PROMOTING AN INTEGRATED SOCIAL PROTECTION FRAMEWORK FOR THE CARIBBEAN

1
PROMOTING AN INTEGRATED SOCIAL PROTECTION
FRAMEWORK FOR THE CARIBBEAN

• Caribbean Development Bank in conjunction with
  the Department for International Development, the
  European Commission for Barbados and the Eastern
  Caribbean, the United Nations Development
  Programme and the World Bank

2
Social Protection what does it encompass?

• All interventions from public, private, voluntary
  organisation and social networks, to support
  communities, households, and individuals, in
  their efforts to prevent, manage, and overcome a
  defined set of risks and vulnerabilities.
• Usually in response to levels of vulnerability,
  risk and deprivation deemed unacceptable. It is
  welfare and relief, but more given the
  emphasis on liberating human potential and
  promoting equality of opportunity. While it
  incorporates safety nets, it also recognizes
  the importance of acting as a spring board and
  adopting a longer term developmental approach
  (investment in capacity building).
• It is an aspect of social policy and should be an
  integral part of countrys development policy

3
Social Protection Instruments

• Social security systems (social insurance),
  transfer programmes (Old age pension, necessitous
  grants), and other forms of social assistance,
  emergency response initiatives, labor and
  employment standards and even informal strategies
  to manage risk.
• Employment programmes, skills training and
  capacity building programmes, etc.

4
Rationale for a SP Agenda

• The populations of the region face high levels of
  risks and vulnerabilities, linked to individual,
  structural and other factors which adversely
  impact them and can force them into poverty or
  keep them mired in poverty.
• Sustained vulnerability also forces households to
  engage in behaviour dysfunctional to their long
  term interest perpetuating the cycle of
  deprivation and poverty.
• Developments are in progress that will heighten
  vulnerability and increase the demand for SP

5
Rationale for a SP Agenda

• Social protection instruments exist, but in many
  areas these are not sufficiently strong or
  effective in protecting households and
  communities from exposure to natural, economic,
  and social hazards.
• General Issues
• Gaps in the coverage of risks and vulnerabilities
  
• Appropriateness and scope of interventions
• Targetting of beneficiaries
• Overlapping programmes
• Quality of service and accessibility
• Effectiveness of instruments
• Administrative, planning and implementation
  capacity
• Programme design

6
Rationale for a SP Agenda

• Programme specific concerns
• Social Insurance
• Social Assistance
• Transfer/Welfare Programmes
• Labour Market Programmes
• Community based Investment Funds
• National Health Insurance

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A Regional SP Agenda Why?

• Need to be more systematic and proactive about
  protecting against risks and overcoming the
  vulnerabilities
• A social protection framework is needed to
• reduce the adverse impact of vulnerability on
  growth and development strategies
• protect the living standards of households and
  communities, and promote their capacity to invest
  in their future
• engage international donors in a partnership to
  ensure aid effectiveness in social protection

8
A Regional SP Agenda Why?

• The shared commonality in risks and
  vulnerabilities across the Region, and the common
  issues and concerns which have been identified
  suggest that are economies and synergies to be
  had from adopting a regional approach to social
  protection
• Similarity in main SP instruments deployed across
  countries

9
A Regional SP Agenda consisting of what?

• An integrated, effective, and comprehensive
  social protection system to act both as a safety
  net and a springboard
• Better targetting to reduce costs and increase
  the efficiency of delivery of services.
• More effective collaboration and better
  co-ordination amongst institutions in social
  protection interventions within countries and
  across the Region.
• Grounded in the use of data, research and
  evidence to facilitate design of programmes,
  monitoring and evaluation
• Donor partnerships in support of a regionally
  determined SP reform agenda (to stem the wasteful
  duplication of progammes, and to exploit
  synergies by drawing on the expertise of the
  different agencies and to maximise the use of
  donor resources

10
Seven Social Protection Priorities

• Improve planning on SP issues
• Establish a mechanism in each country for
  sector-wide SP planning
• Link social protection plans to country poverty
  reduction strategy
• Reform social insurance
• Focus on achieving long-term financial
  sustainability,
• And expanding coverage to informal and poor
  workers
• Rationalize and strengthen social assistance
• Better targeting and delivery mechanisms
  reduce overlaps and administrative costs focus
  on human capital development a hand-up rather
  than hand-out prepare for crises (including
  instituting counter-cyclical social spending
  patterns)

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Seven Social Protection Priorities

• Improve ex-ante disaster management
• Develop regional disaster management fund
  (share risk across countries)
• Improve building codes
• Review labor market policies
• Support competitiveness, improve safety
  standards, eliminate child labor, etc.
• Reform active labor market programs
• Facilitate informal risk management
• Reduce the cost of sending/receiving remittances
• Improve data collection, monitoring and
  evaluation

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Required Action/Proposed Next Steps

• Ministers to convene country level Cabinet
  meetings to share the SP agenda
• Regional line Ministries meeting held to discuss
  a regional approach in support of a sustainable
  national social protection strategy
• Promote the integration of SP reform process in
  social policy formulation and implementation in
  the OECS at both national and regional level
• Pilot the integrated SP and Social and Human
  Development process in 1 or 2 countries
  including
• Rationalise/consolidate mechanisms for social
  protection
• Strengthen public sector capacity
• Promote efficient/effective targeting of social
  protection instruments and
• Systematise social protection interventions
  through the labour market social safety nets,
  pensions.

13
Required Action/Proposed Next Steps

• Accelerating coordination of social statistical
  capability to support data analysis and
  evidence-based policy formulation (through SPARC)
• Putting social protection on the Regions
  development agenda, helping to embed it within
  the CSME agenda and advocating for its
  integration into key country level processes such
  as poverty reduction strategy papers and the
  institutionalization of recent social policy
  frameworks
• Facilitate the involvement of NGOs and Community
  Based Organisations through the institutionalised
  Council on Civil Society in effect Forward
  Together July 11, 2005.
• Ensuring that a regional approach to social
  protection reform is adopted under the auspices
  of CARICOM (A Caribbean Plan of Action for Social
  Protection).