Health and Social Protection
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Poverty and poor health are inextricably linked. Poverty increases the chances of poor health. Poor health, in turn, traps communities in poverty. Social protection can play a key role in mitigating the effects of this vicious circle.
Social protection seeks to protect people from social and economic risks across their life-cycle and therefore from poverty and vulnerability and ensure sustainable livelihoods. Well-designed social protection systems ensure a minimum income and equitable access to essential services. Social protection plays a vital role to Leave No One Behind (LNOB) and to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda.
Social protection is inextricably linked to increasing equitable access to health care (Universal Health Coverage) and positively impacts underlying factors of health and well-being across the life-cycle and across generations (Social Determinants of Health), especially through its impact on income security. Social Protection is therefore key to achieving SDG 3 “Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages”.
Related event: Webinar on Health & Social Protection in the SDC Context
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The presentation of the webinar is available here.
The SDC started an online learning series on social protection in 2021. After two more general modules on social protection and its concepts and instruments, the further modules were dedicated to specific topics. In module 5, which took place on 26 January 2022, we discussed the role of social protection in the context of health with regards to three dimensions:
- Social health protection is a means to improve access to health, e.g. through contributory health insurance or other financing mechanisms, such as health funds, vouchers or exemption policies for the poor and most vulnerable groups.
- Social protection is a social determinant of health. Due to their generally lower educational levels, as well as working and living conditions, poor people are exposed to higher health risks. They tend to live in overcrowded neighbourhoods and usually cannot afford a healthy diet. Poverty is an important factor of social exclusion with negative impacts on mental health and well-being. Supporting poor people in improving their living conditions, social protection has also a positive impact on health outcomes.
- Linking health and social protection measures has a positive impact on health and poverty outcomes: What do we know about the coordination and mutual influence and impacts of social health protection measures linked to social cash transfers (e.g., LEAP-Ghana, CT-OVC Kenya)?
SDC has a wealth of experience in social health protection. Where could the SDC internally establish or strengthen cross-sectorial links with other thematic areas or clusters?
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