We need a change in paradigm

Roberto Bissio spoke on behalf of the GCSPF during the side event: “Global Partnership on Universal Social Protection: Ending Poverty by 2030” held on July 10th.

"Social Protection is a Human Right. Every right has a right holder and a duty bearer. We know who the right holders are: every human being, particularly those more in need of social protection: The right to be protected and cared is a right of children, the elderly, the sick, the people with disabilities.

But who is the duty bearer? Societies organize social protection in many different ways, but they all have in common the unwritten rule that says that caring for people is a responsibility of women. A sacred responsibility even. While no government is held liable for not providing social protection or essential services, women are judged to be sinful by omission, socially ostracized and even criminally prosecuted if they fail to properly care for family and community members.
The caring duties of women are fulfilled too often without any pay or recognition and when paid the task to care for the people we most love such as our children and parents barely deserves a minimum salary and most often than not without any form of contract or the formal protection of social security.

We need more resources, yes. We need to collect taxes and to build capacity, but we also need a change in paradigm, towards a caring system that orients and coordinates the programs of education, health and social development, starting with a recognition of the right to be cared and the duties of the state in that regard."

“Global Partnership on Universal Social Protection: Ending Poverty by 2030”
On Monday, 10 July, 1:15-2:30 pm in the ECOSOC Chamber. Organized by Finland, Malawi, the ILO and the World Bank and co-sponsored by the Social Protection Inter-Agency Cooperation Board (SPIAC-B), and the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF).
The preliminary agenda combines two elements (1) the Global Partnership on USP 2030 and (2) financing social protection.
Download the invitation here, the programme here, and Mr. Bissio's statement here (pdf version).
The video of the side event is available  here and the video of Mr. Bissio's intervention here.

Gala Díaz Langou spoke on behalf of the GCSPF during the side event: "Universal Social Protection: End poverty and reduce inequality" that was held during the High-level Political Forum 2017. "All children have the right to achieve the full development of their capabilities and potentialities; yet in Argentina, in spite of significant progress, the rights of children are still being undermined. The current state of affairs reveals that during the last decade Argentina has experienced an ‘infantilisation’ of poverty, as in spite of a decline, over 44% of children live in poverty. In addition, malnutrition has increasingly become a concern for public health, due to unhealthy and nutrientdeficient diets, and it is more prevalent in the most vulnerable sectors of society.

Moreover, in Argentina, the State provides universal healthcare and there is a high share of the population that resorts to alternative healthcare providers. Nonetheless, maternal and infant mortality are still pending matters of attention, access to sexual and reproductive health services is not guaranteed, and the adolescent fertility rate remains high.

It is also worth noting that female poverty is the counterpart of the infantilisation of poverty. The households with more children are also proportionately more feminine. One of the reasons for this is the unequal distribution of upbringing and care between genders. This also impacts on women having fewer possibilities of accessing and staying in the labour market, which impedes poverty alleviation.

What this reveals is that social protection floors are not guaranteed for all. One of the main obstacles for this is the lack of follow-up, monitoring and evaluation in policy implementation. The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, to which Argentina subscribed in 2015, are a unique opportunity for advancement."

“Universal Social Protection:  End poverty and reduce inequality”
On Tuesday, 18^th July, from 18:15 – 19:45 at the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United. Organized by the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) and the Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations.
Download the invitation, the concept note, the agenda and the statements. See also HLPF: Universal Social Protection: End poverty and reduce inequality.

Mr. Reinhard Krapp, Minister and Head of Economics Department, Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations
Dr. Ingolf Dietrich, Director, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
Vinicius Pinheiro, Director, International Labour Organization (ILO)
Dr. Gala Diaz, Director of Social Protection Program at CIPPEC Argentina/Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors
See also "Sustainable Development Goals and Early Childhood in Argentina: Gaps and priority actions to leave no one behind", Díaz Langou and Caro Sachetti, CIPPEC, July 2017.
Mr. Adolfo Ayuso, General Director of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Office of the President of Mexico