active· child-protection· Education

Institutions are strengthened towards extending and improving adequacy of the social protection system aligned with National Integrated Social Protection Framework

A recent review on Nepal’s social security coverage shows that only about 31 % of the population is covered by at least one benefit in 2023/24. 64% children are covered by social protection, 14% through income support schemes. Working age population in any social protection scheme is considerably low, less than 14% are benefiting from one of the schemes targeted to working age populations. With almost 15% of the national budget of 2023/24 allotted to over 80 schemes, without effective coordination mechanisms resulting to low coverage and benefit levels heavily skewed towards old age, while investments in children remain significantly low. This represents a challenge for Nepal in the achievement of the SDGs, particularly SDG Target 1.3. The GoN has set ambitious targets for social protection in its 16th National Plan, aiming to increase coverage to 60 per cent of the population by 2028. Extending social protection coverage is critical, particularly for those with lower levels of access to schemes and/or with access to only limited or inadequate benefits. Among these, extending the social protection coverage among children would benefit the largest group of the population leading to better educational outcomes and higher life-long earning capacity. Similarly, extending social security coverage to workers in the informal economy, would offer protection to the workers that have the largest decent work gaps. The ILO is supporting the GoN to improve the coverage and effectiveness of its social protection programmes, working with key institutions, such as the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security, the Social Security Fund (SSF) and the National Planning Commission, as well with social partners. The work in 2026-27 biennium will be focusing to bring more informal workers and MSMEs under social security coverage, modernizing SSF’s MIS system and implementation of National Integrated Social Protection Framework.