On June 30, 2015, World Bank Group (WBG) President Jim Yong Kim and International Labor Organization’s Director-General Guy Ryder co-launched a joint plan of action on Universal Social Protection to ensure that no one is left behind.
The Heads of the two organizations share the understanding that ‘universal social protection’ refers to the integrated set of policies designed to ensure income security and support to all people across the life cycle – paying particular attention to the poor and the vulnerable. Dr. Kim and Mr. Ryder emphasized that anyone who needs social protection should be able to access it. Social protection systems, including social protection floors, figure prominently in the Post 2015 Development Agenda, among the SDGs. Social protection policies also feature in goals to achieve gender equality and to reduce income inequality. The WBG-ILO joint vision reinforces this universal aspiration, to be applicable to all countries regardless of income level, and the joint program of action aims to increase the number of countries adopting Universal Social Protection, supporting countries to design and implement universal and sustainable social protection systems.
The Statement issued by the President and Director-General highlights that social protection is a primary development tool and priority.
