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.

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.

CNBC (14.08.2018) According to new research from Charles Schwab, which surveyed 2,000 young Americans aged 16 to 25, a resounding 76 percent think they'll have a better financial future than their parents. And they expect to retire, on average, at age 60. That's "seven years earlier than full Social Security benefit eligibility for their age bracket," the report notes.

euro.who (August 018) Hospitals with greater autonomy are perceived to be more flexible in meeting the needs of the local population. However, there is a tension between the potential to improve responsiveness and flexibility via greater decentralization and the potential efficiency gains and geographical equity derived from centralization.