Today, on 20th February, the UN observes the World Day of Social Justice. To mark the Day, Development Pathways and Act Church of Sweden launch the report Advocating for universal social security: how to win hearts and minds.
Universal social security is one of the most powerful means to improve social justice. It means that society guarantees that everybody, regardless of social status, employment status, sex, age, or other characteristic, has the right to basic income security and access to health services. The purpose of the paper is to strengthen the arguments and strategies by all those who advocate for universal social security – whether they are in civil society, government, international organisations or other spaces.
Although the importance of universal social security is widely and increasingly recognised, the question on whether the systems should be built on means-tested and poverty-targeted benefits, or on a universal approach is widely debated. Universal approaches are far better in many ways, but most development finance for social security currently supports poverty-targeted programmes.
In three chapters, the authors discuss how advocacy for universal social security can be carried out in the most effective way: the words and arguments to use and who to approach. Read the paper here.