china.org.cn (30.09.2021) The number of people of retirement age in Germany will rise by 22 percent by 2035, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Thursday. The number of people aged 67 or over in the country will go up to 20 million, a 22 percent increase from 2020, the first medium-term population projection conducted by Destatis showed. The head of the Federal Employment Agency, Detlef Scheele, was quoted in the media as saying in August that Germany needed 400,000 new workers per year to replenish its labor force. The aging population was the main reason behind the shortage of workers, Scheele said.

pensionpolicyinternational.com ( (01.10.2020) Mr Alhassan Yakubu Fuseini, the Tamale Zonal Manager of the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA), says the Authority plans to rope in 11 million workers in the formal sector onto pension schemes. He said as the NPRA works to achieve its target, it would also ensure that coverage for the informal sector was increased from the current three per cent to 40 per cent by 2026.

Al Sistema Nacional de Cuidados le competen:

• Aumentar la cobertura y elevar la calidad de los servicios de cuidado para la primera infancia, que estimulen el desarrollo de niños y niñas, faciliten su acceso a la educación y brinden a los hogares una alternativa corresponsable de cuidados.

• Mejorar la atención de las personas mayores y las personas con discapacidad que se encuentran en situación de dependencia mediante el desarrollo de estrategias corresponsables de cuidado que se adecuen a las necesidades y capacidades de las personas y los hogares. Fortalecer las capacidades institucionales y su mejora continua.

• Construir un marco legal que a partir de la articulación de las disposiciones legales existentes y nuevas que se generen se reconozca el derecho a cuidar y ser cuidado en condiciones de calidad a aquellas personas en situación de dependencia, con independencia del tipo de prestador.

• Desarrollar una oferta de formación para el trabajo en cuidados que permita aumentar la cobertura y elevar la calidad de los servicios para la población en situación de dependencia, en marco de una estrategia que permita la construcción de trayectorias educativas y laborales de quienes se desempeñan en el sector.

• Producir y gestionar información oportuna y pertinente sobre los diferentes sujetos de la política, las prestaciones y servicios de Sistema de Cuidados, para la toma de decisiones y el cumplimiento de los objetivos.

• Generalizar el reconocimiento público del derecho a los cuidados -como nueva conquista de la agenda de derechos- a través de una estrategia comunicacional que contribuya a la transformación cultural necesaria para un mayor compromiso en la responsabilidad compartida entre varones y mujeres respecto a  los cuidados.

tribune.com.pk (19.09.2021) Taking a lead on universal social protection, the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations convened the first meeting of the Group of Friends on Social Protection along with Turkey, Nigeria and Costa Rica.

brookings.edu (24.09.2021) With COVID-19’s disruptions in employment, child care, and education, it is unsurprising that child poverty substantially increased in 2020—roughly 1.2 million more children were living in poverty in 2020 when compared to 2019 (an increase from 15.7% to 17.5%). As child poverty is unequally distributed in America, so too were its increases—poverty rates grew the most among Latino children (4.2 percentage points), Black children (2.8 percentage points), and children from female-headed families (4.1 percentage points), while they remained flat for white and Asian children.

calpnetwork.org (10.03. 2021) Challenges due to the pandemic have led to all kinds of innovations and adaptations focused on remote targeting, enrolment, verification and delivery. While required for the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, these new approaches might be useful in future responses that require remote targeting and delivery, such as in fragile contexts.
This case study explores digital remote targeting approaches that GiveDirectly is using for cash assistance, and ways that the organization is addressing data responsibility. Early results indicate that the approach they have taken has been effective at quickly delivering COVID-19-related cash transfers to a large number of individuals living in extreme poverty in record time. 

European Commission (07.09.2021) This ESPN report examines the (sub)national social protection and inclusion policy measures that European countries put in place to help address the social and financial distress created by the pandemic and by lockdown policies. It covers the 27 EU Member States, the 7 candidate and potential candidate countries, and the UK. The report provides a description and assessment of the main measures implemented, an initial estimate of the overall expenditure on crisis measures as well as an analysis of the demographic, economic and social impact of the pandemic in the 35 countries covered. It reveals an overall rapid reaction through the introduction of (mostly) temporary measures - primarily relaxing eligibility conditions, increasing benefit levels and creating new ad hoc social and job protection schemes.

brookings.edu (08.09.2021)  As COVID-19 spread across the world, governments responded with an unprecedented increase in social assistance measures. Policymakers had to shift their focus to urban areas, particularly slums, whose residents were hit the hardest by the pandemic and its economic impact. Social safety nets, traditionally targeting chronic poverty in rural areas, had to be reinvented overnight: The new objective was to prevent informal workers affected by lockdowns from falling back into poverty. Exciting innovations in the design and delivery of social transfers followed, with emerging lessons informing us, as the world continues battling the pandemic.

bmchealthservres.biomedcentral.com (27.08.2021) Cash transfer program during pandemics provide a social protection mechanism to improve the health of the most vulnerable households. This article analysis the impact of cash transfers on household demand for health care during Covid-19.

Authors:

• Thomas Hadjistavropoulos, University of Regina
• Gregory Marchildon, University of Toronto
• Perry G Fine, University of Utah
• Keela Herr, University of Iowa
• Howard A. Palley, University of Maryland, Baltimore
• Sharon Kaasalainen, McMaster University
• Francois Beland, Université de Montréal
   

Abstract.

The undertreatment of pain in older adults who reside in long-term care (LTC) facilities has been well documented, leading to clinical guideline development and professional educational programs designed to foster better pain assessment and management in this population. Despite these efforts, little improvement has occurred, and we postulate that focused attention to public policy and cost implications of systemic change is required to create positive pain-related outcomes. Our goal was to outline feasible and cost-effective clinical and public policy recommendations designed to address the undermanagement of pain in LTC facilities. We arranged a 2-day consensus meeting of prominent United States and Canadian pain and public policy experts. An initial document describing the problem of pain undermanagement in LTC was developed and circulated prior to the meeting. Participants were also asked to respond to a list of relevant questions before arriving. Following formal presentations of a variety of proposals and extensive discussion among clinicians and policy experts, a set of recommendations was developed. We outline key elements of a transformational model of pain management in LTC for the United States and Canada. Consistent with previously formulated clinical guidelines but with attention to readily implementable public policy change in both countries, this transformational model of LTC has important implications for LTC managers and policy makers as well as major quality of life implications for LTC residents.

El Sistema Nacional de Cuidados promueve la implementación de políticas públicas destinadas a atender las necesidades de personas mayores de 65 años en situación de dependencia, niños de 0 a 3 años y personas con discapacidad severa. Además, busca mejorar la vida de las personas dependientes a través de prestaciones de cuidados integrales; visualizar como responsabilidad de toda la sociedad el cuidado de las personas que no tienen autonomía; conciliar la vida laboral con la reproducción familiar; regular los servicios públicos y privados existentes; descentralizar los servicios adaptados a las necesidades de cada lugar mediante acuerdos con las intendencias y los municipios; valorizar y capacitar a los cuidadores, tanto a los que perciben una remuneración por su tarea como los que no. El sistema está integrado por los ministerios de Desarrollo Social, Educación y Cultura, Trabajo y Seguridad Social, Salud Pública, y Economía y Finanzas. También participa en su puesta en práctica la Oficina de Planeamiento y Presupuesto, la Administración Nacional de Educación Pública, el Banco de Previsión Social y el Instituto del Niño y el Adolescente del Uruguay. A su vez está conformado por la Junta Nacional de Cuidados, la Secretaría Nacional de Cuidados y el Comité Consultivo.

La construcción de sistemas integrales de cuidados es un factor fundamental para el logro del empoderamiento de las mujeres y la igualdad de género, y un elemento clave para la recuperación socioeconómica al convertirse en un generador directo e indirecto de empleo y un facilitador de que otros sectores de la economía funcionen adecuadamente. Por ello, ONU MUJERES y CEPAL llaman a los gobiernos de la región a colocar los cuidados en el centro de sus respuestas al COVID-19, creando paquetes de incentivos y recuperación, promoviendo sistemas integrales que aseguren el acceso al cuidado de las personas que lo requieren y garantizando los derechos a las personas que los brindan. Los sistemas integrales de cuidados pueden convertirse en un verdadero motor de una recuperación socioeconómica que no deje a nadie atrás. Este documento fundamenta la relevancia que tienen los cuidados para las sociedades, caracteriza la situación actual de los cuidados en América Latina y el Caribe y describe los impactos generados por la crisis del COVID-19, así como las medidas de contingencia que se vienen implementado en varios de los países de la región para hacer frente a la crisis, y concluye con una serie de recomendaciones de políticas para abordar la crisis de los cuidados como parte de la salida de la crisis del COVID-19.

globalcitizen.org (10.09.2021) As countries seek to contain COVID-19, a return to the way things were is not an option, according to Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. Instead, countries must guarantee basic living conditions. “We see that when social protection remains weak, the poorest pay the price,” De Schutter said. “Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic slowdown, an estimated 115 million additional people may have fallen into extreme poverty in 2020, and 35 million more may follow this year. “This could have been avoided with strong social protection mechanisms, which shows that if governments maintain low levels of social support, societies are not ready to cushion shocks,” he added. “They actually run into a stone wall.”  De Schutter recently spoke to Global Citizen about the global effort to achieve a “social protection floor,” what people get wrong about welfare, and how eliminating poverty helps all of us. 

Africa at LSE (01.09.2021) Across Africa, states have adapted or expanded social protection measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. These interventions provide valuable policy lessons and political opportunities to reimagine the social contract on the continent.

ILO 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed and exacerbated the social protection gap between countries with high and low income levels.

who.int (31.08.20121) Health technologies are essential for a functioning health system. The  response  to  the  global  COVID-19  pandemic  crisis  has  exacerbated  the  need  for  rapid  evidence based  assessments  of  innovative  health  technologies  to  ensure  safe  and  appropriate  use.  Thus,  the objectives of the 2021 compendium are to: 1.Select  innovative  technologies  that  can  have  an  immediate  or  future  impact  on  the  COVID-19 preparedness  and  response,  have  the  potential  to  improve  health  outcomes  and  quality  of life,  and/or  offer  a  solution  to  an  unmet  medical/health  technology  need  by  evaluating  their appropriateness, quality, and safety.  2.  Shed  light  on  advantages  and  challenges  associated  with  the  adoption  of  innovative  health technologies in low-resource settings. 3. Acknowledge some success stories  and,  at  the  same time,  raise  awareness  of  the  pressing  need  for appropriate and affordable solutions and encourage more innovative efforts in the field. 4. Encourage greater interaction among Ministries of Health, procurement offices, donors, technology  developers,  manufacturers,  clinicians,  academics  and  the  general  public  to  ensure greater  investment  in  appropriate  health  technology  and  a  move  toward  universal  access  to essential health technologies. 5.  Support informed procurement decisions by NGOs, governments, and other stakeholders.

Modern Diplomacy (31.08.01 ) As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to ripple across the world, they leave in their wake an upheaval touching all areas of public life. While all have been effected, no segment of the population has been impacted more, and in more varied ways, than women. The pandemic has shown scant regard for women’s socio-economic or marital status, for motherhood, occupation ethnicity or region of origin. Instead, it has brought into stark relief the fragility of global progress toward gender equality, illuminating the deep and ongoing imbalances in our political, social and economic systems and threatening what advances have been accomplished over the past few decades.

worldbank.org (01.05.2021) The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic is having devastating impacts on the economy and people of the Philippines, and since the onset of pandemic, the Government of the Philippines (GoP) has responded with strong social protection measures. The Social Amelioration Program (SAP) enacted under the Bayanihan To Heal as One Act in March 2020 and managed by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), aims to provide cash assistance to 18 million households (over 75 percent of total households) in the country. The first tranche of SAP (SAP 1), however, experienced significant delivery challenges. This experience led to several changes in the operation of the second tranche of SAP (SAP 2). This case study aims to document the lessons learned from the implementation of the SAP 2, specifically focusing on the digital G2P (government to persons) payment delivery.

 The New York Times (25.08.2021) Just $1.7 billion in funds intended to prevent eviction were disbursed in July as the White House braces for a Supreme Court decision that could strike down its eviction moratorium.

ideas.repec.org (2021) This paper examines North–South linkages in the politics of contemporary food assistance and social welfare, and in particular the normalisation of poverty and humanitarian crisis caused by increased digitalisation, privatisation and individualisation of aid or welfare. Migrants and displaced populations are considered as extreme cases and we examine how these policies and practices are leading to the growth of a global precariat who are constantly on the edge of survival (or death). We use Sudan, India and the UK as case-study countries which have seen persistently high levels of acute malnutrition or rising levels of hunger (as in the case of the UK), as well as the introduction of new digital welfare systems. Digital practices often aim to improve access to food and form a key part of humanitarian and welfare assistance, thereby creating digital welfare states

Forbes India (20.08.2021) Structural weaknesses in the jobs market, amplified by Covid-19, continue to quietly impact many, particularly women and younger workers. Creating sustainable, quality employment opportunities need urgent policy attention and reforms

BORGEN (14.08.2021) In an attempt to protect from economic disaster in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments enacted an unprecedented number of social protection programs. According to the World Bank, Social protection “traditionally consists of labor markets, pensions, social funds and ‘safety nets’.” Although developing countries introduced 1,300+ social protection and jobs programs related to COVID-19, the International Labor Organization (ILO) “estimates 255 million full-time equivalent” job losses in 2020.

notesfrompoland.com (17.08.2021) The Polish government has unveiled plans for a new child benefit scheme. It hopes that the policy will provide an “incentive to have more children”, who will “create the future of our nation”. Under the “Family Welfare Capital” scheme approved by the cabinet today, the state will from the start of next year pay families 12,000 zloty (€2,630) for each child after their firstborn between the age of 12 and 36 months. The benefit will be available to all families, regardless of income. The child’s parents can decide whether the total is paid out in monthly instalments of 1,000 zloty over one year or 500 zloty over two years, reports Wprost. Those who already have a child within the eligible age range when the scheme is introduced can receive payments until the child reaches 36 months.

thefinancialexpress.com.bd (10.08.2021) The Government of Bangladesh has allocated 17.83 per cent of the total budget for fiscal 2021-22 for Social Safety Net Programmes (SSNPs). The coverage is diverse; it includes programmes related to poverty eradication, education, health, infrastructure, disaster management, housing for the poor, amongst many. However, if we take out pensions and honorarium for the non-poor, educational stipends, agricultural subsidies and so on, the actual social safety net allocation comes down to 50 per cent.