afro.who (26.10.2017) With Africa currently undergoing a digital revolution, the World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) today signed a Cooperation Agreement in Geneva, on using digital services to save lives and improve people’s health.

Le Monde (31.11.2017) Après quatre jours de débats, le projet de loi de financement de la Sécurité sociale pour 2018 devait être adopté, mardi, par un vote solennel des députés.  Après quatre jours de débats parfois houleux, le projet de loi de financement de la Sécurité sociale (PLFSS) pour 2018 devait être adopté, mardi 31 octobre, par un vote solennel de l’Assemblée nationale. Ce premier et copieux PLFSS du quinquennat d’Emmanuel Macron acte de profonds changements du système de protection sociale français.

Lexology 30.10.2017)  Healthcare technology is at a pivotal moment in its development. The healthcare industry is primed to take advantage of the innovative tools that technology can provide and governments are positive as to the potential healthcare cost savings that are expected to follow. Regulators around the world are increasingly starting to acknowledge that conventional approaches to regulation may act as an impediment to digital innovation in healthcare and are looking to modernise health regulation. But we are still a long way off an environment where regulation has caught up with technology.

Lexology (30.10.2017) Healthcare technology is at a pivotal moment in its development. The healthcare industry is primed to take advantage of the innovative tools that technology can provide and governments are positive as to the potential healthcare cost savings that are expected to follow. Regulators around the world are increasingly starting to acknowledge that conventional approaches to regulation may act as an impediment to digital innovation in healthcare and are looking to modernise health regulation. But we are still a long way off an environment where regulation has caught up with technology.

HuffPost (30.10.2017) Egypt is about to offer all of its citizens health insurance for the first time in the North African country’s history. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail approved on Wednesday a new comprehensive health insurance bill after meeting with the Minister of Health, Ahmed Emad, to review final details of the law. The new health care program will cost L.E. 140 billion Egyptian pounds ($8 billion) and will be implemented gradually across the country between 2018 and 2032, starting with the cities of Port Said and Suez, and ending with expansion to Cairo and Giza. Subscription to the universal policy will be mandatory and will cost each citizen, depending on income, between 1,300 pounds ($74) and 4,000 ($227) pounds annually. The government has committed to providing the policy free of charge to those citizens who cannot afford it— an estimated 23.7 million Egyptians (approximately 25% of the population).

Observer (30.10.2017) The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has won the 2017 International Social Security Association (ISSA) Good Practice Award and Financial Literacy initiative.

Infomédiaire (26.10.2017) Une pléiade de pays africains sont intéressés par l’expérience et l’expertise avant-gardistes marocaines en matière de sécurité sociale et ses outils de gestion, a affirmé le DG de la Caisse Nationale de la Sécurité Sociale (CNSS), Said Ahmidouch.

ILO (24.10.2017) Representatives of more than a dozen multinational enterprises met in Geneva to highlight the importance of investment in social protection floors for growth in emerging markets.

OIT (19.10.2017) En un nuevo informe conjunto, CEPAL y OIT indican que en el contexto de un bajo crecimiento económico regional las condiciones laborales se deterioraron, aunque existen algunos signos de recuperación.

AVERT (26.10.2017)  E-health can play an important role in making services more accessible and person-centred, as well as improving the operations and financial efficiency of health systems.

• Unequal access to technology means not everyone can benefit from e-health initiatives, so addressing its limitations is also important.
• E-health interventions can benefit clinicians, enabling them to reach key populations and improving the exchange of information between health service providers.
• User-involvement is key for successful implementation of technology and e-health-related HIV programmes

Le Temps (26.10.2017) La Suisse doit faire face aux effets des progrès de la médecine et du vieillissement de la population sur ses assurances sociales. Pour notre chroniqueur David Hiler, il faut augmenter la part du financement public

euractiv.com (14.09.2017) European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker wants to set up a new EU institution to monitor how labour law is applied in member states. The Commission will outline its plans for the supervisory authority by the end of 2018.

europa.eu (06.10.2017) This marks a new political commitment at EU level on significant priorities towards ensuring high quality, user-centric digital public services for citizens and seamless cross-border public services for businesses.

euractiv.com (24.10.2017) After lengthy negotiations, EU member states found a compromise on Monday (23 October) on the reform of posted workers, one of the pivotal issues for the EU reform pushed by Emmanuel Macron. 

diode.network  (12.09.2017) Policy makers in the Global South have discovered digital labour platforms (e.g. Upwork, Freelancer) as a potential source for employment.

The ongoing digital transformation of economies and societies holds many promises to spur innovation, generate efficiencies, and improve services, and in doing so boost more inclusive and sustainable growth as well as enhance well-being. But these benefits go hand-in-hand with disruptions. Our interactions with one another and with society more broadly are being transformed, as are the nature and structure of organisations and markets, raising important issues around jobs and skills, privacy, security, and how to ensure that technological changes benefit society as a whole, among others.

Some countries and some groups are better placed than others to harness the benefits of digital transformation. To bring about stronger and more inclusive growth from the digital revolution, it is essential to build a coherent and comprehensive policy approach. This is the essence of the OECD's Going Digital project.

The digital transformation is affecting all areas of government policy making This page presents OECD work on digital issues in many of these areas. Yet the essence of the Going Digital project is to foster new cross-cutting thinking and a whole-of-government approach that the digital age requires, where silos are broken down to enable more effective policy making. 

To this end, the project will leverage the latest evidence and data across domains within a new framework for policies towards the digital transformation.

Globalisation, technological progress and demographic change are having a profound impact on OECD labour markets, affecting both the quantity and quality of jobs that are available, as well as how and by whom they are carried out. The future of work offers unparalleled opportunities, but there are also significant challenges associated with these mega-trends.

While it is difficult (if not counter-productive) to try and plan in detail for the potential changes that might affect the world of work in years to come, it is important that policy makers strengthen the resilience and adaptability of labour markets so that workers and countries can manage the transition with the least possible disruption, while maximising the potential benefits.

Against this backdrop, the OECD Future of Work initiative looks at how demographic change, globalisation and technological progress are affecting job quantity and quality, as well as labour market inclusiveness - and what this means for labour market, skills and social policy. 

oecd.org (24.10.2017 ) The world is moving so fast that tomorrow seems like yesterday. Nowhere are the changes coming faster than in the science of artificial intelligence. Applications that sounded like science fiction only a decade ago are now part of our daily lives. Douglas Frantz, Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD discusses the potential of Artificial Intelligence ahead of the OECD conference “AI: Intelligent Machines, Smart Policies”.

SunStar 25.10.2017)  The Employees Compensation Commission (ECC) is stepping up its efforts to increase awareness on the programs and services it provides by utilizing an online application as platform to reach more potential recipients.

Moneycontrol.com (25.10.2017) The index measuring 30 countries and covering 60 percent of the world’s population, has urged countries with unsustainable pension systems to take action now

EurActiv (24.10.2017) Au travail, les inégalités entre les femmes et les hommes persistent en Europe, d’après une étude Insee Eurostat  Si les femmes sont plus diplômées que les hommes dans la majorité des pays européens, elles gagnent encore beaucoup moins que leurs collègues masculins et sont plus durement touchées par le chômage.

Bloomberg (23.10.2017) U.S. life expectancy is declining, new calculations show. The U.S. retirement age is rising, as the government pushes it higher and workers stay in careers longer.