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ARTÍCULO DE INVESTIGACIÓN
Evaluación de la reforma del sistema de protección social en el contexto de la
consecución de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible/DOI:
10.5281/zenodo.8319394
Halyna Lopushniak*, Iryna Verkhovod**, Roman Oleksenko*** y
Tetiana Vonberg****
Resumen
El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar la reforma del sistema de protección social en
Ucrania. Para realizar el estudio y alcanzar este objetivo, se han utilizado los métodos
de investigación necesarios: abstracción, método gráfico, deducción, sistematización y
generalización. Se han identificado las metas de los ODS que contribuyen a la
consecución de la protección social universal, a saber: meta 1.3; meta 5.4; y meta 10.4.
Además, la protección social se ha identificado como fundamental para la consecución
de varios ODS, en particular: el objetivo 1.5; el objetivo 3.8; y el objetivo 8.2. El estudio
constató que, según los paneles mundiales, el nivel de eficiencia de la protección social
en Ucrania es del 73%. En la región europea, esta cifra es del 83,9%, lo que supone un
10,90% más que en Ucrania. El estudio concluye que el sistema de protección social en
Ucrania se encuentra actualmente en una situación difícil y requiere el desarrollo de una
estrategia integral de protección social para satisfacer las necesidades a largo plazo de
las categorías más vulnerables de ciudadanos y alcanzar los ODS.
Palabras clave: protección social, desarrollo sostenible, categorías vulnerables de la
población, estrategia de protección social.
Abstract
Assessment of the social protection system reform in the context of achieving
the sustainable development goals
The purpose of this study is to assess the reform of the social protection system. To
conduct the study and achieve this goal, the necessary research methods were used:
abstraction, graphical method, deduction, systematization and generalization. The SDG
goals that contribute to the achievement of universal social protection have been
identified, namely: goal 1.3; goal 5.4; and goal 10.4. In addition, social protection has
been identified as fundamental to the achievement of several SDGs, in particular: Goal
1.5; Goal 3.8 and Goal 8.2. The study found that, according to global panels, the level
of efficiency of social protection in Ukraine is 73%. In the European region, this figure is
83.9%, which is 10.90% higher than in Ukraine. The study concluded that the social
protection system in Ukraine is currently in a difficult state and requires the development
of a comprehensive social protection strategy to meet the long-term needs of the most
vulnerable categories of citizens and achieve the SDGs
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Keywords: social protection, sustainable development, vulnerable categories of the
population, social protection strategy.
Recibido: 01/06/23 Aceptado: 22/07/2023
*Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman, Ukraine Kyiv, Ukraine: E-mail:
halyna.lopushniak@kneu.edu.ua ORCID ID:0000-0001-8576-6440
**Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman, Ukraine. E-mail: verkhovod-
iryna@kneu.edu.ua ORCID ID: 0000-0002-9176-2574
***Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State University, Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine. E-mail:
roman.xdsl@ukr.net ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2171-514X
****Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman, Ukraine. E-mail:
tetiana.vonberh@kneu.edu.ua ORCID ID: 0000-0001-5370-5467
1.- Introduction
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, proclaimed by the United Nations
(hereinafter - the UN), and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (hereinafter - the
SDGs) define a list of priority development goals that are key for both developed and
developing countries. These goals are aimed at eradicating poverty, protecting the entire
planet, and ensuring future prosperity for all. Among the priorities agreed upon by
member states, social protection is prominent, and is mentioned in the agenda as an
important tool to protect all individuals and families from social hardship and market
risks throughout the life cycle (UNDP, 2015). UN member states are calling for the
implementation of sound national social protection systems and measures for all,
including a social protection floor, to achieve significant coverage of the poor and
vulnerable by 2030.
Currently, about 69.4% of the world's population lives without adequate social
protection, including access to pensions, unemployment benefits, health insurance, and
income security (Trifunovic, 2022). According to the International Labour Organization
(ILO), the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has at the same time "exposed deep-rooted
inequalities and significant gaps in the coverage, comprehensiveness and adequacy of
social protection in all countries"; and "provoked an unprecedented social protection
policy response" (ILO, 2021). The time is therefore ripe to accelerate the transformation
of social protection systems in light of the pandemic's heightened challenges to achieve
and ensure recovery and resilience.
The ambitious goals of the 2030 Agenda and the new commitments to implementing
integrated social protection systems will require concerted efforts by UN organizations
and national actors, combining different activities and using new tools to find and
implement more successful and effective social protection programs to achieve the 2030
goal.
This goal, given the ongoing aggressive Russian-Ukrainian war, is relevant for
Ukraine today and will become critical in the recovery process, which will require a deep
and comprehensive reform of the social protection system, given the growing number of
vulnerable populations. In addition to the generally recognized socially vulnerable
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categories of the population, the categories in need of social protection in Ukrainian
society include a significant number of commissioned and wounded military personnel
(who will have special needs in the future); war veterans; war veterans and persons
affected by combat operations; refugees; displaced persons; and possibly even persons
affected by chemical, nuclear or man-made disasters, contaminated areas, etc. The scale
of the problem of growing need for social protection is currently immense and difficult
to predict due to the ongoing hostilities and the uncertain nature of the overall
consequences of Russian aggression. However, today Ukraine already needs to reform
social protection in the perspective of the need to develop and implement effective
mechanisms and instruments, not only in view of the urgency of providing social
protection to needy categories of the population, but also in the light of recovery, future
development as a welfare state and achievement of the SDGs by 2030. Therefore, it is
important to assess the status of social protection reform in the context of the SDGs.
2.- The aim of the study
The purpose of the article is to assess the reform of the social protection system. It
is advisable to carry out the assessment in the context of achieving the SDGs, which
allows determining the correctness of the vector of development of the Ukrainian social
protection system and its consistency with global trends, which are generally guided and
shaped by the agenda 2030 and the achievement of the SDGs. For this purpose, it is
advisable to
- to identify the SDGs that are significant and affect the development of social protection;
- analyze the level of social protection of the population of Ukraine in comparison with
the world;
- to study the successful experience of reforming social protection to achieve the SDGs;
- to assess the reform of the Ukrainian social protection system in the context of
achieving the SDGs.
3.- Analysis of recent research and publications
In recent years, the number of studies in the scientific community on social protection
in the context of achieving the SDGs has been increasing. In the UNESCAP study (2018),
the SDGs are defined as a tool for social protection. This is confirmed by the infographic,
which clearly shows how social protection policies and systems are becoming a key
element for the realization of each of the SDGs identified by the UN. In 2021, the ILO
issued a report on the global status of social protection (ILO, 2021). This report presents
the latest trends in social protection. The report analyzes progress in overall social
protection coverage in the world, with a particular focus on achieving the SDGs. The
document includes a section that explores how to build a statistical knowledge base on
social protection for monitoring the relevant SDGs.
The discussion on the comprehensive framework for achieving universal social
protection and its implementation as enshrined in the 2030 Agenda, especially in SDG
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1, target 1.3, as well as in other international rights systems, is presented in the ILO
report "Universal Social Protection: Key Concepts and International Frameworks" (ILO,
2019).
The specifics of implementing universal social protection in the context of the SDGs
were studied by R. Brito. The researcher summarizes different institutional
understandings of universal social protection and substantiates discussions related to
the challenges of expanding social protection and the relevant implications for the SDGs
(Brito, 2021).
The positive impact of social protection on reducing inequality and poverty is
identified by E. Conrad, and the urgent changes needed to improve existing efforts to
eradicate poverty and achieve SDG 1 are also outlined. The study notes that the COVID-
19 pandemic has exacerbated vulnerabilities in global poverty eradication efforts that
were already underway before the crisis and discusses what changes in social protection
systems and policies are needed to reshape progress toward SDG 1 (Conrad, 2021).
D. Carter's study analyzes the impact of social protection and poverty alleviation on
global tuberculosis incidence, using statistical modeling to link key indicators for
expanding social protection coverage to tuberculosis incidence using data from the SDG
Data Warehouse and the WHO's disease status database for 192 countries. This report
makes the case for the impact of social protection on the health system (Carter et al,
2021).
The issue of social protection expenditures and financing for the SDGs was studied
by a group of researchers led by H. Takeshima, who identified the leading role of public
spending in reducing poverty and improving food and nutrition security. The study
includes comparative analyses between countries. In addition, the publication examines
how public spending affects social protection and other areas and how it contributes to
the achievement of key SDG outcomes, especially in relation to the first and second
SDGs (Takeshima et al, 2021). The specifics of financing the Social Protection Agenda
of the Sustainable Development Goals are explored by Callies (2019), who presents eight
financing options for creating and mobilizing resources for social protection.
The authors also highlight several publications that help to expand the analysis of
the topic under study, including: Morhunov, O., Artemenko, I., Sobol, Y., Bobryshova,
L., Shevchenko, S. Methodological principles of studying the essence of public
administration bodies as subjects of administrative procedural law, Sobol, Y.,
Kondratenko, V., Okopnyk, O., Fomichov, K., Skliarenko, I. Interactions between the
international convention and the system of guaranteeing the rights of persons with
disabilities in Ukraine, Kondratenko, V., Manzhula, A., & Sobol, Y. The Current Factors
of Ensuring the Activities of Public Administration Regarding the System of Social
Adaptation of Children with Disabilities, Sobol, Y. S. Y., Myroniuk, R., Harust, Y.,
Myrhorod-Karpova, V. Implementation of Family Medicine in Central and Eastern Europe:
Experience and Lessons for Ukraine, Nikitenko, V., Voronkova, V., Oleksenko, R.,
Matviienko, H., & Butkevych, O. Sustainable agricultural development paradigm
formation in the context of managerial experience of industrialized countries, Nikitenko,
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V., Voronkova, V., Oleksenko, R., Filoretova, L., Lanoviuk, L., Khvist, V. Perspectives of
civilizational political development of world regions in the context of current challenges
and opportunities.
The issue of child social protection to achieve SDG 1.3 is outlined in a joint report by
the ILO and UNICEF (ILO & UNICEF, 2019). With the aim of achieving SDG 1.3, this joint
report provides an overview of the state of child social protection, focusing on cash
transfer programs for children and families, examining aspects such as effective
coverage and financing, as well as social protection in different contexts.
The study by Nepad (2022) focuses on catalyzing integrated social protection to
accelerate the achievement of the SDGs in response to the shocks of Covid-19. The
study identifies how integrated social protection can be used to accelerate the
achievement of the SDGs. It also focuses on the impact and good practices of the SDG
Joint Fund on achieving multiple SDGs, such as SDGs 1, 5 and 10.
4.- Materials and methods
In the process of writing the article, the author used methodological tools and
material that allowed to achieve the goal, primarily the following research methods:
- analysis of literary sources. This method was used to study the latest research and
publications on the topic of the study and to familiarize with the main directions of
development of the social protection system in the context of achieving the SDGs. The
analysis of literature sources also examined the successful experience of reforming the
social protection system to overcome poverty and support vulnerable groups;
- abstraction. This method made it possible to focus the study on the specifics of
social protection reform, which is the subject of the article;
- graphic method. This method was used to visually improve the perception of the
research results. In addition, the use of this method visually records the results of the
application of systematization and generalization methods, which qualitatively enhances
and facilitates the perception of the research results. Using the graphical method, 5
figures were drawn to illustrate the information presented in the article;
- the method of deduction. This method helped to logically separate the current
directions of development of the social protection system in accordance with the goals
of the SDGs;
- methods of systematization and generalization. These methods were used to
evaluate the reform of the social protection system and to generalize the research in
writing the conclusions.
The article was based on scientific articles and publications, UN materials, materials of
the International Labor Organization, ILO World Social Protection Data Dashboards, the
Global SDG Indicators Data Platform of the UN Statistics, etc.
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5.- Results of the study
The 17 SDGs represent an ambitious and comprehensive global plan for sustainable
development until 2030, reflecting a set of global aspirations for the development of
people, planet and long-term prosperity in different countries and regions (Fig. 1).
Figure 1. Global goals of the SDGs (UNDO, 2015)
Source: Authors development
It is a comprehensive plan that includes the most significant areas and defines
important results to be achieved in each area to ensure sustainable development of the
planet and humanity. These goals include: fighting poverty and hunger; improving public
health and access to quality education; ensuring gender equality; ensuring access to
water and adequate sanitation; promoting the use of renewable energy sources; striving
for decent working conditions and economic growth; developing innovation and
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infrastructure; reducing inequality in all its manifestations; ensuring sustainable
development of cities and communities; implementing principles and conditions for
sustainable consumption; effective means of combating climate change; and ensuring
the protection of human rights.
Achieving universal social protection is consistent with the 2030 Agenda, especially
with Target 1.3 "Establish nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures
for all, including a social protection floor, and achieve significant coverage of the poor
and vulnerable by 2030" SDG 1 (End poverty in all its forms worldwide). In addition to
SDG 1, social protection is explicitly mentioned as a key instrument for achieving SDG
5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls), target 5. 4 "Recognize
and value unpaid care and domestic work through public services, infrastructure and
social protection policies, and promote shared responsibility within the household and
family, in accordance with national contexts and SDG 10 (Reduce inequality), target 10.4
"Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies, and progressively
achieve greater equality".
In addition, social protection is considered fundamental to the achievement of
several SDGs, including:
- Goal 1.5. "By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and vulnerable, and reduce
their impacts and vulnerabilities to climate change extremes and other economic, social
and environmental shocks and disasters."
- SDG 3 (Promote good health through healthy lives and well-being for all at all
ages), target 3.8 "Achieve universal health coverage, including financial protection,
access to quality essential health services and access to safe, effective, quality and
affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all";
- SDG 8 (Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and
productive employment and decent work for all), target 8.2 "Develop and implement a
global youth employment strategy and implement the ILO Global Jobs Pact" (Brito,
2022).
It should be noted that in the context of the global pandemic, the number of joint
programs aimed at social protection has significantly increased as a response to the
shocks caused by the crisis. Initially, the focus was on natural disasters and the impact
of climate change (and hence contributions to the relevant SDGs related to them), but
then expanded to mitigate the broader socio-economic impact of the health crisis. As
the scope and scale of vulnerability has rapidly increased, the importance of social
protection, in particular those systems that require greater sensitivity and adaptation,
has come to the fore and led to strategic adjustments across all joint programs (Nepad,
2022).
According to the ILO's Global Social Protection Coverage Report, the vast majority
of children worldwide still lack effective social protection - only one in four children (26.4
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percent) receives social assistance. Only 45 percent of women with newborns worldwide
receive cash maternity benefits. Only one in three people with severe disabilities (33.5
percent) worldwide receives disability benefits. Coverage of unemployment benefits is
even lower; only 18.6 percent of the unemployed globally are effectively covered. And
while 77.5 percent of people over retirement age receive some form of old-age pension,
large disparities remain between regions, between rural and urban areas, and between
women and men (ILO, 2021).
Public spending on social protection also varies significantly. On average, countries
spend 12.8 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on social protection (excluding
health care), but high-income countries spend 16.4 percent and low-income countries
spend only 1.1 percent of their GDP on social protection. The financing gap (the
additional spending needed to provide at least a social protection floor for all) has
increased by about 30 percent since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. According to
the ILO, to guarantee at least basic social protection coverage, low-income countries will
need to invest an additional US$77.9 billion per year, lower-middle-income countries an
additional US$362.9 billion per year, and upper-middle-income countries an additional
US$750.8 billion per year. This is equivalent to 15.9, 5.1, and 3.1 percent of their GDP,
respectively (ILO, 2021).
Access to at least a basic level of social security throughout the life cycle is a human
right, fundamental to human health and dignity. Social protection systems are at the
heart of efforts to ensure decent living conditions for all people throughout their lives.
The proportion of the population covered by the minimum levels of social protection
indicates the extent to which the ideal of social protection universality has been achieved
and how safe the living conditions and health of the population are. Therefore, it is a key
indicator that conveys information about how well the population is protected from
various unforeseen situations that can potentially be encountered in life. To analyze the
situation, the World Social Protection Dashboards were created (ILO, 2020).
According to the World Social Protection Dashboards, the level of social protection
efficiency in the world is 46.9%, while in Ukraine it is 73% (Fig. 2).
Compared to the global level, Ukraine has a high level of social protection coverage.
At the same time, in the European region, this figure is 83.9%, which is 10.90% higher
than in Ukraine. However, it should be noted that the European region generally has the
highest level of effective social coverage of all regions.
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Figure 2. The level of efficiency of social protection in Ukraine compared to
the global level (ILO, 2021)
Source: Authors development
Figure 3. Social protection performance in Ukraine compared to the global and
regional levels by categories of people (ILO, 2021)
Source: Authors development
26,4
44,6
18,6
35,4
33,5
77,5
53,7
28,9
100
100
84,1
100
96
47,1
39
82,3
83,6
51,3
75,5
86
96,7
84,3
64,4
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Children
Support for mothers
Unemployed persons
Persons with work-related injuries
Persons with disabilities
Elderly people
The working population is covered by
pension schemes
Vulnerable populations
The level of effective social coverage in Europe, %.
Level of effective social coverage in Ukraine, %.
Level of effective social coverage in the world, %.
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It should be noted that Ukraine has a low level of population coverage by pension
schemes compared to the world and the European region. At the same time, the
strengths of Ukraine's social protection system include support for children and mothers,
the unemployed, and people with disabilities. Ukraine has made significant progress in
social protection of these categories.
The next indicator to be analyzed is the level of social protection expenditures as
a percentage of GDP (Figure 4).
Figure 4. Level of social protection expenditures, % of GDP (ILO, 2021)
Source: Authors development
Thus, while the global average for social protection expenditures is 12.9% of GDP,
in European countries this figure reaches 17.4%. Ukraine occupies an intermediate
position with a level of social protection expenditures of 16.2% of GDP.
The success of European countries in providing social protection is justified by the
European Consensus on Development, which enshrines the obligation of both the EU and
its member states to promote "adequate and sustainable social protection." Therefore,
the EU supports a basic level of social protection as a right for all, and especially for
children, vulnerable people of working age and the elderly. The main obstacle to building
effective social protection systems is the lack of allocated resources. Therefore, the EU
supports economic transformation and policies that mobilize resources, especially from
domestic sources, to generate stable and sufficient revenues for social protection (Social
protection, n.d.).
12,9%
16,2%
17,4%
0,0%
2,0%
4,0%
6,0%
8,0%
10,0%
12,0%
14,0%
16,0%
18,0%
20,0%
World Ukraine Europe
Level of social protection expenditures, % of GDP
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At the same time, the EU has a specialized European Union Social Protection
System (EU-SPS) Program, which is an action of the European Union funded by the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The OECD
Development Centre and the Finnish Government's National Institute of Health and
Welfare (THL) manage the program, under which EU-SPS supports low- and middle-
income countries in building sustainable and inclusive social protection systems. The
program was implemented over four and a half years until April 2019 in partnership with
national and regional social protection authorities, think tanks and expert institutions in
10 countries. The program had three specific objectives:
1) to develop appropriate methodologies and tools;
2) to increase administrative and technical capacity;
3) generate evidence-based knowledge for future cooperation with the EU and for
use by other development partners on the effectiveness of social protection in reducing
poverty and vulnerability, addressing inequalities, and promoting social cohesion (OECD,
2019).
The program's findings have shown that a number of national social protection
strategies adopted around the world in recent years have driven the implementation of
integrated systems used by many different countries. The strategies provide a
framework for comprehensive and integrated approaches that create synergies across
sectors, improving impact and value for money. And such integrated systems increase
efficiency and provide opportunities for development multipliers. Expenditure sector
plans provide operational guidance for moving from strategy to implementation. Lessons
learned and good practices over the past decade from this program identify a number of
important opportunities for development partners to improve the efficiency and value
for money of their social protection support, namely the formulation of national social
protection strategies. Expenditure sector plans provide a bridge from abstract strategies
to actual implementation. They allow governments to translate the long-term visions
contained in national strategies into medium-term action plans with specific programs,
realistic budgets, and actionable timelines (OECD, 2019). Thus, for the effective
implementation of the social protection system, it is necessary to formulate a strategic
vision and develop relevant national strategies that create the basis for further planning
and target setting.
Social protection reform in Ukraine has been ongoing since the country's
independence. With the start of the decentralization reform, social protection reform has
acquired new dimensions and identified new problematic sectors that require immediate
response from the competent authorities. Despite the large number of legal acts adopted
in the field of social protection over the 30 years of our country's independence, a wide
range of issues and problems remain unresolved at the legislative level.
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Ukraine's social protection system includes a wide range of social assistance,
insurance, benefits, and subsidies, covering approximately 19-22 million people in the
country. The national social protection programs have recently been expanded and
continue to adapt through horizontal (for IDPs, etc.) and vertical expansion (for
pensions, etc.), as well as through emergency and response assistance to internal
displacement during the conflict in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and the annexation of
Crimea in 2014, to revenue losses from the COVID-19 pandemic, and to the significant
increase in humanitarian needs during the current escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Despite continued government spending on social protection systems, growing needs
outpaced the coverage and adequacy of social benefits even before the current phase of
the war. In particular, national social protection programs and social transfers need to:
1) further expanding coverage to ensure that people who are eligible for state
support can actually receive it, especially in times of war,
2) increasing the adequacy of cash transfers of existing social benefits to ensure
that they are sufficient to enable people to meet their basic needs in the current context,
3) increasing resources and financial investments to meet needs during current
and future crises (Beyko & Lacerda, 2023).
Following the Russian invasion in early 2022, the World Bank, the Government of
Ukraine, and the European Commission estimated and reported that the social protection
and livelihoods sector suffered losses of US$50.6 billion, mainly related to job losses,
reduced household wage income, increased poverty, and reduced access to basic needs,
including energy and food (World Bank, 2022).
Using the global platform of SDG indicators of UN Statistics, we will assess the
reform of the social protection system in the context of achieving the Sustainable
Development Goals. To do this, we will use the platform to analyze the status of the
following goals, which are key to the development of social protection:
1) Goal 1.3. "Introduce nationally appropriate social protection systems and
measures for all, including a social protection floor, and achieve significant coverage of
the poor and vulnerable by 2030". This is the main goal for which the state, as a social
protection agent, must take concrete steps:
- Establishment of national joint groups of social protection floors;
- Supporting national dialogues;
- Conducting joint assessments;
- Integrate social protection systems, including the social protection floor, into
national development plans and develop/improve social protection schemes;
- Building national statistical capacity (UN, 2015);
2) target 1.5. "By 2030, increase the resilience of the poor and vulnerable, and
reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate change extremes and other economic,
social and environmental shocks and disasters";
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3) target 3.8. "Achieve universal health coverage, including protection against
financial risks, access to quality essential health services and access to safe, effective,
quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all";
4) Objective 5.4. "Recognize and value unpaid care and domestic work through
public services, infrastructure and social protection policies, and promote shared
responsibility within the household and family, in accordance with national contexts;
5) Target 8.2. "Develop and implement a global youth employment strategy and
implement the ILO Global Jobs Pact";
6) target 10.4. "Adopt policies, especially fiscal, wage and social protection policies,
and gradually achieve greater equality".
In Fig. 5, we will determine the state of implementation of the above SDGs by
Ukraine according to the global platform of SDG indicators of the UN statistics.
Figure 5. Status of SDG implementation in terms of social protection
reform in Ukraine
Source: Authors development
The only target in terms of social protection implementation that has been achieved
is target 1.5 on increasing the resilience of the poor and vulnerable. Therefore, in
general, we can assess the effectiveness of social protection reform as unsatisfactory.
Since 2015, the country has not developed a Strategy for the Development of the Social
Protection System and, accordingly, its implementation plan.
0%
100%
0% 0% 0% 0%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
Goal 1.3 Goal 1.5 Goal 3.8 Goal 5.4 Goal 8.2 Goal 10.4
Status of execution, %.
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Similar conclusions were reached by the IMF monitoring program, which
recommends reforming the social protection system to meet the needs of IDPs and war
veterans. Currently, a vision of approaches to reforming the social protection system is
being developed to ensure targeted, sufficient and effective social assistance to the
population, taking into account the needs of these new categories (Interfax-Ukraine,
2022).
6.Conclusions
Ukraine's social protection system is currently in a difficult situation due to the
increased burden of expanding the categories of people in need of protection and the
lack of funding in the context of an overall budget deficit due to the shrinking economy
and the need to finance defense needs. The ongoing war has exacerbated the
disadvantaged situation of children, women, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
Many in these groups were already extremely vulnerable before the war. As millions of
Ukrainians now face war, displacement and poverty, social support must be targeted and
controlled, given Ukraine's limited financial resources. Today, neither the Ukrainian
government nor international financial institutions have a clear understanding of the
scale of public spending on social assistance, which makes it urgently financially
necessary for Ukraine to move to a narrower model of state support for vulnerable
groups. This could significantly reduce the level of state aid in the long run as a result of
further reform of the social protection system.
While the current challenges require immediate action, Ukraine needs a
comprehensive social protection strategy to address the long-term needs of its most
vulnerable citizens and achieve the SDGs. Significant medium- and long-term
employment challenges and social priorities that existed before the invasion must also
be addressed in the context of the war and the upcoming recovery.
The Ukrainian government continues to pursue wide-ranging reforms of the social
security system as the country faces the ever-increasing costs of the war with Russia,
which is now in its second year. And the context of further reforms should be correlated
with the need to implement the 2030 Agenda in terms of achieving the SDGs. In
accordance with the IMF's recommendations and with the active assistance of the Fund's
experts, Ukraine is now starting to work on its own national social protection
development strategy, which will allow to elaborate a general vision of the development
of the social sphere and support and determine the priorities for the development of
social protection for the categories of the population in need. Cooperation with the IRF
will help integrate the social protection system into national development plans and
improve existing social assistance schemes. This, in turn, will help to achieve SDG 1.3
"Establish nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all,
including a social protection floor, and achieve universal coverage of the poor and
vulnerable by 2030", which will form the necessary basis for achieving the following
goals that will promote social protection for vulnerable groups and are dependent on its
development (primarily SDGs: 3.8, 5.4, 8.2, 10.4).
Lopushniak, Verkhovod, Oleksenko y Vonberg / Evaluación de la reforma del sistema de protección social en
el contexto de la consecución de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible
40
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