1.75 billion people experience multidimensional poverty UN

Former President of Chile and Chairperson of the Social Protection Floor Advisory Group and Executive Director of United Nation (UN) Women, Mrs Michelle Bachelet, has warned that despite some progress over the past decades, 1.44 billion people are still living on less than US$ 1.25 a day.Besides, the UN Executive Director said close to a third of the worlds population, which is 1.75 billion, experience multidimensional poverty with deprivations in health, economic opportunities and living standards.At the same time, around 75 per cent of people worldwide do not have access to adequate social security, she added.Mrs Bachelet, also said that the implementation of social protection floors could offer an effective response to the increasing demands for social justice in many countries.All these indicators represent a social liability that threatens political stability and undermines economic prosperity, she said before a group of international experts on social protection.She added: Nowadays, the most evident expression of such a liability is the social unrest that appears to be spreading and intensifying. The cascade of popular uprisings in North Africa and in the Middle East is of course a pertinent illustration of this and underlines a legitimate desire for economic opportunities, social justice and social protection.The implementation of social protection floors can respond in many countries to calls for social cohesion, political stability and resilient economic growth.The Floor is a feasible and sustainable solution that very much corresponds with the reality of our time in which some countries are facing increasing social unrest and sluggish economic recovery.Mrs Bachelet was the key speaker during a consultative workshop organised at the International Labour Office on the Social Protection Floor (SPF).She was also in Geneva to chair the second meeting of the Social Protection Floor Advisory GroupMrs Bachelet said the global economic crisis had shown that countries that invested and continued to invest in social spending during the recession had fared better than those that resorted to cuts.Beyond the social impacts, the evidence has demonstrated the positive effects of social protection policies in enhancing labour market participation by both men and women and greater enterprising risk taking; all of which can contribute to overall better macro-economic performance and productivity, she said.Mrs Bachelet also called on the international community and the G20 in particularto support the Social Protection Floor as a way of addressing the imbalances that lead to the global economic crisis and which are still present.
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