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p. 8 of 18 BACK | NEXT I. Introduction II. Overview of Social Protection III. Priorities for Social Protection A. Identifying Country Priorities B. Strategic Principles for Social Protection Interventions IV. Operational Implications V. Recommendation

Social Protection Strategy

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III. Priorities for Social Protection

9. Improving national social protection systems is of major importance in all regions. However, the motivations for reform and the approaches adopted differ dramatically from one country to the other. In much of the Asia and Pacific region, the debate is dominated by concerns about reducing poverty, expanding coverage, and identifying financing mechanisms to serve the vast majority of the population, 40 percent of which are children and youth, who remain unprotected. In transition economies, adjusting programs and institutions to reduced budgets under a market economy is the priority. Many Latin American reforms are motivated by a desire to insulate social protection systems from political interferences. The reform debate in Japan, North America, and Western Europe tends to focus disproportionately on dealing with the costs of aging societies. Country priorities differ substantially and the problems and solutions of one region are not applicable to another.

10. Given the broad variety of reform priorities and possible interventions (labor markets, social insurance, social assistance, area-based schemes, and child protection), the strategy sets the parameters to prioritize investments, based on the principles of reducing poverty and vulnerability; strengthening country focus; enhancing strategic alliances and partnerships with development agencies, private sector, and civil society; and taking a long-/medium-term approach to promote effective social protection systems in Asia and the Pacific. Well-developed social protection systems are large and complex undertakings that can become an integral part of the fabric of a society and have important implications for social and economic development. Social protection priorities are different in the variety of Asian and Pacific DMCs. The selection of interventions will require an evaluation of the country needs, available resources, institutional capacity, and the political economy of reform, explained in paras. 40-49. Once a set of specific social protection interventions has been chosen for a DMC, project design should attend to the following principles: coverage; targeting of vulnerable population groups; sustainability, good governance, and optimal delivery mechanisms; and an integrated approach to social protection, as described in paras. 50-69.

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