The International Labour Organisation has stated that Nigeria and other low-income countries need about $1.4tn to provide basic social protection to their citizens.
The organisation disclosed this in a new working paper titled ‘Financing Gap for Universal Social Protection: Global, Regional, and National Estimates and Strategies for Creating Fiscal Space’.
“This financing gap represents 3.3 per cent of the annual GDP of low- and middle-income countries combined. The findings point to even greater challenges for low-income countries, where the social protection financing gap reaches an overwhelming 52.3 per cent of annual GDP,” ILO said.
It stated that to achieve universal coverage, low- and middle-income countries would need additional government spending of 10.6 per cent of annual government expenditure.
“This can be raised through domestic resources, such as taxation and social security contributions, as well as through better management of sovereign debt,” it noted.
According to the organisation, for low-income countries in particular, bridging the gap would require the mobilisation of four times the annual government expenditure.
It mentioned that international solidarity was needed to achieve that.
The report declared that to close such a gap, development assistance to low-income countries would need to be more than tripled and used solely for social protection.
“Regionally, the findings show that Africa faces the most substantial challenges, with a financing gap of 17.6 per cent of the continent’s GDP per year, followed by low- and middle-income countries in the Arab States (11.4 per cent), Latin America and the Caribbean (2.7 per cent), Asia and the Pacific (2.0 per cent) and Europe and Central Asia (1.9 per cent),” ILO explained.
It argued that attaining universal social protection was pivotal to adequately address the consequences of the climate crisis because universal social protection helps to reduce vulnerabilities and climate shocks.
It added that international climate financing could help reinforce and adapt social protection systems in low- and middle-income countries.
“Based on figures for 133 low- and middle-income countries, the working paper provides estimates of the investment necessary to ensure universal coverage of basic benefits for all children, mothers of new-borns, persons with severe disabilities, persons in old age and the unemployed, as well as universal essential health care,” the ILO added.
According to the Director-General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, Dr Joseph Ochogwu, social protection is a major policy instrument that will primarily address critical social issues in Nigeria.
SOURCE: PUNCHNG
