ILO Launches Toolkit to Advance Global Social Health Protection

On World Health Day, ILO introduced a new Toolkit on Social Health Protection. The Toolkit is designed to help countries implement inclusive and sustainable social health protection schemes, advancing universal health coverage and social protection, both of which are key components of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Toolkit serves as both a resource hub and a learning tool, offering a wide range of practical guidance, policy recommendations, and international standards. These resources are aimed at policymakers, social partners, technical experts, and development agencies to help them build effective health protection systems tailored to national needs, states ILO. The organization provides essential tools to countries at various stages of expanding coverage or addressing gaps in adequacy and inclusivity within their healthcare systems. 

The ILO’s new resource offers guidance across several key areas of social health protection, from financial management to climate resilience, in addition to offering case studies, videos, country-specific pages, and recent ILO publications. It is available in English, French, and Spanish, and will continue to grow, states ILO, with additional resources, data, and training opportunities being added over time. 

According to ILO, the Toolkit comes at a crucial time when global health systems are being reassessed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As reported by ILO through the World Social Protection Report 2024-26, over 2 billion people around the world still lack health service protection, underscoring the need for comprehensive social health coverage.

The Toolkit is based on ILO standards, such as Convention No. 102 and Recommendation No. 202, which provide minimum guarantees for medical care and income security during sickness and maternity. It is intended to support countries in aligning their health systems with these global standards, helping to achieve comprehensive, rights-based coverage.