GCSPF e-Newsletter # 70 – June 2022

A position paper issued by the Jordan Labour Watch - JLW (affiliated with Phenix Center for Economic and Informatics Studies) has illustrated that there are still many gaps in occupational health and safety in Jordan.
The paper called for conducting a review of all policies regulating the occupational safety and health in the Kingdom, according to a Phenix Centre statement. The paper also emphasized the importance of occupational safety with regards to mental health for workers, and the need to guarantee minimum standards for mental health within labor laws.
The paper showed that many women in Jordan work for jobs that might jeopardise their safety, such as working in factories and the agricultural sectors, which do not provide all types of social protection to women and men. Read more

There is growing evidence that social protection is a powerful tool to promote women’s economic empowerment and that it reduces gender based violence. Depending on the design, social protection programs can either reinforce or transform stereotypical gender norms. Today, there are still far too many social protection programmes that do not take gender into account. The policy brief “Social Protection and Gender Equality” introduces social protection, describes why it is important for women and girls, refers to the Global Fund for Social Protection, and summarises the main evidence of the impact of social protection on gender equality. It ends with recommendations on how to develop gender responsive social protection systems. The policy brief was published by Act Church of Sweden and The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation in May 2022. Read more

The report - “A Glimmer of Hope amidst the Pain” - draws on the testimonials of older women and men sharing the severe hardships they face because of the lack of an adequate social protection system in Lebanon.
HelpAge International and the International Labor Organization (ILO) partnered to feature the voices of Lebanon’s older people as they are often left without income security.
Lebanon is the fastest ageing country in the Arab region and has the highest proportion of older people. Yet, there is no inclusive social protection for older people to guarantee a dignified life in older age. The report is available in Arabic and English. Read more

The Conference “Towards Universal Social Protecton by 2030 in Eastern Africa” sets the scene by highlighting the criticality of universal social protection as an end in itself – recognized as a human right – as well as a means to unleash the social and economic prosperity of nations, as also implicit in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
We will then explore the link between the global agenda and national efforts, discussing questions such as: What are common challenges to extending universal social protection in countries in Eastern Africa? To what extent can countries, within and beyond the region, learn from each other? And what is the role of an international partnership such as USP2030 in this respect?
14 JUNE 2022 from 14:00 to 16.00 EAT (UTC +3) - You can register here. Read more

By Shahra Razavi, Christina Behrendt, Valeria Nesterenko, Ian Orton, Celine Peyron Bista, Alvaro Ramos Chavez, Helmut Schwarzer, Maya Stern-Plaza and Veronika Wodsak | International Labour Organization (ILO)
The recently released World Bank publication, Revisiting Targeting, provides an excellent opportunity to explore some of the key policy issues. This comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic and other unfolding crises have made the case for universal social protection more compelling than ever before, putting the spotlight on the need to identify financing options for extending social protection, and in so doing help re-build the social contract. Read more

Amman-Jordan, Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) is a Jordanian NGO founded in 2008. Our programs aim to mobilize the untapped potential of our societies in the Arab region and outside to contribute positively to their journey towards the renaissance, by encouraging dialogue, research, education, training, youth empowerment, gender justice, social and economic development, in addition to the provision of relief, social protection services and direct legal assistance.
Working towards a renewed Renaissance in the Arab world finds its foundation in the values of AlNahda. Since appearing during AlNahda, the legacy of pluralism, intellectual curiosity, and humanism has been overshadowed by regional conflict, yet ARDD prioritizes these trends as the roots of democracy and development. These values are the building stone in all our programs: Gender Justice; Youth Enablemente and Education; Social Peace and Cohesion; Governance; Legal Aid and Justice Sector Development; Right to Information and Freedom of Speech; Forced Migration, Refugees & Shataat; Human & Economic Development; Relief and Recovery.
Contact: Mar Logrono, Ph.D., Senior Advisor Access to Justice and Inclusive Social Protection Read more

Veille Citoyenne Togo is an association created in September 2019, and declared and registered in Togo since 2020 and intervenes in the field of citizen control of public action through: the citizen watch by promoting transparency of the budgetary process both at the national and local levels; citizen control of the transparency of public contracts and delegations of public services; citizen control of the efficiency of public spending; the fight against corruption and impunity; the denunciation of cases of misappropriation and mismanagement of public resources; the constitution of a file to be a civil party in economic crimes; monitoring the implementation of the Integrated Monitoring and Evaluation Policy (PISE); and advocacy and lobbying for Togo's membership in the Open Government Partnership and the promotion of Open Data and Open Contracts.
Contact: Pidenam SAMA, President/Executive Director Read more