businesstech.co.za (04.01.2022) Social development minister Lindiwe Zulu says that introducing a new basic income grant in South Africa will likely be phased in over several years, with her department currently pushing for an extension of the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant as a baseline.

theguardian.com (11.01.2022) California is considering creating the first government-funded, universal healthcare system in the US for state residents. The proposal, which lawmakers will begin debating on Tuesday, would adopt a single-payer healthcare system that would replace the need for private insurance plans.

Innovations for Poverty Action (2022) Millions of informal sector workers in low- and middle-income countries are excluded from formal pension and social security systems, posing potential economic challenges for old age populations. Micropensions may help to address these challenges—but more information is needed about the demand for these products. In India, researchers conducted a survey examining the emerging micropensions market to better understand the behavioral, economic, and institutional factors that influence participation.

ilo.org (05.01.2022) Digital labour platforms are now a vital part of contemporary life—they allow us to arrange a ride, order food and access a host of other services online. They accomplish this by connecting clients or customers with workers who undertake these tasks or “gigs”. The past decade has seen the global rise of “gig workers” or “platform workers”, with platforms like Uber, Gojek, Deliveroo, Rappi, Upwork and Topcoder. Digital labour platforms have created unprecedented opportunities for workers, businesses and society by unleashing innovation on a massive global scale.

 JOGH (20.11.2021) While there is tremendous promise to leverage technology for UHC, it will require smart, context-specific policies and programming with ample flexibility to adapt as needs and opportunities change – and with robust safeguards to protect privacy, data security, and equity. The health sector, by its very nature of being data intensive, lends itself to the use of technology for analytics to improve health outcomes, respond to public health crises, and efficiently and equitably allocate resources.

| Asian Development Bank - This working paper applies the Social Protection Reform Simulation (SPRS20) costing model to analyze the costs associated with social protection in 30 Asia and Pacific countries against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Urban Institute (july 2021) In an earlier brief, we estimated that the American Rescue Plan Act, enacted in March 2021, would reduce the 2021 annual poverty rate to 8.7 percent (Wheaton et al. 2021). We now project a 2021 poverty rate of 7.7 percent for 2021.

indianexpress.com (23.12.2021) The emergency requirements dictated by the pandemic led the Supreme Court, in May 2021, to order a time-bound inclusive and universal registration system for informal workers and circular migrants. The e-Shram portal which has come into existence now is meant to fulfil this mandatory requirement.

atalayar.com (03.01.2022) This new plan will strengthen and develop several programmes in the areas of social assistance, improving governance, as well as launching new carve-outs that signify a reform of the targeting system. Also, this project aims to diversify and expand the support mechanisms for the most vulnerable groups of society, which in the case of retirees for example, will extend their health and retirement coverage. The government also plans to develop a system of compensation for those who have lost their jobs.  

icrw.org (2021) Uganda has a female labor force participation of 67 percent. While some efforts to advance social protection are being made, Uganda currently spends only about 3.5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) towards that end. Meanwhile, the National Employment Policy (2010) covers social security only for workers in the formal sector, leaving informal workers unsupported.