Across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, social insurance schemes tend to provide support solely to those in the formal economy, while the rest of the population is only offered poor quality programmes for “the poor”. The dominant social security paradigm across the region is a bifurcated model that excludes a large proportion of the population living on middle – but still low and insecure – incomes from social security, the so-called “missing middle”. The alienation of this key group from social security – and other public services – has become a major challenge across middle-income countries in the region, potentially undermining trust in the state, and is increasingly a key source of public unrest. There is a dire need to shift the narrative on delivering social protection in the region, to move away from the prevailing old-fashioned poor relief model and toward a modern, inclusive social security model (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Imagining a shift from poor relief to an inclusive social security model in the MENA region
To help address this challenge, on April 29, 2021, at 9am GMT (10am BST), Development Pathways, Lebanon Support and the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) will host a webinar to officially launch the Inclusive Social Security Policy Forum (ISSPF), an initiative funded by the Ford Foundation focused on building knowledge and capacity on inclusive social security in the MENA region. The webinar will feature keynote remarks by Dr. Shahra Razavi, Director, ILO Social Protection Department, as well as interventions by Dr. Stephen Kidd, Principal Social Policy Specialist at Development Pathways, Dr. Rana Jawad, Associate Professor in Social Policy at Bath University, Shea McClanahan, Senior Social Policy Specialist at Development Pathways, Samar Muhareb, CEO of the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development in Jordan, and Chafik Ben Rouine, Co-Founder and President of the Tunisian Observatory of Economy.
The webinar will explore the implications of inadequate social security for the long-term development goals of countries in the region and the importance of extending broad-based social security entitlements to the majority of the population through a system of rights-based schemes that address key lifecycle contingencies.
The webinar will introduce the Inclusive Social Security Policy Forum (ISSPF), which aspires to provide a network and space for civil society organisations across the MENA region to find and contribute to practical resources to enhance their capacity to effectively engage in national debates on social security and social protection. ISSPF aims to de-mystify complex concepts in social protection and social security by improving understanding of the qualitative differences between different types of social protection programmes and their implications for achieving broader national economic and social development goals. Made possible with funding from the Ford Foundation, ISSPF is implemented in partnership with Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) in Jordan and Lebanon Support in Lebanon. The network is open to any civil society organisation committed to working to challenge the dominant narratives and make the case for inclusive social security in the MENA region. Contact details for those wishing to join will be made available during the launch.
With its focus on applied policy solutions in social security, ISSPF supports broader efforts in the region aimed at opening dialogue around the linkages between social policies and the overarching objectives of peace, security, economic development and democracy.
Panellists:
- Shahra Razavi, Director of the Social Protection Department, International Labour Organization
- Stephen Kidd, Principal Social Policy Specialist, Development Pathways
- Rana Jawad, Associate Professor in Social Policy, Bath University
- Shea McClanahan, Senior Social Policy Specialist, Development Pathways
- Samar Muhareb, CEO, Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (Jordan)
- Chafik Ben Rouine, Co-Founder and President, Tunisian Observatory of Economy
Register for the webinar here.
Watch the webinar recording here
Visit the ISSPF’s website here.
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