WIEGO’s Marty Chen called for governments to tackle global demographic challenges by extending social protection to the world’s 2 billion workers in informal employment, at a public health conference in Bangkok, Thailand.
The Prince Mahidol Awards Conference, presided over by His Majesty the King of Thailand, brings together public health leaders and stakeholders from around the world to discuss high priority global health issues.
Its theme this year is focused on navigating global demographic transitions – such as aging populations, declining fertility rates and youth bulges – through innovative policies and strategies.
Dr Chen, who co-founded WIEGO in 1997 and is an Emeritus International Coordinator for the organization, described demographic transitions and equity as a ‘critical challenge’.
“Informal workers are on the frontlines of our demographic transitions. As our populations age, who cares for the elderly? As extended families fragment and women enter the workforce, who cares for children? The answer: paid informal care workers—who themselves lack health insurance, retirement security, and childcare,” she said.
“As young people enter labour markets—over 1 billion in the next decade—where will most of them find work? Mostly in the informal economy. As people migrate across borders and from rural to urban areas, where will they work? Overwhelmingly in the informal economy.”
Dr. Chen said it was vital to extend inclusive social protection to the 2 billion workers in informal employment who power economies and provide essential services during normal times, as well as in global crises and demographic transitions.
She called for the global community to develop a development strategy that supported, rather than undermined the informal economy.
“The global community committed to pursuing, first, the MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] and, then, the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals]. But meeting these goals, especially those related to poverty and employment, has proved elusive,” she said.
“I posit that one reason for the elusiveness is that not enough attention has been paid to the fact that low- and middle-income country economies are largely informal and that employment even in developed countries is increasingly informal.”
Dr. Chen said the solution to this complex challenge required a change in mindset – one that recognizes and values the contribution of workers in informal employment.
She said countries such as Japan and Thailand had made significant progress in extending social protection - such as universal health coverage – to self-employed workers in informal employment.