Can low-income countries afford basic social security

Provision of basic social security is an investment in country’s development giving in return not only reduced poverty but also increased demand and expanded domestic markets, healthier, better educated, empowered and more productive workforce as well as peace, stability and social cohesion, less conflicts and politically more stable societies. To achieve sustainable development countries thus have to start building their social security systems starting with introducing a basic social protection package consisting of mechanism providing affordable access to basic health care, minimum income support to elderly, disabled and children and employment guarantees and social assistance to unemployed and working poor. The cost of such benefit package is within a reach of even poorest countries while making it affordable requires political will followed by rationalization of current spending programmes, reallocations of domestic resources and donor aid as well as policies and measures creating the new fiscal space