View previous stories
	Social protection for all to change people’s lives by 2030 by Isabel Ortiz Director of the ILO Social Protection Department   Imagine a world where all older persons receive a pension; a world where all persons with severe disabilities receive benefits for a life in dignity. Imagine a world where all women receive maternity and child support so kids can eat, study and play; a world where there is support for those who are poor or without jobs. A world where no one is left behind. This is the world we want in 2030. A world with no poverty and fewer inequalities, a world with social protection for all.   This world is feasible. In recent years, there has been real progress in developing social protection systems. Many developing countries have achieved universal or near-universal coverage – for all people. It is about continuing on this path.   New goals for a new world   The international community is rethinking its approach to development, and has drafted a new set of objectives for 2030, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This new agenda calls for efforts to not only combat different categories of poverty, but also to even up income distribution so that, as countries continue to develop, the benefits of growth can be enjoyed by all.   The SDGs call on Governments to implement nationally appropriate social protection systems for all, including social protection floors as agreed by all countries in 2012 , and endorsed by the United Nations and the G20.   By establishing universal social protection systems, including social protection floors, countries can ensure that no one is left behind and that prosperity is shared.   Social protection policies play a critical role in reducing poverty and inequality, and supporting inclusive growth – by boosting human capital supporting domestic demand and facilitating structural transformation of national economies.   The time is ripe. Today, India is richer than Germany was when it introduced social insurance for all workers in the 1880s; Indonesia is richer than the United States was when the US Social Security Act was passed in 1935; and China is now richer than Britain was in 1948, when the National Health Service was introduced. Historically, social protection systems were not developed out of a sense of charity. It is not about a few hand-outs to the most vulnerable. It is about comprehensive systems, strategically designed and implemented to: raise productivity by investing in the workforce and in children, the future labour force; and ensure national consumption by raising household income; and reduce political instability in addition to promoting peace and social cohesion.   Social protection works. This is why China has achieved nearly universal pensions in only four years, and many other developing countries have also developed pension systems for all: Bolivia, Botswana, Cabo Verde, Lesotho, Namibia, Thailand, Timor Leste and South Africa, among others. Many other governments are following, expanding the coverage of pensions for older persons, expanding disability and maternity benefits, and cash transfers for children.   Working together as one   All around the world, social protection specialists from different UN agencies support governments to implement social protection floors and comprehensive social security systems. This is a two-step approach: supporting governments to adopt national social protection strategies through national dialogue, and supporting the design or reform of social protection schemes, the development of relevant legal frameworks, and the implementation of such schemes.   This is happening today in many developing countries. Working together will help meet the Target 1.3 of the SDGs to “implement social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.” This joint effort will also help to fulfil other proposed sustainable development targets on reducing inequalities.   http://socialprotection-humanrights.org/ http://www.socialprotection4all.org/gimi/gess/NeedChange.action http://www.ilo.org/secsoc/lang--en/index.htm
	34 million children and adolescents are out of school in conflict-affected countries by Unesco, Education for All, A World at School   More than 30 of the world''s leading charities and campaign organisations have joined forces to call on world leaders to create an urgent fund to provide education for children affected by wars and natural disasters.   The appeal comes just days before a meeting of governments at the Oslo Education Summit following a new policy paper from UNESCO which articulates how ‘inefficient humanitarian and development aid systems’ are excluding millions of children in conflict from an education.   A joint statement by prominent NGOs and campaign organisations - led by A World at School and including Oxfam, Save the Children, World Vision, Action Aid, Malala Fund, Plan International, Muslim Aid and Avaaz - calls for a public commitment to be made at the summit for the creation of a Global Humanitarian Fund and Platform for Education in Emergencies.   Over 20 million children are currently being denied an education because they live in conflict and disaster zones, with young girls 90% more likely to be out of secondary school in conflict areas than elsewhere, according to the UNESCO report.   Despite the growing numbers caught up in tragedy, in 2014 only 1% of overall humanitarian aid and 2% of humanitarian appeals was spent on education.   A new policy brief released today from A World at School shows the consequences of not investing in education in emergencies. Children out of school are at immediate risk of child labour, recruitment as child soldiers, early marriage and other forms of sexual exploitation, slavery and trafficking.   In conflict and emergencies, investment in education can both save lives in the short-term and billions of dollars in opportunity costs in the long-term. For example, in Pakistan between 2009 and 2012, lack of access to education for 5.5 million children due to conflict is estimated to have cost $2.9 billion in lost income.   In July, International donors, leading education experts and advocates are coming together in Oslo to mobilise renewed political commitment for the 58 million children that remain out of school.   There is an opportunity to commit to the creation of a Global Humanitarian Fund for Education in Emergencies which should enable additional predictable funding and more efficiently co-ordinate rapid assistance at the onset of an emergency and bridge the gaps between humanitarian and development aid in the rebuilding phase.   Kolleen Bouchane, Policy and Advocacy Director for A World at School, said: “The financing situation is bleak for basic education but in conflict and disaster scenarios it is absolutely devastating.   "Not investing in children’s education in emergencies is a choice for inaction, a choice to waste the lives and resources of entire communities. It is a false economy that is increasing suffering, and costing millions.   “World leaders must no longer ignore the needs of the most vulnerable children in the world. We must see immediate action in Oslo with clear deadlines for next steps which reflect the necessary urgency to ensure entire generations are not trapped in a perpetual cycle of poverty and war with no hope for rebuilding their lives, communities and countries.”   David Skinner, Education Global Initiative Director of Save the Children, said: "We must translate rhetoric on equity and learning into reality and put the needs of the most deprived children first. More and better funding for education in emergencies is critical to doing this."   Linda Hiebert, Senior Director, Education and Life Skills, for World Vision International, said: “It is unacceptable that, in 2014, only 1% of humanitarian aid went to education when nearly half of out-of-school children live in conflict and emergency settings.   “World Vision believes it is possible to end extreme poverty by 2030 if leaders stop at nothing to deliver truly ambitious goals focused on the most vulnerable children in the hardest places to live. This includes the creation of a Global Humanitarian Fund for Education in Emergencies.”   http://www.aworldatschool.org/news/entry/Global-charities-call-for-education-in-emergencies-fund-2087 http://www.unicef.org/media/media_83072.html http://reliefweb.int/report/central-african-republic/vulnerable-students-unsafe-schools-attacks-and-military-use-schools http://watchlist.org/category/news/   June 2015   34 million children and adolescents are out of school in conflict-affected countries   A new report by UNESCO’s Education For All Global Monitoring Report (EFA GMR) shows that 34 million children and adolescents are out of school in conflict-affected countries.   The most vulnerable are the hardest hit: the poorest are twice as likely to be out of school as their counterparts in peaceful countries. The report shows that $2.3 billion is required to place them in school - ten times the amount that education is receiving from humanitarian aid right now.   The report showed that only a third of countries had reached global education goals set in 2000, and identified conflict as one of the major barriers to achieving better results. The report shows the extent of the challenges that conflict presents.   Children in conflict-affected countries are more than twice as likely, and adolescents two-thirds more likely, to be out of school than in non-conflict affected countries. Young women are almost 90 per cent more likely to be out of secondary school in conflict affected-countries than elsewhere.   “Returning to school may be the only flicker of hope and normality for many children and youth in countries engulfed in crises,” said Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO. “The Incheon Declaration adopted by 160 countries commits to meeting the needs of these populations through more resilient, resistive and inclusive education systems and a response to crisis that spans the phases of emergency, recovery and building. Education must be seen as part of the first response when crisis hits and an integral part of any peacebuilding strategy.”   One of the core reasons conflict is taking such a heavy toll on education is lack of financing. In 2014, education received only two per cent of humanitarian aid. The report determines that even the suggested target of four per cent, championed since 2011, is insufficient. Had this target been met in 2013, it would have left 15.5 million children and youth without any humanitarian assistance in education.   Aaron Benavot, Director of the Eduation for All, said: “A new target for directing funds to education in times of conflict has been required for some time. Present targets are hugely insufficient and diverting attention from the true needs of children and youth on the ground. For primary education, an extra $38 is needed per child in conflict situations. $113 is needed per adolescent in lower secondary education. Surely we can find these funds. Most of us carry the cost for one child in our pocket.”   Media attention unfairly prioritizes some countries over others: more than half of available humanitarian aid to education was allocated to just 15 out of 342 appeals between 2000 and 2014.   Many appeals do not cover all those in need. In 2013, 21 million people in conflict-affected zones were identified as requiring education support. Just eight million were included in appeals. Of those, just three million received assistance once funding was distributed – leaving 18 million without any help at all.   The report proposes a new, evidence-based finance target, and makes recommendations for tightening the current aid structure for education in crises:   There must be a consistent and objective education needs assessment to truly understand the requirements of children and adolescents in conflict.   There should be better connections between humanitarian and development financing: The World Humanitarian Summit in July 2016 together with a High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing to be formed later in 2015 represent opportunities to make humanitarian funding more relevant and realistic.   The $2.3 billion funding gap for education in conflict, which is ten times more than education currently receives from humanitarian aid, urgently needs to be filled.   Any new global emergency education fund should ensure that resources for education in crises are additional, flexible and predictable. Funding must be aligned to need. It should work closely with the Global Partnership for Education and the Global Education Cluster. Visit the related web page
	View more stories