Over the past four years, Oxfam’s Inclusive National Social Protection Initiatives that Response to the Needs of Apparel Industry Employees (INSPIRE) project, funded by the Laudes Foundation, has made a lasting contribution to Cambodia’s social protection agenda. By strengthening the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), INSPIRE helped ensure coverage became more inclusive, equitable, and responsive to workers across both formal and informal sectors.

Since its launch in 2022, INSPIRE expanded worker representation by establishing local leaders representing, and built leadership capacity by training sixty five leaders, including thirty four women, to advocate for fairer access and gender responsive policies. It influenced national policy by submitting recommendations that shaped the National Social Security Plan 2024–2028 and the Roadmap Towards Universal Health Coverage 2024–2035. 

These efforts improved access to benefits, contributing to pension coverage, expanded healthcare and injury benefits, and helping over eleven thousand workers enroll in NSSF. The voluntary healthcare scheme for self employed workers and dependents also grew significantly. By combining Oxfam’s technical support with union mobilization, INSPIRE ensured reforms were evidence driven and grounded in workers’ realities.

Challenges remain. Cambodia’s Social Security Act includes four schemes, occupational risk, healthcare, pension, and unemployment, but the unemployment scheme is still pending. Contribution rates for voluntary schemes continue to burden low income workers, who struggle to pay despite wanting access to benefits. Greater government support is needed to balance the financial burden and ensure that social protection is truly universal.

Although INSPIRE formally ended in December 2025, its legacy continues through the SP4ALL coalition, now comprising twenty two members with seats on key national committees. From 2025 to 2029, SP4ALL will deepen advocacy, expand NSSF access for self employed workers, and support analysis of the National Social Protection Policy Framework 2024–2035.