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The future of telemedicine after COVID-19 pmassetti

The use of telemedicine, or remote clinical consultations, was limited in most OECD countries before the COVID‑19 pandemic, held back by regulatory barriers and hesitancy from patients and providers. In early 2020, as COVID‑19 massively disrupted in-person care, governments moved quickly to promote the use of telemedicine. The number of teleconsultations skyrocketed, playing a vital role in maintaining access to care, but only partly offsetting reductions in in-person care. This brief describes how governments scaled up remote care during the pandemic and explores the impact that this massive shift to remote care has had on health care system performance

covid19 Medical care
BRICS Meeting In South Africa To Prioritise Social Security Issues pmassetti

ndtv.com (27.01.2023) Social security issues will be on top of the agenda at the BRICS countries meeting to be hosted next month by South Africa, which over the Presidency of the five-nation bloc from China on January 1 this year. South African Department of Employment and Labour's Acting Deputy Director-General of its Labour Policy and Industrial Relations section Sipho Ndebele said South Africa's Presidency of BRICS would provide it with an opportunity to promote regional and global issues on the back of skyrocketing unemployment and the health fallout created by the pandemic.

brics
Surviving Old Age Is Getting Harder in Japan pmassetti

The Diplomat (19.01.2023) Seniors living in poverty or working to supplement their income are on the rise as Japan’s public pension system cracks under a super aging society. 

The state of social protection for agrifood systems workers in West Africa pmassetti

fao.org (2022) The report analyses the state of social protection for agri-food systems workers in the region. Specifically, it provides an overview about existing social assistance and social insurance programmes, analyses their sensitivity to agri-food systems workers’ needs and characteristics and identifies countries´ main challenges. It also presents a series of good practices from Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, and Senegal.

rural world Africa
The Social Protection Indicator for the Pacific: Tracking Developments in Social Protection pmassetti

Asian Development Bank (Dec 2022) It uses the bank’s Social Protection Indicator to assess the level of resources invested in social protection, the extent of coverage, and the benefit levels of social protection programs. Further data disaggregation provides the distribution of social protection expenditures in relation to poverty, gender, and people with disabilities. The report identifies measures adopted in response to the coronavirus disease pandemic and outlines future directions for social protection in the Pacific region.

Programme & evaluation Asia
Understanding informality through new data pmassetti

worldbank.org (17.01.2023) The informal business sector is a source of livelihood for millions of people around the world. Despite its size and importance, business-level data that provide an in-depth understanding and cross-country analysis of the sector are lacking. To fill this gap, the World Bank has collected comprehensive data based on a representative sample of informal businesses using an innovative survey methodology. A recent working paper provides insights on businesses that operate without formal registration. It covers twenty-four cities in seven countries —namely, India, Iraq, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Somalia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe— using these publicly available data. Here, we summarize the paper’s key results, focusing on four aspects: salient features of the owners and their businesses; general business practices; performance, and finally, perceptions about registration and reasons for remaining informal.

France hit by nationwide strikes as unions fight Macron’s pension reform pmassetti

EURACTIV.com (19.01.2023) French train drivers, teachers and refinery workers were among those who walked off their jobs on Thursday (19 January) in a nationwide day of strikes against government plans to raise the retirement age by two years to 64.

Pensions france
The long-term welfare impacts of natural disasters: Evidence from Ugandan landslides pmassetti

theigc.org (09.01.2023) When natural disasters displace households, impacts on welfare can last for years after the event and vary depending on the extent of response. Between 2008 and 2018, around 265 million people were displaced by natural disasters around the world. While climate change threatens to increase the frequency and severity of natural disasters, studying the impacts of displacement is very difficult for two main reasons. First, natural disasters don’t strike randomly (some areas are more prone to disasters than other because of their geography among other factors), and people who are better off tend to avoid living in high-risk areas. Second, the very nature of displacement makes it difficult to collect data on all the people who were affected.

Environment and climate change uganda
Europe: Job retention schemes between the Great Recession and the COVID-19 crises pmassetti

ceps.eu (10.01.2023) Should we make SURE a permanent instrument? To answer this, one might look at whether SURE – as a loans-based financial instrument – has been effectively taken up by Member States and used to support Job Retention (JR) schemes and other similar measures.

Employment Europe
Bracing for the silver tsunami pmassetti

The Japan Times (09.01.2023) Low fertility rates — in the absence of increased immigration — will reduce the working-age population, in turn lowering household consumption and economic growth

japan
Migration and climate change – The role of social protection pmassetti

ScienceDirect (2023) Social protection, as a vulnerability response tool, is well-placed to equip climate-vulnerable populations with resources that de-risk livelihoods and smooth consumption. This systematic literature review of 28 studies identifies evidence for how social protection has influenced beneficiaries’ migration decisions, experiences, and outcomes in the context of a changing climate, through cash transfers, public work programs, insurance, and health care.

Korea to take drastic measures to tackle population decline pmassetti

koreatimes.co.kr (08.01.2023) The government will take drastic measures to tackle Korea's demographic crisis of its falling birthrate and rapidly aging society, said Na Kyung-won, head of the presidential committee on Aging Society and Population Policy, who floated the idea of writing off loans for married couples who give birth to children.

Family benefits korea, Republic of
Social protection for people with disabilities in Europe: An analysis of policies in 35 countries - Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion - European Commission pmassetti

European Commission (03.01.2023) Principle 17 of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) emphasises the right of people with disabilities to “income support that ensures living in dignity” as well as “services that enable them to participate in the labour market and in society”. This Synthesis Report prepared by the European Social Policy Network (ESPN) describes and analyses the conditions under which persons with disabilities aged 18 years and above have effective access to social protection. It focuses on the provision of various disability-specific income support schemes, benefits for some risks other than disability, as well as selected support services for people with disabilities,

Disability Europe
The impact of using an income supplement to meet child poverty targets : evidence from Scotland pmassetti

strathprints.strath.ac.uk (2022) In 2017 the Scottish Government passed the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act with the commitment to significantly reduce the relative child poverty rate from the current prevailing level of around 25% to 10% by 2030/31. In response, the government introduced the Scottish Child Payment (SCP) that provides a direct transfer to households at a fixed rate per eligible child – currently £25 per week. In this paper we explore, using a micro to macro modelling approach, the effectiveness of using the SCP to achieve the Scottish child poverty targets. While we find that the ambitious child poverty targets can technically be met solely using the SCP, the necessary payment of £165 per week amounting to a total government cost of £3 billion per year, makes the political and economy-wide barriers significant. A key issue with only using the SCP is the non-linearity in the response to the payment; as the payment increase the marginal gain in the reduction of child poverty decreases – this is particularly evident after payments of £80 per week. A ‘policy-mix’ option combining the SCP, targeted cash transfers and other policy levels (such as childcare provision) seems the most promising approach to reaching the child poverty targets.

Family benefits united kingdom
Accord entre la Tunisie et le Québec dans le domaine de la sécurité sociale | La Presse de Tunisie pmassetti

La Tunisie est parvenue à un accord avec le Québec dans le domaine de la sécurité sociale, garantissant la couverture médicale et les pensions de vieillesse et d’invalidité au profit de la communauté tunisienne établie dans cette vile canadienne, a annoncé le ministère des Affaires sociales.

international_agreement
Study on Bilateral Labour and Social Security Agreements In North Africa pmassetti

2018  - The purpose of this study is to undertake in-depth research on the different bilateral labour agreements and social security agreements in the North Africa sub-region, with particular emphasis on Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco.

international_agreement Africa
The Evolution of Maternity and Paternity Leave Policies over Five Decades — a Global Analysis pmassetti

worldbank.org (2022) This research analyzes the evolution of maternity and paternity leave across the world, covering 190 countries over 52 years. The data show striking differences both within and between countries in how leave distribution for parents upon the birth of a child has evolved. The study finds that, across all regions, there have been notable increases in the number of leave days a mother can take. The absolute increase in the number of leave days for mothers has been greatest in Europe and Central Asia, followed by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development high-income economies. However, apart from the high-income economies, the number of leave days allocated to fathers has increased by only a fraction of the amount for mothers. An analysis of the correlations between relative leave allocation and women's labor market outcomes suggests that where the disparity in the allocation of leave days is greater, women's participation in the labor market may be lower. However, the study finds no evidence of any association between the gender gap in leave allocation and other labor market outcomes, including the gender wage gap and women's representation at the managerial level.

Family benefits
Next Generation government-to-person (G2P) Payments : Building Blocks of a Modern G2P Architecture pmassetti

worldbank.org (2022) As we move into an increasingly digital world, governments across the globe are leveraging new technologies to deliver services better, faster, and more transparently. Globally, over a quarter of adults are receiving payments from the government whether through public sector wages, pensions, sectoral subsidies, or social protection programs, an increase of 400 million from just four years earlier. The increasing scale of these government-to-person (G2P) payments offers a huge opportunity to advance financial inclusion, advance women’s economic empowerment, and promote the development of the digital ecosystem. This report is a reference document to be consulted by governments and those advising policy makers when considering, designing and implementing digital government-to-person (G2P) payments. It provides a framework for a modern G2P architecture which can support long-term development outcomes through the digitalization of G2P payments.

epayment E-services
Working Paper : Pension funds in sub-Saharan Africa pmassetti

wider.unu.edu (2022) The population structure the world over is going through a demographic shift, and the elderly proportion is projected to increase with population growth. This change is a matter of concern for sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, where the majority of the people are young and the rates of both population growth and unemployment are high. A good pension system provides elderly assistance and is a source of savings for long-term investment. The pension systems in SSA, however, are characterized by low coverage and participation rates, and they therefore fail to guarantee a basic income to the elderly. The contributory nature of most private pension schemes is also not favourable in SSA due to high levels of informality and low levels of income, which limit contributions, and because such schemes do not promote risk-sharing and redistribution. Pension reforms in regions such as Latin America have not been overly successful, and this offers lessons for SSA countries. The pension sector in SSA is characterized by low assets under management, investment in short-term assets (mainly government securities), low returns on investment, and restrictive regulatory frameworks. The way out for SSA is to move towards a targeted universal pension system financed through public resources; however, the shift to such a system should be gradual so as not to lead to fiscal strain.

Pensions Africa
Aging societies: How can we design societies that benefit older and younger people? pmassetti

eurekalert.org (07.12.2022)  The success of longevity interventions is putting countries on paths to becoming aging societies, in which the number of individuals aged 65 and older is equal to the number of people aged 15 and younger. This outcome may lead to resistance to investments in healthy longevity, according to aging experts, if concerns are raised that the needs of older individuals will overwhelm societies, exacerbate ageism, and divide populations. The National Academy of Medicine in the United States addressed this possibility as its first-ever Grand Challenge, and in June 2022 published the Global Roadmap for Healthy Longevity, developed by an independent and interdisciplinary global commission co-chaired by Linda P. Fried, MD, MPH, dean of Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and John Eu-Li Wong, Isabel Chan Professor in Medical Sciences and senior vice president of health innovation and translation at the National University of Singapore. A commentary in the Dec. 2, 2022  Nature Aging, by Dr. Fried, Dr. Wong, and Victor J. Dzau, MD, president of the National Academy of Medicine, reviews the findings and recommendations of the Global Roadmap.

Healthcare financing and social protection policies for migrant workers in Malaysia rruggia

plos.org (09.12.2022) For Malaysia, a nation highly dependent on migrant labour, the large non-citizen workforce presents a unique health system challenge. Although documented migrant workers are covered by mandatory healthcare insurance (SPIKPA), financial constraints remain a major barrier for non-citizen healthcare access. Malaysia recently extended protection for migrant workers under the national social security scheme (SOCSO), previously exclusive to citizens. This study aims to evaluate healthcare financing and social security policies for migrant workers to identify policy gaps and opportunities for intervention.

Health insurance, Migration malaysia
Reducing vulnerability to weather shocks through social protection – Evidence from the implementation of Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) in Ethiopia pmassetti

fao.org (2022) This paper uncovers the mechanisms shaping the impact of the public work component of the Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) on beneficiaries and communities’ food security and vulnerability to various shocks. From a policy perspective, the empirical findings recommend explicitly integrating environmental and climate considerations to design social protection programmes which target poor agricultural households highly vulnerable to weather shocks.

ethiopia
Germany prepares to reform all three pension system pillars pmassetti

ipe.com (15.11.2022) The German government is targeting a comprehensive reform of all the three pension system pillars during what it considers a turning point in history – Zeitwende – with high inflation, possible recession, changes in economic policies and demographic pressures.

Pensions germany
Social grants offer cash, but they aren't a magic bullet response to inequality in the Global South pmassetti

theconversation.com (16.10.2022) Over the last three decades, there has been a proliferation of social protection programs across the Global South in what some have dubbed a development revolution. International development agencies across the ideological spectrum have embraced social protection as an effective and efficient instrument to reduce poverty and inequality.

India: From digitisation to platformisation — how social protection schemes can be made more accessible pmassetti

theprint.in (31.11.2022) Social Protection Open Digital Ecosystems (SP-ODEs) can provide beneficiaries, government and service providers a unified, digital platform to better access welfare schemes.

Information and communication technology india