CHAPTER 10

S O C I A L P R O T E C T I O N F O R S U S TA I N A B L E D E V E L O P M E N T - S P 4 S D

A fisherman casting a net from a fishing boat off the coast of Joal, Senegal.
UN Photo/J MohrMcIlwaine

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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.

Moving Forward on Social Protection

in the 2030 Agenda1
Social protection schemes have provided an
effective means of reducing extreme poverty and
securing a floor of social rights for the poorest,
while forging new paths to greater socio-economic
inclusion. Even though social protection systems
around the world vary significantly, 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 significant 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
SOCIAL PROTECTION
Social protection can have significant spin-off
effects 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 unaffordable or unsustainable, despite growing
evidence of their affordability, 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 inefficient

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

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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.

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The report also makes the case for the affordability

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 effect of investment in social policy on
GDP: 56 percent of the resources invested in social
policies return to public coffers 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
effect of social protection, as it promotes inclusive
economic growth, job creation, the development
of local markets and economic inclusion.
Chapter 7 also identifies actions that governments
should take to avoid annulling the positive effects

of social protection. First, the economic activity

generated by the increase in social expenditure
has to be accompanied by the expansion of the
countrys 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 inflationary
pressures, which will partially undermine positive
income distribution effects. 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 effects of social spending
on distribution and affects the sustainability of the
model. Therefore, the discussion on funding and
effectiveness of social protection is necessarily a
discussion on the tax system in place. Countries
with an inefficient 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.

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
PRACTICES
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 efforts 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
specific conditions of this field 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 effects on poverty, food
security and vulnerability, which could undermine
development efforts. 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 effectiveness of social
protection policies in the long run.
The current debates and practices on disaster risk
reduction and adaptation efforts 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 fields
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 offer
prime opportunities for converging efforts 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
INSTITUTIONAL CONDITIONS FOR SOCIAL PROTECTION
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 countrys 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 rightsbased 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 effectiveness of
a programme depends highly on the capacity
to deliver services and guarantee their quality,
which requires the functions of the different
government bodies to be well-established and
well-coordinated. The Plano Brasil Sem Misria
(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 PBSMs 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.

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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 efficient 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
effectiveness 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 differences in context,
some challenges are common throughout Africa.
Described in more detail in chapter 3, these
include shortcomings related to institutional
capacity, financial sustainability, targeting and the
challenge of adapting programmes to issues that
go beyond poverty reduction.
Finally, effective participatory mechanisms must
be created and incorporated into governance
structures. The effectiveness of social protection
depends greatly on its capacity to connect with
local issues and engage with the beneficiaries
of the given policy. Legitimacy can only be built
from engaging with the affected 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 affecting 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
DEVELOPMENT NEEDS
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

inequality is a key lesson for countries to keep

in mind while planning their efforts to achieve
the 2030 Agendas Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs).

implementing food security policies over the

past decade.

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 Brazils successful experiences in

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 effects 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 SouthSouth cooperation. Therefore, it has great potential
to strengthen developing countries efforts around
the 2030 Agenda.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

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.

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UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe