Social Protection

Building social protection floors
and comprehensive social security systems

Madagascar

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Situation and Priorities

Social protection situation

Ranked 177 out of 193 (HDI 2021), Madagascar remains one of the poorest countries in the world where 80.7% of the population lives on less than US$1.90 a day. Social protection is fragmented with expenditures spread across small-scale, isolated, and low impact programmes. 40% of the social protection spending is allocated to civil servants and their families, who represent less than 1% of the population. The largest social security scheme for formal private sector workers covers less than 2% of the total population.

The largest social assistance programme was launched in 2016: A conditional on education cash transfer and focused in rural areas, it only covered 5% of extremely poor households in 2018, but the government has made its expansion a priority. Social health protection mechanisms are scattered, but reaching universal health coverage is a government priority, through contributory and non-contributory mechanisms, although they are not yet operational as of November 2020.

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COVID-19 and other crises

The government of Madagascar responded to the COVID-19 crisis by establishing a range of social protection measures, primarily aimed at the most vulnerable. These included food distribution in the most impacted regions, which was then scaled up to the whole country. A pre-existing food subsidy programme was also expanded through establishing new distribution points.

A cash transfer programme, TOSEKA FAMENO, was launched in collaboration with development partners, providing nearly 189,400 households across eight regions with a one-off payment of US$26. The cash transfer was aimed at the poor and vulnerable and those whose income was interrupted due to COVID-19. Targeting was a challenge and is an area where the ILO and development partners will support the government of Madagascar to improve.

Visit the Social Protection COVID-19 Monitor
Government and social partner priorities

A significant majority of the Malagasy population lacks social protection, particularly non-salaried workers, who constitute a substantial portion of the workforce. Currently, only 5% of the active population benefits from social coverage, primarily salaried employees. To address this, the relevant ministerial departments have set an ambitious goal: to extend coverage to 25% of the workforce, including non-salaried workers, through adapted contributory schemes.

At the end of 2023, the Malagasy government, with ILO support, conducted an experience-sharing mission with Côte d’Ivoire on extending social protection to informal sector workers. Following this initiative, the Ministry of Labor, Employment, and Public Service, in collaboration with all stakeholders, developed a roadmap for extending social protection to self-employed workers. This roadmap aligns with the priorities of the new General State Policy (PGE), notably the improvement of human capital.

The implementation of this roadmap has fostered fruitful collaboration between the Ministry of Labor and the IRAY health insurance mutual, aiming to cover self-employed and informal workers. An awareness phase has already reached approximately 1,500 people in the Vakinankaratra region, marking a key step in the inclusion of these often-marginalized groups. Concurrently, the National Social Insurance Fund (CNaPS), with ILO technical support, launched national consultations to collect data for an actuarial study. This study is essential for creating a retirement social security offer tailored to self-employed workers, ensuring their long-term financial security. In the health sector, the ILO, in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Health, established Community-Based Health Insurance (AMBC) in the Amoron’i Mania region. This initiative has already enabled over 2,000 members of the informal sector platform structures (SOAVA) to benefit from health coverage, strengthening their resilience against health and economic risks.

Finally, the ILO contributed to updating the National Social Protection Strategy, reinforcing contributory scheme mechanisms and aligning the strategy with international standards. These efforts aim to promote universal, inclusive, and sustainable social protection, reducing inequalities and ensuring fundamental labour rights for all Malagasy people. These advancements demonstrate the government and its partners’ commitment to achieving the 25% social coverage goal, including non-salaried workers, and to building a social protection system adapted to Madagascar’s economic and social realities.

ILO Projects and Programmes

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Results

In 2019, the ILO supported the government to improve the quality and financial sustainability of existing social protection schemes.

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