ILO expands social safety past 100m folks

The Worldwide Labour Group’s World Flagship Programme on Constructing Social Safety Flooring for All has prolonged social safety to greater than 100 million folks worldwide since its launch in 2016.

The programme offers technical help to governments to strengthen nationwide social safety programs, making certain protection all through the life cycle and supporting simply transitions within the face of rising financial and social challenges, it disclosed in a report revealed on its web site.

Throughout its second section (2021–2025), the programme exceeded its goal of 60 million, reaching greater than 84 million folks. In 2025 alone, practically 29 million folks benefited from improved social safety protection. The initiative additionally supported 180 institutional reforms throughout 50 precedence international locations, starting from new social safety legal guidelines to administrative reforms.

Nation-level outcomes embrace Uzbekistan extending maternity and illness advantages to over six million employees, Suriname ratifying worldwide social safety requirements, Laos launching its first social safety cellular software, and Angola elevating social safety spending to greater than 6 per cent of the nationwide price range.

The programme is getting into its third section (2026–2030), aiming to increase authorized protection to a further 20 million folks, obtain efficient protection for 30 million extra, and enhance comprehensiveness for 10 million others. Growth companions, together with the European Union and Eire, pledged continued assist to speed up progress towards common social safety.

“For the European Union, persevering with to strengthen cooperation with the ILO and accomplice international locations stays important to advance our shared purpose of common social safety for all,” stated the Workforce Chief for Social Safety, Inequalities and Individuals with Disabilities on the Directorate-Common for Worldwide Partnerships, European Fee, Laure Rogès. “The Flagship Programme in its section III is absolutely aligned with the European Union World Gateway technique, acknowledging that financial transformation and social improvement should go hand in hand to attain a virtuous circle.”

“The Flagship Programme is crucial to construct lifecycle social safety programs which can be firmly rooted in authorities insurance policies and social dialogue and have lasting impacts on folks, even when this isn’t one thing that occurs rapidly,” famous Paula Nolan, the Social Safety Coverage Lead on the Division of Overseas Affairs and Commerce, Eire.

Strengthening strategic partnerships, together with by way of the United Nations World Accelerator on Jobs and Social Safety for Simply Transitions, delivering as One UN on social safety, deepening collaboration with employees’ and employers’ organisations, and selling funding in social safety collectively with worldwide monetary establishments will probably be important to attaining these targets.

The Flagship Programme’s annual Growth Companions assembly introduced collectively representatives of governments, in addition to employees’ and employers’ organisations. Individuals reviewed progress so far, mentioned the strategic path for the programme’s third section, and explored methods to speed up progress in the direction of common social safety by 2030.