More than a billion people live in extreme poverty. They can barely withstand misfortunes such as accidents or illnesses, unemployment or a failed harvest, nor protect themselves from negative consequences in the long term. What can be done to ensure that illnesses are treated properly so that people maintain the capacity to work? And how can sections of the population with little or no income benefit from social protection systems? A social health insurance scheme finances the costs of an illness through solidarity-based mechanisms. This protects people against unaffordable treatment costs. In a similar way (e.g. by means of social transfers), children from extremely poor households can be provided with sufficient food and healthcare, and enabled to attend school, which keeps their opportunities open to pull themselves out of poverty.

Social protection systems help to reduce poverty and contribute to long-term social and economic development. Social health insurance schemes and basic social security systems cushion the impact of individual crises and financial emergencies, restoring the self-help capacity of people living in or threatened by poverty.