Promoting inclusive social protection in the post-2015 framework

Social protection is at risk of becoming a victim of its own success. As the evidence accumulates of a range of positive impacts, from poverty reduction to gender equality, expectations are rising and there is a danger of a backlash once policymakers realise that social protection cannot fully live up to its ever-expanding remit.A healthy dose of realism needs to be injected into the evolving debate about the appropriate role for social protection in the post-2015 agenda. Social protection faces several challenges, including This Policy Briefing highlights several challenges faced by social protection, including its excessive focus on the individual as both the problem and the solution in tackling problems of poverty and vulnerability. The post 2015 development framework should promote ‘Inclusive Social Protection’, both to guarantee universal access to social protection and also to ensure that social protection and complementary programmes address the structural causes of poverty and vulnerability, rather than merely responding to the symptoms.