Social Protection Week 2024: Building a Resilience and Sustainable Social Protection System

Text by: Sopharith Sin

Social Protection Week is Cambodia’s annual flagship event for policy discussions, knowledge sharing, and raising awareness about social protection advancements. Initially launched in 2022 by the National Social Protection Council, it has gathered contributions from government entities, development allies, and civil society organizations. The 2023 edition focused on “Strengthening Transparency and Accountability for Social Protection in Cambodia,” highlighting progress and fostering partnerships. Social protection is recognized globally as a vital policy instrument, particularly in response to recent challenges.

To achieve Cambodia’s 2030 vision and enhance the social protection system, Social Protection Week 2024 aims to broaden its scope to a regional level. National and regional specialists and practitioners engaged in discussions, shared insights, lessons learned, and best practices, and innovative strategies. The goal is to cultivate a robust and sustainable social protection framework under the theme “Building a Resilience and Sustainable Social Protection System.”

Social Protection Week 2024 is the third edition and Oxfam is so grateful to support this initiative. The event brings together relevant government institutions, UN agencies, development partners, regional bodies, private sector, Social Protection for All (SP4ALL) members. Collaboration among stakeholders will be fostered to expand and strengthen the social protection system in Cambodia. The event also welcomes national and regional experts to discuss best practices, innovations and knowledge exchange, further enhancing comprehensive and resilient system.

This year’s Social Protection Week aims to raise awareness among government ministries, employer organizations, civil society, and the public about the critical role of social protection in driving social and economic growth. It serves as a collaborative forum for exchanging insights on crafting and implementing social protection initiatives and frameworks within Cambodia and the region. The event aims to promote mutual learning and shared advancements in social protection strategies and best practices, fostering cooperative effort among multiple countries.

Roundtable discussions focused on inclusive social protection, universal health coverages, expanding and strengthening social protection, and shock responsive social protection. Diverse panelists from organizations such as National Social Security Fund (NSSF), General Secretariat of the National Social Protection Council (GS-NSPC), Ministry of Health, ASEAN Secretariat, World Bank, think tanks, Oxfam, and other institutions contributed to the dialogue, enriching the social security framework in Cambodia.

Oxfam has consistently prioritized the development of inclusive, gender-responsive and universal social protection systems. Through collaboration with partner organizations and government stakeholders, Oxfam has engaged in various social protection projects, campaigns, and policy dialogue forums. These efforts align with the Royal Government of Cambodia’s goals of expanding social protection coverage and benefits while enhancing inclusivity, gender responsiveness and social account ability within the country’s social protection frameworks.