Social protection

Social protection measures are intended to provide a safety net to protect people against extreme poverty and loss or lack of income through illness, disability or old age. The schemes typically include official and informal provision. Official measures are provided by the government and large organizations, and include poverty reduction schemes targeting vulnerable groups in general and specific measures such as disability benefits. Informal measures are at the community level often through community-based organizations and, especially, self-help groups.

People with disabilities have an equal right to the social protection measures available to citizens generally and must be effectively included in all social assistance programmes. This supported by article 28 of the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities.

This keylist features resources that support inclusive social protection initiatives for people with disabilities. We welcome your feedback: please send comments or suggested additions to sourceassistant@hi-uk.org.

Selected resources

Books, reports, etc

A review of income transfers to disabled and long term sick people in seven case study countries and implications for South Africa

WHITWORTH, Adam
WRIGHT, Gemma
NOBLE, Michael
April 2006

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This resource examines seven international case studies of state income maintenance policies for individuals who are disabled or long-term sick in order to analyze the current debates in South Africa surrounding the Disability Grant. The countries are: India, Mexico, USA, UK, Sweden, Netherlands, and Canada. The purpose is to provide an overview of the various benefits and the nature of social security coverage for disabled people and chronically sick individuals in each country. This work would be useful for anyone with an interest in social protection, public policy and disability

Community-based rehabilitation : CBR guidelines|Livelihood component

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO)
et al
2010

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This component of the CBR Guidelines focuses on inclusive livelihoods. It describes "the role of CBR is to facilitate access for people with disabilities and their families to acquiring skills, livelihood opportunities, enhanced participation in community life and self-fulfilment." The guideline outlines key concepts, and then presents the core concepts, examples and areas of suggested activities in each of the following five elements: Skills development; Self-employment; Wage employment; Financial services; Social protection. This guideline is useful for anyone interested in livelihood component of CBR

Direct payments and mental health : new directions

NEWBIGGING, Karen
LOWE, Janice
2005

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Direct payments are community care monies paid directly to the people who require support, so that they can make their own choices about the support they receive. Successful implementation of direct payments in mental health relies on proactive managers who are clear about the task, knowledgable and committed practitioners, and informed service users and carers who are interested in exploring the options of direct payments. This report identifies action for these three groups as well as for national policy-making

Disability and social protection forum

INTERNATIONAL CENTRE FOR EVIDENCE IN DISABILITY (ICED)
April 2015

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This webpage presents useful information and materials from a forum held at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine about disability and social protection. Session one set the scene on disability and social protection, and session two focused on the priorities and opportunities to build on the evidence on social protection and disability. Related summaries, audiovisuals and powerpoints are provided from the Forum

Disability and Social Protection Discussion Forum

London, UK

26 March 2015

Disability and social safety nets in developing countries

MITRA, Sophie
May 2005

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This paper examines how social safety nets can benefit the poor and disabled in developing countries. It explores the links between disability and poverty, and identifies the benefits of inclusive mainstreaming and disability targeted programmes. It analyses the various ways to include the considerations of people with disabilities in the implementation of mainstream safety nets

Disability inclusion in social protection

ROHWERDER, Brigitte
January 2014

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A literature review to identify examples of integration of disability issues within cash transfer and broader social protection programmes, strategies and policies, in low-income contexts mainly focusing on countries in Africa and South-East Asia. The UNCRPD is increasingly considered to be the key principle behind disability-inclusive social protection policies, strategies and practices.  Specific country examples are provided

GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report 1069

Disability pensions and social security reform : analysis of the Latin American experience

GRUSHKA, Carlos O
DEMARCO, Gustavo
2003

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This paper describes the disability pension arrangements prevailing in ten Latin American countries that reformed their pension systems. The analysis is limited to the topic of disability pensions, without attempting to evaluate other aspects such as accessibility.
Comparisons reveal that a wide variety of options for disability systems are possible. In the following sections general issues in the design of the disability-pension systems are identified

Good practice in the development of management information systems for social protection

CHIRCHIR, Richard
KIDD, Stephen
2011

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This paper "aims to fill a gap in the literature by examining good practice in the design of MISs for social protection. Section 2 will describe MISs, pointing out that they are more than systems of computer hardware and application software. Section 3 will discuss the type of information required by social protection MISs, and the challenges in capturing, transferring and processing this information. Section 4 will assess the potential for introducing new technologies into social protection MISs in developing countries. Section 5 will conclude by examining issues around the integration of MISs in countries with multiple social protection schemes, and the extent to which a national Single Registry is an appropriate model"
Pension watch : briefings on social protection in older age, Briefing no 5

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities (theme: the right of persons with disabilities to social protection)

DEVANDAS-AGUILAR, Catalina
August 2015

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'In the present report, the Special Rapporteur, Catalina Devandas-Aguilar, provides a study focusing on disability-inclusive social protection as a prerequisite for the universalization of social protection. She stresses that social protection is fundamental for achieving the social inclusion and active participation of persons with disabilities, and promoting their active citizenship. She also argues that to achieve disability-inclusive social protection, States must move away from traditional disability-welfare approaches towards embracing the innovative rights based model'

Social assistance and disability : initial learning

SIGHTSAVERS INTERNATIONAL
April 2007

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This the summary of findings from a study to examine information on disability and mainstreaming of social assistance in developing countries. It addresses a range of key issues, including: the eligibility to and accessibility of social assistance; the socio-economic costs of disability; and the involvement of disabled people in shaping legislation

Social assistance and disability in developing countries

MARRIOTTT, Anna
GOODING, Kate
July 2007

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This study draws on the existing discourse to investigate social assistance to disabled people in developing countries. By taking the perspective of key stakeholders it examines the characteristics of mainstream and targeted social assistance programmes to understand how to best reach and benefit disabled people and organisations in the developing world. This resource would be useful for anyone with an interest in disability and development

Social security policy options for people with disabilities in South Africa : an international and comparative review

GUTHERIE, Teresa
et al
March 2001

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This paper provides an overview of the social security system for disabled South Africans. It offers a comparative analysis of international public social security systems, identifies the gaps in the literature for further research, and provides recommendations for a more integrated and comprehensive system. This resource would be useful for anyone with an interest in social protection, disability and development

Tough choices : disability and social security in South Africa | Disability and social change : a South African agenda

SWARTZ, Leslie
SCHNEIDER, Marguerite
2006

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This resource investigates disability and social change in South Africa. Specifically, it asserts that the biggest barrier to the full participation of disabled people in South African society is discrimination. In line with the social model of disability, this work further claims that societal attitudes hinder access to safe, accessible and affordable transport, employment and HIV and AIDS programmes

Databases

Disability benefits scheme database

DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS LIMITED

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The database provides information on disability benefits in low and middle income countries in an excel spreadsheet format. The database focuses mainly on tax-financed disability benefits, but also includes some examples of social insurance schemes