Social protection is a powerful policy tool to prevent and reduce poverty, inequality, social exclusion and insecurity emanating from risks and shocks, including those related to life cycle contingencies. But what is the status of social protection systems across Asia and the Pacific? Are they equipped to withstand and turn the megatrends of climate change, demographic shifts including population ageing and digitalization into opportunities? What should governments do to future-proof social protection systems?

The latest edition of the Social Outlook 2024: Protecting Our Future Today - Social Protection in Asia and the Pacific provides a blueprint on how we can improve social protection systems across the region. Leveraging strategic foresight methodology, the Report offers policy recommendations to meet changing conditions and argues that the price of inaction today far exceeds the cost of requisite action.