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ILO, USP2030 and Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors call to safeguard social protection expenditure

A side event held at the 3rd PrepCom of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in New York on 12 February 2025 has concluded with actionable recommendations for the 4th FfD4 on how to safeguard social protection expenditure and make progress towards the achievement of universal social protection by 2030.

In the run-up to the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), which will take place in July 2025 in Seville, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the USP2030 Financing Working Group and the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors organised the side event “How to safeguard social protection expenditure: actionable recommendations for FfD4”.

The event underscored that FfD4 presents a unique opportunity to boost the political will to safeguard social protection expenditure and to close coverage gaps. It also provided invited excellencies, representatives from ministries of finance, experts and development partners with an opportunity to share insights on what could work in terms of global, regional and national commitments on safeguarding social protection expenditure and expanding the fiscal space for social protection.

Moderated by Shahra Razavi, Director of the Universal Social Protection Department at the ILO, who also delivered the opening remarks, the panel featured a distinguished lineup of speakers, including: James Heintz, Andrew Glyn Professor of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst, H.E. Alicia Buenrostro Massieu, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN of Mexico, Prudence Kaoma, Acting Permanent Secretary (Planning and Administration), Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Zambia, Christina Behrendt, Head, Social Policy Unit, Universal Social Protection Department, ILO, Umberto Cattaneo, Public Finance Specialist, Universal Social Protection Department, ILO, Thomas Taylor, Policy Adviser ITUC, Shea Gopaul, IOE Permanent Representative to the UN and co-chair for the Business and Industry major group, Jennifer Yablonski, Representative of USP2030, Robert Powell, IMF Special Representative to the UN, and Lena Simet, Representative of the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors.

Shahra Razavi underlined the importance of safeguarding social protection expenditure to close coverage gaps, particularly in low-income and climate-vulnerable countries, within a global financial system that supports, rather than hinders, national efforts.

Social protection coverage gaps have many different causes, but under-investment, the lack of that fiscal space and capacity to invest in social protection systems is one of the main reasons for the huge coverage gaps. This relates directly to the discussion that is going on in the main conference room here at the FfD4 PrepCom. It points to the necessity for countries to mobilize more resources domestically, and to be able to do so within a global financial context that facilitates, rather than hampers their efforts.

Shahra Razavi, Director of the Universal Social Protection Department, ILO

One area that needs better elaboration, including in the FfD4 zero draft, is the connection between social expenditures and fiscal sustainability. The prevalent approach, according to Professor Heintz, takes the public resource envelope as relatively fixed – by the tax system, economic growth, borrowing, debt service and other factors – and bounds social spending by this ‘given’ resource constraint. While this framework makes sense in the short-run, it ignores a critical connection: social policy – at least certain aspects of it like social protection – have long-run effects on productivity, growth, and ultimately the fiscal space of countries. 

Another key theme discussed was the crucial role of social protection in reducing inequalities, with new ILO evidence highlighting that higher social protection expenditure is associated with lower income inequality. Beyond its redistributive impact, the discussion also underscored social protection as a cornerstone of the social contract.

Social protection has a multiplier effect on other human rights and is an essential and fundamental aspect of ensuring decent work as well. Resilient economies are based on jobs that are decent jobs. And this, I think, has to be a central theme also for the discussion that's ongoing in FfD4.

Thomas Taylor di Pietro, Policy Adviser ITUC

The event also provided an opportunity for representatives of Mexico and Zambia, Member States that are co-facilitating the FfD4 process, to share their national strategies on social protection.  

Many workers in the informal sector remain excluded from vital social protection benefits. And to close this gap, we must  reach out and provide benefits to those who are currently not receiving them.

H.E. Alicia Buenrostro Massieu, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN of Mexico

We have recognized that a life cycle approach is critical to attain social protection.  Both contributory and non-contributory social protection approaches are very key.

Prudence Kaoma, Acting Permanent Secretary (Planning and Administration), Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Zambia

A global call to action to increase social protection coverage by 2 percentage points

The event concluded by reinforcing the importance for countries to endorse the ILO/USP2030 Global Call To Action to accelerate the achievement of universal social protection (SDG target 1.3) to reduce poverty and inequality, launched in December 2024 by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Global Partnership for Universal Social Protection to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (USP2030).  The document calls for all countries to prioritize public investments to extend social protection coverage, as measured by SDG indicator 1.3.1, by at least 2 percentage points per year, prioritizing populations and countries with the greatest coverage gaps. During the Third PrepCom, several UN Member States expressed support for the inclusion in the FfD4 outcome document of the 2 percentage points per year growth target (para 29 letter e-bis), as well as for a specific reference to ILO standards (para 15).  

For more information, please contact cattaneo@ilo.org.