the way to a more sustainable future.