On 6 June 2012, a Roundtable Discussion on Social Protection in Development Cooperation was held at the European Parliament in Brussels. The participants, including representatives of UNICEF, the World Bank and the International Labour Organization (ILO), discussed the issue of social protection, which has become increasingly recognised by the international community as an important factor for inclusive growth, equity and poverty reduction.
The participants concluded that social protection should be viewed and designed systemically, and that systemic development should be bottom-up and focused on building national capacities, infrastructure and ensuring access to services. They also stressed that social protection systems should be nationally-led and owned, diverse and country-specific.
To learn more about the roundtable discussion, please click here for a summary of the event prepared by UNICEF’s Brussels Office. You can also read the presentations given by the representatives of the European Commission, UNICEF, the World Bank and ILO.