Asia and the Pacific has seen a remarkable increase in social security coverage in the last decade, and continued expansion and building resilient social security systems for future generations are key objectives. In light of this, the Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and the Pacific (RSSF Asia-Pacific) was notable for its record participation and in-depth discussions.
Host and future events of the ISSA
The Regional Social Security Forum for Asia-Pacific was hosted by the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI), Saudi Arabia. 2025 will see the International Conference on Management and Innovation in Social Security in Cairo, Egypt, 11–13 February, and the World Social Security Forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 29 September–3 October.
With 425 registered participants from 75 institutions in 37 countries, the Regional Social Security Forum for Asia and the Pacific, hosted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 3 to 5 December 2024 was the biggest ever for the region. This reflects the strong engagement of International Social Security Association (ISSA) members across the region.
An engaging programme based on social security developments and trends in Asia-Pacific
The rich three-day programme contained 22 plenary and parallel sessions with contributions from 71 speakers and moderators. On the opening day, Secretary General Marcelo Abi-Ramia Caetano presented the new ISSA report Social security developments and trends – Asia-Pacific 2024, followed by contributions by the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) The ILOs recently released World social protection report 2024–2026 shows that the Asia and the Pacific has had the most significant increase in coverage of all regions since 2015, and that for the first time over half of the population, 53.6 per cent, have at least one form of social protection.
The second day started with a plenary session on strengthening social security through institutional transformation and innovation. This touched on many aspects, such as digitalization, data-empowered organizations, innovation and communication. Panel exchanges highlighted the importance of institutional capacity and flexibility to respond to evolving population needs.
Plenary sessions on the third day focussed on ensuring social security coverage for all workers, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) highlighted to ISSA members the significance of adapting the systems to meet the needs of ageing societies, and the resilience and transitions to optimize the positive impact of social security.
In addition, twelve parallel sessions were built around a selection of good practices from ISSA members, covering: productive employment and unemployment protection, enhancing health insurance coverage and services, extending social security coverage, strengthening digital capacities, adapting human resources, investing social security funds to strengthen sustainability and enhancing pension administration and services, to name just a few.
The two main Good Practice Award winners presented their good practices in a plenary session. The Social Protection Fund (SPF) of Oman won the Good Practice Award for Asia-Pacific for its comprehensive extension of social security coverage, and the Central Provident Fund Board (CPFB) of Singapore won the Special Distinction for Innovation, for reinventing the customer journey through an inclusive physical-digital approach.
On the closing day, a high-level policy symposium included government representatives from Australia and the Maldives, along with representatives from the ILO Regional Office for Arab States and UNESCAP. They addressed challenges such as the extension of coverage, social security in times of crisis, ageing populations, changing labour markets and the digital and green transitions.