I. Background
Only 55 percent of the population of Asia and the Pacific is covered by a social protection scheme, meaning that 45 per cent of the population has no protection at all in case of individual life cycle contingencies and systemic shocks and crisis. This is of concern because a lack of social protection exposes everyone to financial uncertainty and contributes to increasing inequalities both within and across countries.
To accelerate progress toward inclusive and sustainable development, the United Nations Sustainable Development Group recently introduced six transition to accelerate the delivery SDGs, as they have catalytic and multiplier effects. One of these six pathways relate to jobs and social protection. Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202) and the United Nations Secretary-General’s initiative on the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions are among key frameworks offering guidance on social protection policies that leave no one behind.
The Pact for the Future is another important and recent framework which places the eradication of poverty at the center of global efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda. Adopted at the Summit for the Future by Heads of State and Government, the Pact decided that, to eradicate poverty, in all its forms and dimensions, they would: (a) take comprehensive and targeted measures to eradicate poverty by addressing the multidimensional nature of poverty, including through rural development strategies and investments and innovations in the social sector, especially education and health; and (b) take concrete actions to prevent people from falling back into poverty, including by establishing well-designed, sustainable and efficient social protection systems for all that are responsive to shocks.
Recent findings corroborate the strong linkage between access to social protection and overall trust and solidarity, as well as its importance for poverty eradication, productive employment and a green and just transition to more inclusive and prosperous societies in Asia and the Pacific. For social protection to fulfil its potential in Asia and the Pacific, the evidence-base of its impacts on fundamental rights and opportunities as well as the importance of designing inclusive schemes need to be strengthened and communicated to governments.
Against this background, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) together with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) is implementing a technical assistance project in 2024-2026 period entitled “Strengthening capacity for evidence-based Social Protection policies for responding to the triple global crisis in fuel, food and finance” in six target countries in the regions of Africa and Asia and the Pacific. The objective of the project is to strengthen social protection systems and schemes by building national capacity to identify the furthest behind and design and implement inclusive and shock responsive schemes and policies based on evidence.
The project leverages user-friendly policy tools developed by ESCAP and DESA to strengthen social protection systems in response to triple crisis.
The Social Protection to Leave No One Behind (SP2LNOB) tool developed by ESCAP demonstrates the impact of extending social protection on accessing basic services and opportunities. Using this tool, governments can assess the potential impact social protection can have on leaving no one behind in a variety of priority areas including nutrition, health, education and living standards, among others. The tools builds on two existing ESCAP platforms including the Leaving No One Behind (LNOB) Platform and the Social Protection Online Toolbox (SPOT) Simulator. Both tools are online and available for over 27 countries in Asia and the Pacific.
Multidimensional Poverty Indices (MPI) which is an analytical tool whose main objective is to identify individuals who are deprived and multidimensionally poor in a comprehensive manner and identify the most pressing dimensions of poverty at national and subnational levels. Updated regularly based on household surveys, MPI is a strong asset for policymakers to leverage as they design and implement, monitor and evaluate social protection policies. MPI can also help inform delivery of specific schemes in specific locations. Multidimensional poverty measures can be computed at the global level (global MPI) and tailored at the national level (national MPIs).
Building on these tools, the project will raise awareness and build capacity among policymakers and offer interactive dialogue at different levels with a variety of stakeholders by organizing national and regional trainings and workshops. Furthermore, the project fosters knowledge exchange among participating countries through interregional workshops.
II. Impact of the triple crisis in Cambodia
Cambodia has been significantly affected by the global triple crisis of fuel, food, and finance. The economic challenges have deep social implications. The fiscal pressures have constrained public investment and increased the risk of sudden policy shifts. With the rising cost of living, particularly due to higher food prices, vulnerable communities are facing heightened risks of income and welfare losses. Therefore, strengthening the social protection system is more essential than ever to help Cambodians navigate the ongoing effects of the triple crisis. In that context, the aim of the national workshop is to support the development of robust, sustainable, inclusive and crisis-responsive policies and programmes by training policymakers on the use of the above-mentioned tools SP2LNOB and MPI.
III. Workshop Objectives
The aim of the national workshop in Cambodia was to enhance local capacities within social protection programmes and to identify, reach out to and expand adequate coverage for those left behind. The national multistakeholder workshop introduced innovative tools to strengthen evidence-based and inclusive policymaking in the area of social protection in Cambodia. Such policies had the potential to reduce inequality of opportunity and vulnerability and accelerate the implementation of the SDGs, by making sure that those left behind are also included. Based on evidence generated by multiple tools, the workshops helped discuss how to use and institutionalize policy tools and results to inform the design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of social protection policies so that no one was left behind. The workshop also aimed to collect feedback from participants to guide the further development and localization of the policy tools.
By the end of the workshop, it was expected that participants would:
Have a strengthened capacity to use data to build the evidence base to inform more inclusive social protection design and implementation to accelerate recovery from the triple crisis;
Understand multidimensional poverty measures and SP2LNOB tool and how they can further the understanding and application of the principle of leaving no one behind;
Understand how to navigate the SP2LNOB tool and inform relevant social protection policies/schemes with evidence;
Understand how to design, compute and analyse a multidimensional poverty index, using the Alkire-Foster method from a social protection perspective
Recognize the complementarity of different frameworks in use at the country level and presented during the workshop to monitor advances on the Sustainable Development Goal targets related to social protection;
Provide input on the consideration of next steps towards the consolidation of a strategy, including a financial strategy, for the efficient use of current frameworks to achieve universal social protection.
IV. Target Audience
The national multistakeholder workshop drew participation from technical specialists from ministries, departments and agencies of the Government as well as practitioners from civil society, research institutions and representatives from the United Nations Country Team in Cambodia.
V. Organization and Participation
The national multistakeholder workshop was organized in person at the Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh Hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 9-10 June 2025. The workshop was organized in English with simultaneous interpretation available for English and Khmer. The tentative programme of the training is available on the programme tab