The social protection floor (SPF) is the first level of protection in a national social protection system. It is a basic set of social rights derived from human right treaties, including access to essential services (such as health, education, housing, water and sanitation, and others, as defined nationally) and social transfers, in cash or in kind, to guarantee economic security, food security, adequate nutrition and access to essential services. As a result of the extreme inequality, social security schemes have been developed and implemented, through private and public initiatives, since the 1970s in Europe and subsequently in other parts of the world. However, the problem of poverty persists. According to the World Bank, over a billion people, or roughly one in six, live in extreme poverty (defined as a daily income not exceeding US$1) and 2.8 billion people live in poverty (daily income not over US$2). To remedy this situation and promote socio-economic development, the United Nations Chief Executives Board for Coordination (UNCEB) coined the concept of the SPF. This framework aims to place governments as the central responsible actor for the promotion of four essential and universal guarantees, which would set the ground for a more comprehensive social protection system.
Overview The Social Protection Floor is a socio-economic development policy concept and a crisis management tool. It promotes a solid foundation for economic growth, provides a societal insurance against perpetuating poverty and mitigates the effects of economic shocks and crisis. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Labour Organization Conventions are international instruments that have recognized these essential social rights and have been used as the legal basis to support the Social Protection Floor. Founded on a rights-based approach, the Social Protection Floor encourages countries to aim towards a universal standard of social protection coverage. Since the context of each country differs in terms of institutional capacity, political ideologies, financial resources, economic structure and cultural values, each floor is defined by individual countries. Building from past social protection programs, the SPF promotes a more coordinated design and implementation of social and labour policies in order to guarantee a country-defined basic set of social rights, services and facilities that every person should enjoy, which could be granted through:
cash transfers such as a social pension; unconditional cash transfers; conditional cash transfers; universal access to health care services; food-based programs, as well as food stamps, vouchers and coupons; school supplies and uniforms; vocational and training programs for the unemployed; price subsidies for food, electricity, housing, or other public service; and other programs. To insure continuity and sustainability, these strategies build on existing social protection mechanisms and include a mix of contributory and non-contributory, targeted and universal, public and private instruments – depending on the social, economic and political context. Countries are also encouraged to develop higher levels of social protection in line with their needs, preferences, and financial capacities. A global coalition of United Nations agencies, international NGOs, development banks, bilateral organization and other development partners, the Social Protection Floor – Initiative Coalition (SPF-I Coalition), has been created to support countries with the establishment, expansion and edification of their national social protection floors.
Strategy for the extension The ultimate objective of the Social Protection Floor approach is to build a solid basis that would allow higher levels of protection, than simply the ground floor level. As economies grow and fiscal space is created, social protection systems can and should move up the Social Protection Floor staircase, extending the scope, level and quality of benefits and services provided. Within this strategy, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has suggested a two-dimensional approach to develop the SPF including :
a horizontal coverage, or the Social Protection Floor, providing access to essential health care for all, income security for children, assistance to the unemployed, underemployed and poor, and income security for the elderly and disabled; and a vertical coverage building on the first floor and providing more extensive and comprehensive social protection coverage.
This concept takes into consideration the national constraints of countries, while promoting a basic universal level of social protection to all. The gradual introduction and implementation of the social protection guarantees is essential for the development and sustainability of the system. In this way, countries do not lose sight of the overall objective of achieving comprehensive social protection for all; and they are able to assess and be constantly aware of the opportunity cost in terms of other guarantees that are put on hold when taking a decision on priorities. Formulating a package of guarantees as a floor should thus lead to rational cost/benefit-based policy decisions.
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