GCSPF e-Newsletter # 51 - April 2021

The video of the virtual event “International Solidarity to Support a Robust and Inclusive Recovery – A Global Social Protection Fund” is now online. The event was co-organized by the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors and the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and was held in the framework of the Spring Civil Society Policy Forum of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The video is available in English, Spanish and French.

The speakers at the event were: Cathy Feingold (International Director of the AFL-CIO and Deputy President of ITUC); Olivier de Schutter (UN Special Rapporteur for Extreme Poverty and Human Rights); Omar Faruk Osman (Secretary General of the Federation of Somali Trade Unions); Yolande Wright (Head of Child Poverty at Save the Children, GCSPF); Didier Jacobs (Senior Advisor at Oxfam) and Michal Rutkowski (Global Director for Social Protection and Jobs at the World Bank). Read more

By Markus Kaltenborn and Laura Kreft
For years, social experts have proposed the establishment of a Global Fund for Social Protection – an international institution to help low-income countries develop the capacity to finance a minimum level of social protection for their population. The debate is now gaining momentum. The article is published in D+C. Read the article here

Through this paper, Action Against Hunger (AAH) looks back on the importance of developing rights-based social protection systems, and on States‘ commitment through the adoption of the 202 ILO recommendation on social protection floors. The document highlights how the macroeconomic policies of international financial institutions, and the social protection programs they promote, have a negative impact on the realization of the right to social protection for all, and offers recommendations to reverse this paradigm.
The paper highlights the flaws of a targeted approach to social protection, which “have been found to have higher administrative costs than universal ones, and exclude many people who need, and have the right to, protection.”
The paper recommends a bolder approach to universal social protection and calls on governments, development partners – in particular, G20 States (with a particular focus on France), the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group – to make a major shift towards social justice, through the promotion of universal social protection floors. Read more

The need to rebuild the social organization of care has become more urgent during the covid-19 pandemic: women around the world have been forced to take on even more responsibility for the work of caring for their families, children, the elderly, the sick, people with disabilities etc. amidst the confinement measures needed to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus.
How to set this reconstruction in motion was the focal point of the webinar “Beijing+25 and the future of care” held on March 30 as a side event to the Generation Equality Forum (GEF) organized by UN Women. The presentations all confirmed that it is only through a comprehensive economic and political perspective that changes the current economic model and strengthens public care services financed by the adoption of fair and progressive tax systems that fundamental change will be possible. Only in this way we can achieve adequate remuneration for workers in this largely female sector and reduce the burden of unpaid care work of women.
The event was organized by Public Services International (PSI) in alliance with the Center for Economic and Social Rights, Dawn - Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era, Womankind Worldwide, Global Alliance for Tax Justice, ActionAid, and Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Participants debated the issue of care in the context of progress and setbacks in the implementation of public policies for women and girls in line with the objectives of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Read more

WSM publishes a handbook to share reflections and good practices on gender equality on four continents, in four languages (FR, NL, EN, ES). Mixing theory and practices, it aims to encourage organizations to make a concrete commitment towards greater gender equality.
Gender equality means equal rights and equal opportunities between men and women. Equality between men and women is essential to ensure the sustainability and inclusiveness of development. It is an essential principle that is, however, rarely applied.
Designed both to raise awareness and to capitalize on experiences, this “roadmap” is also a tool in which we set out our vision and strategy on gender equality in a very accessible way. Read more

The UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, is launching a long-term video project to support the campaign for global social protection.
You can take part by pressing the record button of your camera/phone (horizontal/landscape format) and by responding to the question: “Why does social protection matters to me/to us, in our specific situation”. Be as concrete as possible, based on your job, your family situation, etc. Feel free to also ask the following question: “How does the absence of social protection affect my life”.
Please send them your video by WeTransfer or other big files transfer system (max 2 minutes). The videos will be regularly posted on a YouTube channel and on www.srpoverty.org. Deadline to share your video is April 20th.
To send your videos and for any additional information or suggestion, please contact them at projects@srpoverty.org Read more

The video and the notes of the virtual side event “Building Roofs and Raising Floors Through Inclusive Digital Technologies and A Global Fund for Social Protection”, co-organized by the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) and Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), are now online.

High level speakers from Governments, United Nations, civil society and academia tackled the diverse and interconnecting perspectives on social protection and homelessness, how digital technology can extend social protection floors to those who are living without roofs and the value and urgency of the Global Fund for Social Protection to deliver to all the right to social protection. The side event took place at the UN Commission for Social Development 2021 (CSocD59) and was held on Friday 12 February, 2021. Read more.

The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors, in partnership with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), is pleased to invite you to the event “International Solidarity to Support a Robust and Inclusive Recovery – A Global Social Protection Fund” that will be held in the framework of the Spring Civil Society Policy Forum of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The event will take place on Thursday 25 March 2021, 10:00 – 11:30 hs (Washington D.C. time). Read more

The Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors calls on the G20 to launch an initiative to establish a Global Fund for Social Protection. This year’s G20 is a critical opportunity for the world’s largest economies to come together and coordinate a response to overcome the consequences of the pandemic as such an act of international solidarity would unite the world on the path towards an equitable recovery from this pandemic. An advocacy letter was sent to members of the Employment Working Group that had two meetings in February. The letter calls for a Global Fund for Social Protection that would provide technical assistance for governments to offer a set of benefits that would guarantee a minimum income security for all over the life cycle. Read more

The Covid-19 pandemic has brutally exposed the fault lines of the global divide between those that have universal social protection, including health and income support, and those that don’t.
The world could fund the establishment of social protection systems or help bridge funding gaps with a clear path for sustainability.
The ITUC supports the idea of a global fund for social protection, which could help to bridge financing gaps for social protection for the world’s poorest countries, who lack sufficient fiscal space to build up social protection floors in the short-term on their own. It could also be accompanied by technical support to support States build up their capacity to finance social protection over the medium-long term. Financing a Global Social Protection Fund is an act of solidarity that can be realised. Read more

The blog by Michael Cichon highlights that “the COVID crisis is an opportunity to make the recognition of the role of social protection more permanent, and there is an almost unique opportunity to achieve this. This June it will be 10 years since the ILO’s 100th International Labour Conference (ILC) held a general discussion on social security. Still, under the dark shadow of the Global Financial Crisis, the 100th ILC in 2011 decided to request the ILO to develop a Recommendation on Social Protection Floors (SPFs). Just a year later Recommendation R. 202 concerning national floors of social protection was unanimously adopted by tripartite delegations from all 187 ILO member states (except for Panama, who abstained). The concept of the social protection floor originated from the work of a Joint UN Crisis Initiative that the ILO and WHO co-chaired since 2009. This June, the 110th ILC will review the ILO’s work on social protection in another general discussion. This is the time when the international community should commission the development of a stronger instrument of international law on universal social protection.” Read more

Unprecedented global working-hour losses in 2020. In terms of the pandemic’s overall impact in 2020, the new ILO annual estimates confirm that it caused massive disruptions in the world of work. In 2020, 8.8 per cent of global working hours were lost relative to the fourth quarter of 2019, equivalent to 255 million full-time jobs (assuming a 48 hour working week). These losses were global and unprecedented.
While the disruption was global, there was substantial variation between regions. The labour market disruption in 2020 far exceeded the impact of the global financial crisis of 2009. The effect of the COVID-19 shock on global working hours has therefore been approximately four times greater than that of the global financial crisis. Read more

The 59th session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD59) will address the Priority Theme “Socially just transition towards sustainable development: the role of digital technologies on social development and well-being of all”. The CSocD59 will take place from 8th to 17th February 2021 in an hybrid (in-person and digital) format.

The list of side events is here. Side events organized by members of the GCSPF are listed below.
Read the information of the virtual side event “Building Roofs and Raising Floors Through Inclusive Digital Technologies and A Global Fund for Social Protection”, co-organized by the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF) and Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP).

The NGO Committee for Social Development that follows and echoes the work of the UN Commission for Social Development, amplifying the many voices that are left behind and highlighting local examples of resilience, solidarity and hope moving forward communities in spite of the systemic obstacles they face everyday. Click here to read and sign the Civil Society Declaration.

The NGO Committee will hold a 5-days Virtual Civil Society Forum (CSF 2021) that will include an all virtual Orientation and Networking event, three Thematic Sessions and a Closing Session. Please register separately for each event of the CSF 2021.

Migration and displacement in practice and purpose are a depiction of transition. Heavily influenced by digital technology, in the modern world ensuring this experience is not plagued with cross-cutting issues such as forced displacement, climate change and inequalities is integral, if we as a global community are to build a just, sustainable future. This event, organized by UNANIMA International, will not only holistically explore and address the Commission's theme in the context of migration and displacement but will also provide concrete links between the priority theme of CSocD59 and its past priority themes, particularly that of CSocD58, which was focused on social protection floors and homelessness. The dialogue will give an opportunity for members of the panel to discuss drivers, outcomes, policies, preventative solutions, and good practices for services. Staying true to our mantra “don't talk about us, without us,” this event will host a number of conversations between different types of experts on a common theme.
The flyer is here and the concept note is here. Please register here.
The virtual side event will take place on 9 February, 8:30 am - 9:45 am EST.

The side-event coorganized by the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW) in cooperation with other partners will to explore the pre-requisites and core activities necessary to ensure that all individuals and communities, including the most disadvantaged, have access to and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) and are fully capable of improving the terms of their participation in society through wider opportunities and access to resources, including digital resources. The presenters will address the existing challenges, as well as good practices that contribute to shaping the most appropriate models of digitalization focused on social well-being and welfare promotion.
The concept note is here. Please register here. To participate click here (Access code 631894).
The virtual side event will take place on 9 February, 10 am - 11:15 am EST.

The First Thematic Panel on "Digital Inclusion in Education and Social Protection for All", as part of the Civil Society Forum 2021, CSocD59.
Digital technology is not neutral. Big data, algorithms, and artificial intelligence are informed by existing human biases and reinforce stereotypes, perpetuating discrimination, and inequity. Disparities are also pervasive among existing users of digital technology. Gender biases contribute to compromised technological literacy in women, resulting in fewer women in STEM fields and less participation in innovation. Access and literacy are inextricably linked and together have the power to connect the most vulnerable communities to social benefits, culture, healthcare, and education, among much more.
Further information is available here. Please register here.
The virtual event will take place on Tuesday 9 February, 10:30 am - 12 pm EST.

In this event, we will offer several perspectives about ways digital technology can alleviate or help end homelessness. A youth will provide their experience. We will hear from two digital technology companies about their means of using technology with regard to homelessness. Ideas about using technology to count homelessness (so that it can be addressed) willbe offered. And a speaker will discuss using technology to provide education to persons without homes.
The Congregation of the Mission, the Company of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, the International Associations of Charities (AIC), Sisters of Charity Federation, the International Confederation of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary all are involved in a variety of efforts to end homelessness.
The flyer is here and the concept note is here. Please register here.
The virtual side event will take place on 9 February, 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm EST.

Economy of Wellbeing (EoW) is a policy orientation and governance approach that places people and their wellbeing at the center of policy and decision- making. This Virtual Side Event aims at global discussion on the EoW by bringing together speakers from Europe, Africa and Asia to explore the characteristics and conditions for EoW, and linking it with “just transition”.
The concept note is here. Please register here.
The virtual side event will take place on 11 February, 8:30 am - 9:45 am EST.

The virtual side event co-organized by the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors and Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) with bring together speakers from the Governments of Finland and Belgium, the United Nations, civil society, academia, and lived experience. Speakers will explore the diverse and interconnecting perspectives on social protection and homelessness, and discuss why the Global Fund for Social Protection is necessary to ensure that all have the right to social protection. Speakers will specifically consider how digital technology can extend social protection floors to those who are living without roofs.
The flyer is here and the concept note is here. Please register here.
The virtual side event will take place on Friday 12 February, 08.30 am - 09.45 am (EST).

A diverse panel organized by International Movement ATD Fourth World will bring together activists with a lived experience of poverty—affected by either the digital divide or the digital transformation of public services—academics working on the digital welfare state, and Member State representatives proposing good practices. They will engage in discussion on the intersectional challenges that lie in transforming government services in the digital era while protecting the rights, dignity and wellbeing of all, especially that of individuals and families with lived experience of poverty.
The flyer is here. Please register here.
The virtual side event will take place on Monday 15 February, 1:15 pm - 2:30 pm (EST).

The State of Broadband 2019 report reveals that global growth in the percentage of households connected to the internet is slowing, rising only slightly to 54.8% from 53.1% last year. In low-income countries, household internet adoption improved by a mere 0.8% on average. While businesses are increasingly offering consumers the option to transact through online and mobile platforms, two major barriers prevent consumers from adopting these digital options: lack of internet connectivity (digital exclusion) and lack of a bank account to receive or make payments (financial exclusion). The experience of COVID-19 has intensified the fundamental weakness in digital inclusion for micro small and medium enterprises, and those in marginalized communities to receive social benefits . The panel -coorganized by Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary - Loreto Generalate- will explore interlinkages between financial and digital exclusion, regulatory challenges, disparities in broadband connectivity including technology behind internet connectivity and propose solutions.
The virtual side event will take place on Monday 15 February, 1.15 pm - 2.30 pm (EST).

In this side event (co-organized by Justice Coalition of Religious: DC, CM, CND, Congregations of St. Joseph, OP, CMF, IBVM & CJ, PBVM, MM, MMS, OMI, CP, RSHM, Salesian Missions, SSND, Sisters of Charity Federation, SND de Namur, RSCJ, UNANIMA International) we will learn from the experiences, perspectives, and visions of several Catholic women and men Religious who are dedicated to service of those on the disconnected side of our current digital divide. They will shine a light on the particular ways the digital divide has impacted the marginalised communities in which they live and minister. They will also offer their insights into what the first steps toward digitalization could look like in their communities and the role they are ready to play in that process.
The concept note is here. The flyer is here. Please register here.
The virtual side event will take place on Monday 15 February, 1.15 pm - 2.30 pm (EST).

Indigenous Peoples' representatives will share issues as well as development principles to remedy or avoid these social concerns. The panel presentations are followed by questions allowing all stakeholders to implement their organizations' plans with consideration of Indigenous Peoples' development principles that advance Indigenous Peoples’ continued sustainable social development. Eliminate systemic racism to achieve a socially just transition towards sustainable development incorporating Indigenous Peoples’ development principles shared at this side event. Implement human rights instruments allowing equitable decision-making to ensure digital technologies promote social development and well-being of all. Promote Indigenous Peoples’ development index measuring social development progress with data we own and share in accordance with DRIP to fill data gaps. The event is organized by The Grail.
The concept note is here.
The event will be held on Wednesday 17 February, 8:30 am - 9:45 am (EST).

“Youth Perspectives on Family Homelessness and Technology” will primarily give voice to the perspectives people with lived experience of homelessness/displacement and University students on how Family Homelessness is affected by technology, including through examination of the role of digital technologies on social development and well-being of all, especially the most marginalized of our world (migrants, refugees, visible and hidden homeless populations). Topics of presentation within this discussion will include inequality as a driver of homelessness, experiences of hidden homelessness, human trafficking, and experiences of displacement. UNANIMA International’s intention is to showcase perspectives which consider gender and social justice lenses, which are particularly relevant to both issues of Family Homelessness and technology. The contributions of lived experience will rightfully place these individuals as experts on the topics which affect them. This event is organized by Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur.
The concept note is here. Please register here.
The virtual side event will be held on Wednesday 17 February, 08.30 am - 09.45 am (EST).

The blog “What's next for Social Protection: A Global Fund for Social Protection” by Nicola Wiebe is published as part of the activities to promote and disseminate the results and key discussions of the global e-Conference ‘Turning the COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity: What’s next for social protection?’.

The article summarises the key messages from the e-Conference’s Side Event on A Global Fund for Social Protection. The session was moderated by Alison Tate, Director of Economic and Social Policy of International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and joined by speakers Valérie Schmitt, Deputy Director of International Labour Organization (ILO); Gabriel Fernández, Social Protection Specialist of Africa Platform for Social Protection (APSP); Markus Kaltenborn, Professor of Law of Ruhr University Bochum; Sulistri Afrileston, Deputy President of the Confederation of Indonesia Prosperous Trade Union KSBSI, member of ITUC;  Michael Cichon, Professor emeritus of Social Protection of Maastricht Graduate School of Governance at the United Nations University in Maastricht (UNU MERIT); Marcus Manuel, Senior Research Associate of Overseas Development Institute (ODI). The full session is available here and the blog is here.

Different versions of a flyer, with information about the Global Coalition in order to promote our objectives and main activities are now published on the website and it is available in different formats.

The flyer is available in English, Arabic, French and Spanish.

The virtual side event “Building Roofs and Raising Floors Through Inclusive Digital Technologies and A Global Fund for Social Protection”, organized by the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors, will be held in the framework of the Commission for Social Development 2021 (CSocD59).
The virtual side event will take place on 12 February 08.30-09.45 am (EST).

Oxfam launched the report “Shelter from the Storm. The global need for universal social protection in times of COVID-19”. As 2020 draws to a close, the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating. Without urgent action, global poverty and inequality will deepen dramatically. Hundreds of millions of people have already lost their jobs, gone further into debt or skipped meals for months. Research by Oxfam and Development Pathways shows that over 2 billion people have had no support from their governments in their time of need.

Our analysis shows that none of the social protection support to those who are unemployed, elderly people, children and families provided in low- and middle-income countries has been adequate to meet basic needs. 41% of that government support was only a one-off payment and almost all government support has now stopped.

Decades of social policy focused on tiny levels of means-tested support have left most countries completely unprepared for the COVID-19 economic crisis. Yet, countries such as South Africa and Bolivia have shown that a universal approach to social protection is affordable, and that it has a profound impact on reducing inequality and protecting those who need it most. Read more

The attempt in the report “Migration in South Asia: Poverty and Vulnerability” published by SAAPE is to understand the underlying causes of the migration of the poor, from both within a country as well as from a regional perspective. While migration is also a result of people seeking better economic opportunities, among the poor, this is primarily a survival strategy. Poor people migrate because of a crisis to the survival of their families and communities. Rising inequalities, destruction of livelihood options, war and conflicts, climate and environmental crises are all major drivers of migration. While the poor are forced out across state and national borders, they often face hostility in their migration destinations. They have to face up to the loss of democratic rights, absence of any social security protection and the loss of a protective community. Read more

The report “COVID-19 and older people in Asia Pacific: 2020 in review” published by UNFPA and HelpAge International is a look back at how the pandemic affected older people in Asia Pacific in 2020.

This paper documents some of the key themes that emerged throughout the year and suggests critical gaps that 2021 will urgently need to address. The pandemic has exposed the fine line between highlighting older people’s social vulnerabilities and reinforcing ageist perceptions. Read more

Considering the global pandemic situation, the 2021 edition of the World Social Forum will be virtual from January 23 to 31, 2021.

The proposal is an assembly of several ideas and part of the experience of face-to-face forums, mixed with the potentialities of the virtual one. The program is here.

SOCIAL JUSTICE: PRINCIPLE AND OBJECTIVE OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION. The event will be held on 28th January 2-5 pm UCT.

The dramatic increase in working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the poor working conditions experienced by many homeworkers.

Those working from home, whose number has greatly increased due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, need better protection, says the International Labour Organization (ILO) in a new report. Since homeworking occurs in the private sphere it is often “invisible”. In low- and middle-income countries for instance, almost all home-based workers (90 per cent) work informally.

They are usually worse off than those who work outside the home, even in higher-skilled professions. Homeworkers earn on average 13 per cent less in the United Kingdom; 22 per cent less in the United States of America; 25 per cent less in South Africa and about 50 per cent in Argentina, India and Mexico.

The report, Working from home. From invisibility to decent work, also shows that homeworkers do not have the same level of social protection as other workers. They are also less likely to be part of a trade union or to be covered by a collective bargaining agreement.

The report is available in English, French and Spanish.

Created in 1979, our Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) – Action Against Hunger – is fighting against hunger in the world. Its mission is to save lives eradicating hunger through the prevention, detection, and treatment of malnutrition, in particular during and after emergency situations caused by conflicts and natural disasters.

Today, Action Against Hunger is a major player in the fight against hunger in the world. Structured on an international network, that provides a coordinated response in nearly 50 countries.

The French organization, which legal name is “Action Contre la Faim – France”, is now member of the Global Coalition. Further information can be found here. Our 2019 narrative report, in French, is here. Our 2018’s report which is in English is here

Contact information: Johanna Wagman (Advocacy Analyst – Rights and Essential Services)

Pakistan Evaluation Association (PEA) is a voluntary association that promotes evaluation across Pakistan at national and sub national levels. PEA, as a professional body, advocates the culture of transparency and accountability through Evaluation in the government, private sector, and civil society.

PEA is an active Voluntary Organization Promoting Evaluation (VOPE). In a very small tenure it establishes to champion, advocate, and become voice of evaluation community at the national level. PEA is currently one of the only active evaluation associations in the country and region.

Further information can be found here.

Contact information
Sarah Davies, Coordinator
Sarah.davies88@hotmail.co.uk, pakevaluationassociation@gmail.com
Twitter, Facebook

The programme “Improving Synergies Between Social Protection and Public Finance Management” was launched by the European Union, the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors, the International Labour Organization (ILO) and UNICEF on a virtual conference that took place on December 1st.
The multi-country programme presented an innovative partnership on social protection and public finance management – supported through funding from the European Union – that was developed in collaboration with eight partner countries including Angola, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Nepal, Paraguay, Senegal, and Uganda. It supports the development of more inclusive, robust and sustainable social protection systems that can also respond to future shocks. This new partnership provides integrated support to national ministries and public agencies on the planning, design, financing and implementation of social protection systems, programmes and delivery mechanisms. Read more

A series of video/zoom conferences and a workshop in the Latin America region with participation of experts, trade unions, feminist organizations, academics and activists with a common inspiration in social and economic justice to debate on the monitoring, advocacy at national, regional and international levels will be carried out in 2021 and 2022. These activities hope to strengthen networks at national and regional level and it is an opportunity to reinforce the work of the GCSPF on (sub)regional level, as has been proposed in our Core Team strategy meetings.
These activities will be in Spanish and open to our members and interested partners from all our networks. Please contact Ana Zeballos at anaclau@item.org.uy if you are interested in participating.

Development Pathways and Act Church of Sweden co-published the report “The social contract and the role of universal social security in building trust in government”. Trust in government is the basic building block of any successful nationstate. It needs to be at the very top of the list of government priorities since, once trust is undermined, the state itself can be threatened. History tells us that a key factor in building trust is the provision of universal public services, since they can be enjoyed by everyone on an equal and impartial basis. And, if trust is to be built quickly, the best means of doing so is through universal social security.
COVID-19 has created a major crisis across all countries and has highlighted the failings of the prevailing social and economic policies in most countries in the Global South. A key question is whether COVID-19 can be the catalyst for the type of paradigm shift in social and economic policy that occurred across Western Europe following the Second World War. If this change in paradigm is to happen, it will need progressive politicians and development partners to come together and move away from the poor relief model that has dominated policy thinking across the Global South. Instead, they need to have an unremitting focus on building the type of universal social security system that transformed the social contract in Europe. Read more

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the fragility of the global system, highlighted inequalities, and left the most vulnerable groups exposed. The crisis has affected the enjoyment of human rights, social and economic protection as well as global trade and brings hunger for change and the hope of renewal. After the initial shock, the appetite for reform is suppressed by the yearning for the comforting certainty of the familiar. This new publication and its related podcast series by the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Geneva office delineate concrete and possible avenues in different policy areas towards a world of prosperity and equality for all. The authors of the 13 think pieces have developed concrete policy recommendations. These recommendations are possible ingredients for a future in which “Building Back Better” is a success and not another failed attempt. Read more

The G20 Leaders’ statement released on 22 November covers many highly important topics but does not provide the urgently needed coordinated boost for jobs and social protection.
The support for equitable access to treatments and eventual vaccines is welcome, however there is no new initiative on support for developing countries and no progress on international tax reform.
Sharan Burrow, ITUC General Secretary, said: “The world is facing its greatest employment challenge in living memory, however the G20 leaders have not shown the leadership that is needed. The Declaration acknowledges the scale of the challenge without offering real solutions. Coordinated action, with support for the least wealthy countries, is needed for recovery and resilience. The lack of global ambition in this G20 Declaration is extremely disappointing and will leave countries on their own to fight the terrible economic consequences of the pandemic.” Read more

How do global economic and development structures impact the daily lives of women? Experts Barbara Adams (Global Policy Forum), Emma Bürgisser (Bretton Woods Project), Eleanor Dictaan-Bang-oa (Tebtebba), Azra Talat Sayeed (Roots for Equity) and Chantal Umuhoza (SPECTRA: Young Feminists Activism) explain macroeconomic policies and their relevance to the struggle for gender equality, particularly in the Global South. Watch the video

The idea of a Global Fund for Social Protection starts from the finding that social protection floors are affordable, provided low-income countries receive international support in order to complement their own efforts to mobilize domestic resources.
The desirability and feasibility of a new international mechanism in support of social protection floors remains debated.
On 22-23 September 2020, Olivier De Schutter, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, organized jointly with the French government a High-Level Expert Meeting on this topic, which brought together 12 governments, 18 international agencies, social partners, civil society, and academic experts. The questions listed here are informed by the views expressed during that meeting. The Special Rapporteur would be grateful for answers to be provided before 15 December 2020. On the basis of the reactions received, he intends to present the Human Rights Council with a mapping of the positions adopted, and to identify ways forward.
The GCSPF submitted its contribution which is based on “A Global Financing Mechanism for Social Protection”. Members of the Global Coalition have also participated, among them, ITUC, Markus Kaltenborn

The “Global Wage Report 2020-21: Wages and minimum wages in the time of COVID-19” by the International Labour Organization (ILO) has found that monthly wages fell or grew more slowly in the first six months of 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic , in two-thirds of countries for which official data was available, and that the crisis is likely to inflict massive downward pressure on wages in the near future.
The wages of women and low-paid workers have been disproportionately affected by the crisis.
Furthermore, while average wages in one-third of the countries that provided data appeared to increase, this was largely as a result of substantial numbers of lower-paid workers losing their jobs and therefore skewing the average, since they were no longer included in the data for wage-earners.
In countries where strong measures were taken to preserve employment, the effects of the crisis were felt primarily as falls in wages rather than massive job losses. Read more

The Institute of Global Homelessness (IGH) drives a global movement to end street homelessness. Our vision is a world where everyone has a home that offers security, safety, autonomy, and opportunity. Founded in 2014, IGH is the first organization to focus on homelessness as a global phenomenon with an emphasis on those who are living on the street or in emergency shelters. It is a partnership between DePaul University (Chicago, USA), and Depaul International (London, UK), which provides direct services for people experiencing homelessness  in the UK, Ireland, Ukraine, Slovakia, Croatia, USA, and France. The IGH staff and Advisory Committee work with a broad network of world-class advisors, experts, and organizations — balancing geographies, cultures, and skills.

Contact information: Lydia Stazen, Executive Director, lstazen@ighomelessness.org
https://ighomelessness.org/ - Twitter: @ighomelessness - https://www.facebook.com/ighomelessness

The global community of nations has long decided to ensure the Human Right of all people to social protection. Studies have shown that ensuring a basic level of social protection for all is affordable for most countries and definitely for the global community of nations. A solidarity-based Global Fund for Social Protection could support countries to design, implement and, in specific cases, co-finance national floors of social protection. This side event offers civil society and academic perspectives on the proposal of a Global Fund for Social Protection and gives room to discuss ways and means of turning this idea into reality.
Moderator: Alison Tate - Speakers: • Valérie Schmitt (ILO) • Gabriel Fernandez (APSP) • Markus Kaltenborn (Ruhr University Bochum) • Sulistri Afrileston (ITUC) • Michael Cichon (GCSPF) • Marcus Manuel (ODI)
Watch the video

Nicola Wiebe spoke on behalf of the GCSPF at the Civil Society Meeting “Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond” held by the UN Secretary General and Deputy Secretary General with civil society on 2 November 2020. She spoke about the rationale and need for the Global Fund for Social Protection, details of the civil society call for this were shared and responded to in the meeting and the GCSPF SPF film was shown in the course of the meeting. The video of the intervention on Social Protection is here and the PDF version is available here.

The High-level Meeting provided the opportunity to comment on the menu of options, strategize on how to strengthen the role of the United Nations in economic governance and explore how to keep the momentum for FfD in the coming period. The video of the event is here. Read more

Members of the Global Coalition also participated in the meeting:

Dialogue 1 – Climate: The UN role in promoting a Just Transition
David Boys, Deputy General Secretary, Public Services International

Dialogue 2 – Fiscal Consolidation/Austerity and Privatization of Public Services
Magdalena Sepulveda, Executive Director, Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR)

Open Dialogue with interventions from the floor
Helen Saldanha, VIVAT International on behalf of the NGO Committee on FfD

Interlude 3 – Video on Social Protection Floors

Closing Segment
Peter Kamalingin, Pan Africa Program Director, Oxfam International

By Michelle Bachelet, Olivier De Schutter and Guy Ryder
Building back better from the pandemic so that we have greater resilience against future crises’ requires international solidarity and better social protection for all, that covers the poorest and most marginalized as well as those who currently have resources to pay.
Social protection floors for all are affordable. The financing gap for all developing countries – the difference between what these countries already invest in social protection and what a full social protection floor (including health) would cost – is about $1,191 billion in the current year, including the impact of COVID-19. But the gap for the low-income countries is only some $78 billion, a negligible amount compared to the GDP of the industrialized countries. Yet the total official development assistance for social protection amounts to only 0.0047 per cent of the gross national income of donor countries. Read more

The idea of a Global Fund for Social Protection starts from the finding that social protection floors are affordable, provided low-income countries receive international support in order to complement their own efforts to mobilize domestic resources.
The desirability and feasibility of a new international mechanism in support of social protection floors remains debated.
On 22-23 September 2020, Olivier De Schutter, Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, organized jointly with the French government a High-Level Expert Meeting on this topic, which brought together 12 governments, 18 international agencies, social partners, civil society, and academic experts. The questions listed here are informed by the views expressed during that meeting. The Special Rapporteur would be grateful for answers to be provided before 1 December 2020. On the basis of the reactions received, he intends to present the Human Rights Council with a mapping of the positions adopted, and to identify ways forward.
The GCSPF will submit its contribution which will be based on “A Global Financing Mechanism for Social Protection”.

More than three quarters of the global population had no access to comprehensive social protection and for even more people, income losses have been only partially mitigated.
These large and persistent gaps in the coverage, comprehensiveness and adequacy of social protection are linked to significant financing gaps that have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has both increased the urgent demand for social protection and eroded government resources by diminishing tax and social insurance revenue. A range of government action is under way to cushion the most adverse health and socioeconomic effects of the pandemic, including the introduction of many (though largely temporary) social protection responses (ILO 2020).
This brief summarizes the results of the 2020 working paper entitled “Financing Gaps in Social Protection: Global Estimates and Strategies for DevelopingCountries in Light of COVID-19 and Beyond”. It provides global and regional estimates of social protection financing gaps, which indicate the order of magnitude of the financial challenge that needs to be addressed in order to realize the human right to social security and achieve SDG targets 1.3 and 3.81. Read more

Choosing between people or the economy has become a persistent theme in political debates as the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic. Across countries, movements and world views, people are clamoring to rethink how our economies should function and who they should serve. To advance this debate, the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) and Christian Aid are launching a new publication, A Rights-Based Economy: Putting people and planet first. It asks a radical question: what would it look like if we had an economy based on human rights? Read more

On the occasion of the World Day for Decent Work, celebrated on October 7, the Jordan Labour Watch (JLW) issued a new report, demanding the new government expected to be formed within a few days to take quality measures to halt the growing unemployment rate.
In the report, the JLW said that unemployment rates have reached unprecedented levels due to the coronavirus crisis and due to the “ineffective policies” each government has implemented in the past. The decent work standards in the Kingdom suffer from many gaps, which have been there before the crisis began in March, where unemployment rates were already high and only increased further in the second quarter of 2020 to 23 per cent; 21.5 per cent among males and 28.6 per cent among females, the report said. Read more

AbibiNsroma Foundation (ANF) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organisation established in 2020 in Ghana, and committed to identifying, promoting and empowering grassroots to develop innovative solutions for the developmental challenges in Ghana and Africa.  Through capacity building, training, research, advocacy and community development in the areas of energy, climate change and environment, natural resources, education, health and agriculture, as well as water, sanitation and hygiene to enhance Sustainable Development in Ghana and Africa as whole.
Further information can be found here.
Contact information: Robert Tettey Kwami Amiteye, Executive Director
info@abibinsromafoundation.org and abibinsromafoundation@gmail.com

Lessons from the global COVID-19 crisis.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the national responses to it brought the world almost to a complete lockdown. All over the world, States have intervened, to various degrees, to restrict the freedoms of their citizens in order to slow down the spread of the pandemic and prevent healthcare systems from collapsing. What makes the situation even worse is that many countries were already confronted with massive social, ecological and economic problems before the crisis. These have not now disappeared. Climate change with its devastating consequences continues at a rapid pace; systemic racial and gender discrimination perpetuate inequality and injustice and undermine social cohesion; the increasing number of authoritarian regimes is a serious setback for human rights and the urgently needed socio-ecological transformation. The Spotlight Report 2020 unpacks various features and amplifiers of the COVID-19 emergency and its inter-linkages with other crises.

The GCSPF and several members of the GCSPF participated in the 2020 Report. The article “We are only as safe as the most vulnerable among us” - Strengthening public health and social protection systems in response to the COVID-19 pandemic by the GCSPF. Read the publication here and see below the contributions by members of the GCSPF.

The report was launched in a virtual event. If you missed it, you can watch the recording here.

The Spotlight Report is published by the Arab NGO Network for Development (ANND), the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR), Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), Global Policy Forum (GPF), Public Services International (PSI), Social Watch, Society for International Development (SID), and Third World Network (TWN), supported by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES).

By Mira Bierbaum, Thomas Gebauer and Nicola Wiebe
Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors
The health and socioeconomic crisis caused by COVID-19 has shown in a dramatic fashion that we are only as safe as the most vulnerable among us. Despite previous legal and policy commitments and laudable progress in many countries, only between one-third and one-half of the world’s population were covered by essential health services. More than 55 percent had no access to social protection at all, with devastating consequences for societies worldwide. Millions of people have already fallen into poverty, are suffering from hunger and destitution or have died. The crisis has put into sharp relief the large underinvestment in public health systems that struggle to detect, isolate and treat cases. It has also demonstrated the need for robust and comprehensive social protection systems that protect individuals against income losses in case of sickness or job loss and that reduce the depth and duration of economic downturns by means of counter-cyclical spending. Read more

By Roberto Bissio
Social Watch
COVID-19 is a global catastrophe, but every one of the millions of infections has happened in the context of close local contact. While global mobility has spread the new coronavirus at fast speed all over the world, national capacities and policies to confront it are very different. Injustices and inequalities aggravate the impact of COVID-19 and without strong intervention from the State, the existing imbalances are reinforced. A few billionaires are getting richer while the slow-paced progress over decades to reduce global hunger and poverty is being reversed.
Civil society organizations around the world are monitoring the impact of COVID-19 and reclaiming the streets, with revitalized leadership and a rainbow of demands that combine old and new issues.
“Back to normal” is not possible nor desirable. The needed global changes are being incubated by a myriad of local hopes and actions. Read more

By Daria Cibrario
Public Services International (PSI)
Where they existed, public and social housing services have been scaled down or liquidated. Governments embracing neoliberal policies have encouraged housing market deregulation and the sale of public housing and land stocks of local governments by promoting - and in some cases subsidizing - their private purchase through tax breaks and low-interest loans. The generalized failure to address real estate speculation at a national and global level has further resulted in the sale of housing stock, leading to deeper urban gentrification, social segregation and inequality in many cities and metropolitan areas worldwide. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Madrid sold over 1,800 social housing units to the private equity firm Blackstone for EUR 128.5 million. As of 2018, the value of those same apartments had risen by 227 percent. Read more

By Daria Cibrario
Public Services International (PSI)
Although the legal frameworks underpinning housing policies and allocating resources are typically set at a national level, it is often local and regional governments which are responsible for the implementation of local housing development and manage public and social housing stocks and related services. As the global trends in urbanization widening inequality and mass displacements accelerate due to war, migration and the climate crisis, the role of local governments in housing policies is more important than ever. Yet, their resources, powers and institutional capacities are often inadequate to effectively curb real estate speculation and to uphold the right to housing in their territories. Read more

By Daniel Bertossa
Public Services International (PSI)
Around the world, frontline public service workers continue to receive praise and support for their vital role in responding to the COVID-19 crisis. Yet these underfunded public services and brutal working conditions are not inevitable. They are the result of decades of deliberate erosion of our public services through budget cuts, privatization and understaffing.
Undermining the quality and accessibility of public services has been part of a deliberate strategy to loosen the deep political commitment our communities have to protecting them. This has involved the creation and promotion of many myths: that public services are inefficient, wasteful, poor quality, harm economic growth and are protected by public servant elites for their own benefit. Read more

By Daria Cibrario
Public Services International (PSI)
While the promotion of market-led approaches to housing is still prevalent at a global level, some local governments are joining forces to swim against the tide.
Facing a 100 percent surge in rent prices since 2015, Berlin’s local government has frozen rent prices for the next five years at June 2019 levels and repurchased 670 apartments that were to be sold to real estate holding company Deutsche Wohnen, sparing tenants disproportionate rent rises due to superfluous renovations imposed by the company. In late 2019, the public Berlin’s Housing Association further remunicipalized 6,000 apartments in the Spandau and Reinickendorf districts. This makes sense when thinking of Vienna, one of the cities topping the world ranking for the quality of living, where 62 percent of the city’s residents live in publicly owned or subsidized housing. Surprisingly, these are not only the lowest income earners, as housing here is seen as social good, not as a market commodity. Read more

By Kate Donald and Ignacio Saiz
Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR)
The imperative to redistribute economic power and resources was already urgent long before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as with so much else, the pandemic has magnified existing trends, shining a harsh spotlight on how extreme and unjust the status quo has become, and also how the systems we have in place channel wealth and power upwards, even in the midst of a global health emergency.
The relief and recovery packages being put in place by governments and international institutions are a critical means for tackling the structural inequalities exposed and perpetuated by COVID-19. In designing and implementing these packages, governments have the chance to start disrupting the status quo and breaking up the concentration of corporate and elite power at the root of these inequalities. Read more

By Roberto Bissio
Social Watch
Half a year after the eruption of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the comparison between the assessed “capability to prevent and mitigate epidemics and pandemics” and the actual impact of the new coronavirus, in terms of deaths per million inhabitants, is shocking: Among the fifteen countries better ranked in the GHSI we find many of those with the highest casualty rates, while among the ten deemed the worst prepared we find for example Algeria, which is one of fifteen countries considered “safe” and from which travel to Europe has been allowed since 1 July 2020.
Thousands of deaths could have been avoided if, instead of downplaying the risks, the perceived certainty of statistics had pointed to the dangers that even the richest countries were facing and thus press for earlier action. Read more

In view of the global harm from the COVID-19 pandemic, with food insecurity, poverty and loss of livelihoods rising globally, it is essential that national social protection floors are made available to all people – through nation and international solidarity. While recognising that the foremost responsibility for social protection lies at country level, the pandemic puts a spotlight on the need for international solidarity. What is needed is the creation of a solidarity based Global Fund for Social Protection to support countries design, implement and, in specific cases, finance national floors of social protection. It is the adequate multilateral initiative needed to respond to Covid-19 and to build a better future.

The GCSPF is calling on the world’s governments support low-income countries to expand and improve their social protection systems through the establishment of a Global Fund for Social Protection.
This Fund will enable low-income countries to implement national social protection systems that ensure income protection for all by providing temporary co-financing and facilitating access to technical support. Read more

Sharan Burrow (General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC), Prof. Olivier De Schutter (UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights), Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmena (Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), Presiding Bishop Dr. Shoo (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania – ELCT), Joycia Thorat (Project Officer of the Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action) and Dr. Tavengwa M Nhongo (Director of the Africa Platform for Social Protection - APSP) guide us through different aspects of this new Global Fund explaining why we need the Fund and how it would work.

In expressing her support for the Call, Sharan Burrow, the General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) stressed the importance of social protection in protecting people from the impacts of this crisis and the next: “Covid-19 has exposed the global scandal of a world without social protection for all. 70% of the world’s people have no or inadequate social protection, no income protection, no guaranteed access to health, no child protection and many other vital areas that ensure people are resilient against global shocks. Unions and civil society groups are calling for a Global Social Protection Fund for the poorest and most vulnerable of people. Join us, make the call for a Global Social Protection Fund!” Watch the video
Sharan Burrow addressed the High-Level Event on “Financing for Development in the Era of COVID-19 and Beyond” on May 28 and she expressed that “today 70 per cent of the world’s people cannot count on the security of social protection. We need a global mechanism – GFSP – to help countries most in need to sustain and expand protection in times of crises and to build resilience.” Watch the video

Olivier De Schutter, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, emphasized that “many poor countries are small and have a poorly diversified economy and they may be experiencing shocks, economic shocks, a loss of export revenues, a sudden increase of import bills, climatic shocks, droughts and floods, or indeed epidemics, as we have seen most recently. And these countries may be wary about committing to provide their populations with the support they need in the form of standing rights-based Social Protection Floors that people may claim as entitlements. So we need to support these countries by providing them the ability to be insured in times of crisis, to make sure that the Social Protection Floors they establish shall be affordable, even in times of crisis. There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come, and I strongly believe that that is the case for the Global Fund for Social Protection.” Watch the video

Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmena, Executive Director of the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, reaffirms that “In 2012 we called on states to establish a Global Fund for Social Protection. Today, this goal is more important than ever. Despite being a basic human right, it is estimated that only 29 per cent of the world population enjoy access to comprehensive rights-based social security coverage. I welcome this new initiative by CSO to put the Global Fund again at the center of our call for social justice and for the pursuit of the 2030 Human Development Agenda.” Watch the video

Presiding Bishop Dr. Shoo (Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania – ELCT) emphasized that this pandemic reminds us that “we have a moral obligation to ensure that during great disasters and challenges no one is left behind. It is time for the global human community to consider establishing a Global Fund for Social Security to which will ensure that even the most vulnerable, not only during pandemic like this, or natural disasters times, but even in their day-to-day lives have access to healthcare.” Watch the video

Joycia Thorat (Project Officer, Church’s Auxiliary for Social Action) tells us that “millions of people have lost their jobs and livelihood in India and around the globe due to the pandemic situation. It is very critical to have a Social Protection Fund to support the people who have lost their jobs, who are working in the unorganized sector, who are working as daily wage earners, as agricultural laborers, as housemaids. And mostly women are getting affected due to this Covid situation. It is important that we protect all of them through the Social Protection Fund, so we can have another world, where everybody can live equally, safe and in dignity.” Watch the video

Dr. Tavengwa M Nhongo, Director of the Africa Platform for Social Protection (APSP), expressed that “the Global Fund for Social Protection is a solidarity fund that will ensure the development and delivery of universal social protection programmes by all nations, to all citizens and for the common good of all.” Watch the video

In view of the global harm from the COVID-19 pandemic, with food insecurity, poverty and loss of livelihoods rising globally, it is essential that national social protection floors are made available to all people – through nation and international solidarity. While recognising that the foremost responsibility for social protection lies at country level, the pandemic puts a spotlight on the need for international solidarity. What is needed is the creation of a solidarity based Global Fund for Social Protection to support countries design, implement and, in specific cases, finance national floors of social protection. It is the adequate multilateral initiative needed to respond to Covid-19 and to build a better future. Read more

The Decade of Action and Delivery to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, launched by world leaders in 2019, mobilizes stakeholders to tackle both emerging and existing gaps in the realization of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
The objective of the multi-stakeholder hearing was to take stock of the outcomes and recommendations of the 25-year review processes, including the sixty-fourth session of the Commission on the Status of Women. The multi-stakeholder hearing provided an opportunity to exchange experiences, lessons learned and good practices among different stakeholders, through inter-active dialogues, to advance the full, effective and accelerated implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Rachel Moussié (WIEGO) participated in this event. Video recording

The pandemic and the measures taken to contain it have deprived millions of their livelihoods. In most cases, existing social protection systems have proved unable to secure the basic needs of those who cannot work, due to circumstances out of their control. Workers in certain sectors–especially informal workers without social and labor protections –are bearing the brunt. Globally, there are 2 billion such workers, some 60% of the global workforce. WIEGO and the Center for Economic and Social Rights (CESR) present a briefing paper to show how we can leverage the commitments governments have made to guarantee human rights to steer us towards a just recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more

The Stakeholder Group on Ageing (SGA) Africa is inviting you to the Webinar “United and Coordinated Africa for the Inclusion of older persons in COVID-19 policy response and development agendas” that will take place on Thursday August 20th at 1:00PM West Central Africa. The 2nd SGA Africa Pan African Webinar is being organized in collaboration with the African Union Commission and UN DESA.
Read here the e-flyer with a link to REGISTER for the webinar online (FREE) and a link to check your local time schedule for the webinar.

As we are now in the midst of the devastating COVID-19 Pandemic, more political attention is being paid to strengthening social protection cash transfers and public health systems as necessary priorities.
The GCSPF Core Team is interested in gathering information on the experiences of our members regarding improvements (or not) in civil society engagement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) thus far on boosting social protection expenditures, especially floors, in current national anti-crisis programs, as well as with the World Bank and other international agencies.
Please respond to the questions below to send us information on your national experiences thus far. Please respond as fully as you can. We think that your experiences will be valuable to the GCSPF community. Your answers could facilitate comparison of national-level activities that may be particularly useful for advocacy work by members, and for follow-up with IMF and other institutions. We will compile the responses into a report back to members. Read more

As the rate of new COVID-19 cases accelerates across the developing world, it exposes the potentially devastating costs of job losses and income reversals. Unconditional emergency cash transfers can mitigate the worst immediate effects of the COVID-19 crisis on poor and near-poor households that do not currently have access to social assistance or insurance protection. This report provides estimates for a Temporary Basic Income (TBI), a minimum guaranteed income above the poverty line, for vulnerable people in 132 developing countries.
A TBI amounts to between 0.27 and 0.63 per cent of their combined GDPs, depending on the policy choice: top-ups on existing average incomes in each country up to a vulnerability threshold; lump-sum transfers that are sensitive to cross-country differences in the median standard of living; or, lump-sum transfers that are uniform regardless of the country where people live.
A temporary basic income is within reach and can inform a larger conversation about how to build comprehensive social protection systems that make the poor and near-poor more resilient to economic downturns in the future. Read more

The disproportionate effect of the pandemic on young people has exacerbated inequalities and risks reducing the productive potential of an entire generation, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Since the outset of the pandemic more than 70 per cent of youth who study or combine study with work have been adversely affected by the closing of schools, universities and training centres, according to an analysis by the ILO.
According to the report, Youth and COVID-19: impacts on jobs, education, rights and mental well-being, 65 per cent of young people reported having learned less since the beginning of the pandemic because of the transition from classroom to online and distance learning during lockdown. Despite their efforts to continue studying and training, half of them believed their studies would be delayed and nine per cent thought that they might fail. Read more

Jubilee Debt Campaign has launched a new Debt Data Portal – an online resource bringing together the most important, up–to-date information on international debt levels and risks. This portal compiles key statistics and analysis on the debts of countries and governments.
One of the best guides to a government debt burden is the value of debt payments which leave the country each year compared to the government’s revenue. Countries in the global south spent an average 14.3% of government revenue on foreign debt payments in 2020, an increase from 6.7% in 2010. Read more

Ageing Nepal, is an independent, non-profit and non-governmental organization based in Kathmandu that was established in 2011. Ageing Nepal is a not-for-profit Non-Government Organization (NGO) registered with the government of Nepal and is also affiliated to Social Welfare Council (SWC). Ageing Nepal is a member based organization operated by trustees, member representatives and professionals. Ageing Nepal has ECOSOC Special Consultative Status, and is member of HelpAge Global Network and it is member of the Steering Group of GAROP.
Major areas of work: Awareness building, Consultancy services and Human Resource Development.
Further information can be found here.
Contact information: Krishna M. Gautam, Chairperson
http://www.ageingnepal.org/ - Twitter:@AgeingNepal

NACASUD-Nepal affirms its contribution to build on peaceful, just, equitable, inclusive, resilient and prosperous world. So, it works for peace, justice, human rights, democracy, governance and sustainable development.
NACASUD-Nepal is a non-profit making, voluntary, and non-partisan organization that was established in January 2017. NACASUD-Nepal is a collective platform of development professionals, civil society activists and persons involved in social movements. The general objective of the organization is to establish equality based social justice by safeguarding the values of democracy, human rights, justice and sustainability. NACASUD-Nepal aims to contribute in achieving SDGs at local level. NACASUD-Nepal is engaging with federal, province and local governments in the country. Moreover, it is engaging with Civil Society Major Groups, NGOs, UN Agencies, INGOs etc. on sustainable development agenda and other public issues.
Contact information: Daya Sagar Shrestha
http://nacasud.org.np/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nacasud
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nacasud