worldbank.org (24.08.2018) The changing nature of work is upending traditional employment. But as the gig economy, part-time jobs, contracts and other diverse and fluid forms of employment grow, what happens to the protections the traditional job market offered to people and workers?

Youth labour has been an increasing issue worldwide, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

fareasternagriculture.com (06.09.2018) Three ASEAN sectoral bodies – social welfare development, disaster management and health, together with Specialised Agencies of the United Nations, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), other partners and civil society groups have announced the planned development of ASEAN Guidelines on Disaster Responsive Social Protection

G20 Argentina (07.10.2018) The G20 Employment Ministerial Meeting in Mendoza ended this afternoon with a joint declaration that calls for “an inclusive, fair and sustainable future of work.” It includes recommendations for addressing the gender gap, as well as the obstacles faced by people with disabilities and the employment situation of young people, among other issues.  

Business Standard News (07.09.2018) Labour Minister Santosh Kumar Gangwar stressed on signing of social security agreements among G-20 countries at the meeting of labour and employment ministers of the grouping held in Argentina

The Economist (26.04.2018)  If universal health care is to become ubiquitous, politicians will have to act more boldly

UN News (04.09.2018) The rise of frontier technologies like Artificial Intelligence has caused fears of robots taking over blue-collar jobs, but a United Nations expert says humans still have the upper hand given their creativity and ability to form relationships.   

euractiv.com (03.07.2018) Self-employment is becoming more diversified in Europe and covers an increasing number of activities. But this small revolution raises issues when it comes to social protection.

Euro.WHO (August 2018) The underlying principles and goals of the Spanish national health system continue to focus on universality, free access, equity and fairness of financing. The evolution of performance measures over the last decade shows the resilience of the health system to macroeconomic conditions, although some structural reforms may be required to improve chronic-care management and the reallocation of resources to high-value interventions.

modernghana.com (22.08.2018) It is the first time in the history of humanity where all five generations are living together. This is good news, however, it comes with its own challenges. One such challenge is the provision of social security for the citizenry. This article looks at three megatrends (demography, globalization and technology) - that will have an impact on pension provision in the future.

Business Mirror (21.08.2018) If Asian countries fail to adopt innovative employment and social protection measures, many citizens won’t be able to afford retirement, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

El Pa ís (22.08.2018) En España hay 1,2 millones de personas dependientes y, de ellas, el 26% se encuentra a la espera de recibir las prestaciones a las que tienen derecho, y que, en el mejor de los casos, solo cubren unas horas de atención al día. La crisis y la falta de recursos económicos de la Administración fuerzan a que las familias hagan números para cubrir los gastos.

The Guardian (20.08.2018) Drivers and couriers for companies like Uber and Amazon may be at a higher risk of crashing because of the demands of gig economy work, a new study suggests.

The Straits Times (20.08.2018) The number of noise-induced deafness cases in the workplace has plunged in the first half of 2018, a change that will help retain workers, especially the good ones, said some analysts. Overall, the picture is also brightening, according to the Manpower Ministry's preliminary figures on workplace safety for the first half of this year, which were released on Monday (Aug 20).

TDG (20.08.2018) L’étude publiée ce lundi vivifiera les discussions à la commission du Conseil des États, à propos de l’initiative qui réclame quatre semaines de congé paternité. Se basant sur de récentes recherches, la COFF (Commission fédérale de coordination pour les questions familiales) propose dans son étude 38 semaines de congé parental, soit plus de 9 mois. Avec ce modèle de congé parental très généreux, la COFF vient mettre du sel dans le débat, alors que les partis y vont tous de leurs propositions

The Guardian (17.07.2018) The government will push ahead with the expansion of its cashless welfare card trials, despite the auditor general finding it was unclear whether the program was actually reducing social harm.

mercatornet (18.08.2018) A few weeks ago we blogged about the Russian government’s proposed changes to their national pension scheme. The upshot was that the age of entitlement was going to be raised and many people weren’t happy about having to wait longer until they can take their government money. The government’s defence was that people are living longer now than they were when the current pension ages (55 for women and 60 for men) were introduced over thirty years ago.

blogs.worldbank.org (13.07.2018) Technology and what it will do to change how we work is the driving obsession of the moment. The truth is that nobody knows for sure what will happen – the only certainty is uncertainty. How then should we plan for the jobs that don’t yet exist?

ILO (14.08.2018) Ghana’s National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) has an ambitious goal: to achieve universal health coverage. However, the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) realized that its membership had plateaued at about 40 per cent of the population a few years ago and has remained unchanged to date. In addition, the NHIS, like many national health schemes, faces financial challenges, with a limited ability to raise additional funding through taxation or other revenue sources. All money flowing through the NHIA for claims or operations must therefore be wisely spent.

Euro WHO (August 2018) This analysis of the Estonian health system reviews recent developments in organization and governance, health financing, health-care provision, health reforms and health system performance. In 2017, the Estonian government took the historic step of expanding the revenue base of the health system, which has been a longstanding challenge. However, in terms of percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) it remains a small increase and long-term financial sustainability could still pose a problem.

Lusaka Times (15.08.2018) Government has revealed that strides in bridging the gap between the rich and the poor in society through the successful implementation of Social protection programmes have so far yielded positive results.

Nouvel Obs (03.08.2018) Le dossier s'annonce déjà explosif pour le gouvernement. Un rapport confidentiel, que "le Monde" s'est procuré, montre que le regroupement des "prestations de solidarité" dans une allocation sociale unique (ASU) pourrait faire plus de "perdants" que de "gagnants". Un constat qui ne devrait pas rassurer les milliers de ménages situés en bas de l'échelle des revenus. Inquiètes, les associations luttant contre l'exclusion avaient déjà condamné, début juillet, le report de la présentation du plan pauvreté à la rentrée prochaine.

Information de Lome (15.08.2018)  Au cours d’une cérémonie qui a eu lieu à Lomé, l’Institut nationale d’assurance maladie (INAM) a accepté de prendre désormais en compte 2 208 volontaires répartis sur  l’ensemble du territoire national de même que  leurs ayants-droits. Une convention portant sur le programme de couverture sociale a été scellée entre le directeur général de l’ANVT (Agence nationale du volontariat au Togo), Omar Agbangba et la directrice de l’INAM, Myriam Dossou. La cérémonie a été présidée par la ministre du développement à la base, Victoire Tomégah-Dogbé.

Europa (14.08.2018) The European Platform for Investing in Children (EPIC) has published its annual thematic report. The report outlines changes and new developments during the past year in the area of child and family policies across the EU Member States.