Sustainable development and Universal Social Protection
A side-event at HLPF 2026
On Tuesday, July 7, 2026, as part of the United Nation’s 2026 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), the official online side event on “Transforming sustainable growth through the lens of people-centred investment with Universal Social Protection” brought together government officials, UN experts, trade unions and civil society to make the case that universal social protection (USP) is a central pillar — not a side issue — of sustainable development. The event was jointly organized by the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF), Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), Make Mothers Matter, End Austerity Campaign, Global Social Justice and USP2030, and moderated by Roberto Bissio (Coordinator, End Austerity Campaign - EAC).
The discussion was framed around a stark figure: more than half the world's population has no access to any form of social protection.
Highlights from the discussion
Peter Ombasa (Assistant Director Children's Service, Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, State Department of Social Protection and Senior Citizen Affairs - National Social Protection Secretariat (NSPS), Kenya) shared national data — roughly 7% of Kenyans in extreme poverty, ~55% child poverty — and described Kenya's three-pillar system (social assistance, pensions, social care), including a universal old-age pension recently expanded by law and shock-responsive programs for a country where half the land is drought-prone. He called for stronger legal frameworks, shared data systems, and coverage for the 80%+ of workers in the informal economy.
Pak Maliki (, Deputy Minister for Community Empowerment, Population, and Labor Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), Indonesia) outlined how social protection is embedded in national plans through 2029 and Indonesia's 2045 vision, envisaging poverty eradication by that date, the centenary of independence. Nevertheless, fiscal constraints challenge the governmental ability to properly implement all social protection programs. He highlighted an integrated socioeconomic registry, and blended financing tools including Islamic social finance (zakat, waqf) and catastrophe bonds.
Shahra Razavi (Director, Universal Social Protection Department, International Labour Organization - ILO) argued USP shifts policy from remedying poverty to preventing it, from fragmented safety nets to rights-based systems, and from siloed policy to coordination with macroeconomic policy. She cited ILO data that 3.8 billion people globally have zero social protection and noted that a universal maternity benefit for Africa's uncovered mothers would cost only about 0.3% of GDP a year — far less than commonly assumed.
Olivier De Schutter (UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty 2020-2026) presented a "roadmap for eradicating poverty beyond growth," built with roughly 400 contributors. De Schutter noted that between 2000–2024, the richest 1% captured 41% of new global wealth versus just 1% for the poorest half, and proposed financing USP through wealth and inheritance tax reform, treating social spending as long-term investment, and steering monetary policy toward social and ecological goals. He also flagged that $423 billion/year in fossil fuel subsidies exist globally, nearly half benefiting the richest fifth of the population.
Baba Aye (Public Services International) stressed that social protection floors must not become ceilings, pointing to the rise of extreme wealth concentration alongside an estimated two-thirds of a trillion dollars lost annually to tax havens. Aye cited over 800 cases of remunicipalized water and energy services worldwide (Paris, Jakarta, Hamburg) as proof public delivery can work, and called for mobilization, not just policy engagement.
Susana Muñiz (Director, National Care Secretariat, Uruguay) opened the second panel by presenting Uruguay's National Integrated Care System, created by law in 2015 to establish care as a right grounded in principles of social and gender co-responsibility, personal autonomy and equity. Dr. Muñiznoted Uruguay is among the most rapidly aging countries in Latin America, driving growing demand for care services, and that the burden of unpaid or underpaid care work falls disproportionately on women — pushing many out of the labor market and deepening poverty in female-headed households, with a measurable cost to national GDP. She described the system's multi-institutional governance (spanning several ministries, local governments and a citizen advisory committee) and Uruguay's current work, under its third National Care Plan, on professionalizing caregivers, expanding community-based and technology-assisted care options, and — critically — building a more sustainable, diversified financing model beyond the current mix of public budget, social security and household contributions.
Beatrice Di Padua (International Trade Union Confederation - ITUC) linked USP to the just transition, noting social protection coverage in climate-vulnerable countries averages less than 9%, while an extra 1% of GDP invested in social protection can generate returns approaching double that. Robust systems could cut climate-driven poverty from ~100 million to 20 million people by 2030, per ILO estimates.
Isabel Ortiz (Director, Global Social Justice) presented data showing most countries are currently pursuing austerity, disproportionately cutting programs that matter to women and working families. Ortiz detailed nine financing alternatives already used worldwide and endorsed by international financial institutions — from wealth and windfall-profit taxes to fighting illicit financial flows and debt restructuring — insisting these choices should be made through open national dialogue, not behind closed doors.
Aditi Anand (National Campaign Coordinator of Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, GCAP India) described work with India's denotified nomadic communities, still largely uncounted despite comprising an estimated 10% of the population; a household survey found 74% of adults had never attended school. Anand argued USP must combine universality with targeted support for those furthest behind.
Closing the session, Bissio noted that political will for progressive reform isn't automatic — it is built through civil society mobilization, protest, elections, media and academic work together.
