ILO: There are still more than 4 billion people without social protection in the world

　　There are still more than 4 billion people without social protection in the world

　　This newspaper from Geneva (Reporter Yang Haiquan) The International Labor Organization recently released the "World Social Protection Report 2020-2022" that there are still more than 4 billion people in the world without any social protection. The new crown pneumonia epidemic has exposed and aggravated high-income countries and low-income countries. The social protection gap between countries.

　　The report pointed out that social protection includes access to medical care and income security, especially in the areas of old age, unemployment, illness, disability, work-related injuries, childbirth or loss of the main source of income, and families with children.

Despite the unprecedented expansion of social protection worldwide during the epidemic, there are still more than 4 billion people in the world who do not enjoy any social protection at all.

The unbalanced and inadequate response measures to the epidemic have resulted in the failure to provide everyone with the social protection they deserve and urgently need, and has deepened the social protection gap between high-income countries and low-income countries.

　　Guy Ryder, Director-General of the International Labor Organization, said: “Countries are at a crossroads and a critical moment. They must use the opportunity to respond to the epidemic to establish a new generation of rights-based social protection systems. Relevant measures can protect people from future crises. We must realize that effective and comprehensive social protection is not only essential to social justice and decent work, but also to create a A sustainable and resilient future is also crucial."

　　The report pointed out that from a regional perspective, Europe and Central Asia have the highest social protection coverage, with 84% of people enjoying at least one social protection benefit; the coverage rate in the Americas is also higher than the global average, reaching 64.3%; Asia and the Pacific ( 44%), Arab countries (40%) and Africa (17.4%) have obvious coverage gaps.

Worldwide, the vast majority of children still do not receive effective social protection coverage, and only about a quarter of children (26.4%) receive social protection benefits.

　　Only 45% of women with newborn babies in the world receive maternity allowances.

Only one third of severely disabled persons (33.5%) worldwide receive disability allowances.

The coverage of unemployment benefits is even lower, and only 18.6% of unemployed workers in the world are effectively protected.

Although 77.5% of the people above the retirement age receive some form of pension, there are still huge gaps between regions, urban and rural areas, and between men and women.

　　Government expenditures on social protection also vary greatly.

On average, countries spend 12.8% of their GDP on social protection (excluding health care), but high-income countries spend 16.4% of GDP on social protection, while low-income countries only account for 1.1% of their GDP. %.

　　Since the outbreak, the financing gap has increased by about 30% in order to ensure that everyone receives at least the minimum social protection additional expenditure.

In order to ensure the minimum basic social protection coverage, low-income countries need an additional investment of 77.9 billion U.S. dollars each year, low- and middle-income countries need an additional investment of 362.9 billion U.S. dollars each year, and middle- and high-income countries need an additional investment of 750.8 billion U.S. dollars each year, which is equivalent to their GDP. 15.9%, 5.1% and 3.1%.

　　Shahra Razawi, Director of the Social Protection Department of the International Labor Organization, said: “In response to the pandemic crisis, countries have increased public expenditures. Currently, they are facing tremendous pressures for financial stability, but cuts in social protection will cause serious damage. Social Protection It is an important tool that can create a wide range of social and economic benefits for countries at various levels of development, including supporting better health and education conditions, broader equality, and a more sustainable economic system. We must make social protection To achieve such an effect, the system requires the comprehensive utilization of funds from various sources and the unity of the international community, especially in supporting poor countries."