Social Protection and Inclusion: Experiences and Policy Issues

This publication examines the role of social assistance programmes in the fight against poverty and combating exclusion, drawing on a number of case studies detailing innovative programmes from Europe, China, India, Brazil and Portugese-speaking African countries. Three key policy issues are identified: gearing social assistance towards social inclusion and employment; achieving universal coverage through a plurality of approaches to reach the excluded; and asserting social security as a human right under changing circumstances in the world of work.