How can social protection interventions help to achieve the Millennium Development Goals with equity in South Asia? What are the recent trends and future orientations of social protection in the region? This review finds that social protection needs to be scaled up and made more systemic in South Asia. Social protection strategies must respond to the multidimensional and dynamic nature of poverty by focusing on risk, vulnerability, social exclusion and political voice. Children should be at the heart of social protection in order to break the inter-generational cycle of poverty.
Social protection is emerging as a key policy issue in South Asia. This trend can be viewed partly as a reflection of the fundamental shift in thinking towards a multidimensional and dynamic concept of poverty encompassing risk, vulnerability and exclusion, as well as age-specific dimensions including child poverty. Poverty is not simply viewed in terms of income but also as a violation of human rights and dignity. Social protection has also received growing attention due to the impact of rising food prices and the global economic and financial crisis.
This review draws on the concept of ‘socio-economic security’, which provides a normative basis for social protection strategies and responds to the multidimensional and dynamic character of poverty. This concept incorporates material well-being, voice, inclusion, participation and empowerment, as well as child-sensitive approaches.
This review reveals a mixed picture on social protection in eight South Asian countries (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka). The study reveals commonalities, innovations and shortcomings.
- Commonalities
- All South Asian countries provide some form of social protection, although it is not broadly understood as an entitlement that people can claim as citizens.
- There is a long tradition of formal-sector social security; however, this does not extend to the majority of people who are not employed by the government or formal sector.
- South Asian countries have not yet adopted fully integrated, comprehensive and inclusive social protection systems. In most cases, households and individuals continue to rely on informal networks such as family, the community, women’s groups, savings cooperatives and informal credit markets.
- Innovations
- There are some efforts to move towards a more systemic and unified approach in several countries (including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan).
- Innovative programmes include: social protection for the informal sector (India); programmes addressing the asset base of the poorest (Bangladesh); universal entitlement for all citizens to an old-age pension (Nepal and the Maldives); rural employment guarantee schemes (India) and innovative targeting approaches that reduce stigma, discrimination and social divides.
- Shortcomings
- Social protection interventions are often piecemeal and ad hoc.
- Social protection receives limited resources from governments (for example, social protection as a share of GDP amounts to only one percent across the region).
- Objective, transparent and coherent criteria for eligibility and targeting are lacking.
- Social protection initiatives are often created by political opportunities or are donor-driven, which creates problems for long-term financial sustainability.
- The implementation and delivery of social protection varies significantly within countries.
Social protection interventions in South Asia need to be scaled up and to become more systemic, transparent and inclusive. Key recommendations for the process of scaling up include:
- Undertaking an in-depth analysis of the forms and causes of socio-economic insecurity.
- Addressing socio-economic insecurity in a holistic way. Social protection systems should address poverty, vulnerability, exclusion, political voice and influence and prevention of loss of assets.
- Moving towards a concept of social protection as a human right.
- Adopting age-specific approaches. Children are the most vulnerable and their right to socio-economic security should be prioritised.
