The Single Reimbursement System (Sistema Único de Reintegros – SUR) was created in 2012 with the introduction of Resolution 1200/201. It aimed to handle requests from health-related social security organizations efficiently and in a timely manner, partially compensating the payment of benefits with high economic impact or that cover chronic diseases.

People with disabilities are one of society’s most excluded groups and usually have the most difficulties in accessing health, education, employment, and social security. Current policies are either not inclusive, or are still in the initial stages, and thus do not protect the rights of this group. We need rules and regulations that support us in taking action to better protect their rights. Even more importantly, we need to properly understand their needs in order to provide quality care.

Institutions are being transformed thanks to the integration of new technologies. This vision represents a corporate change with a social impact, reducing costs, simplifying processes and procedures, and raising awareness of the importance and benefits of this transformation.

Panama’s Social Insurance Fund (Caja de Seguro Social de Panamá – CSS) has put in place operational models that use and develop new communication technologies through mobile devices to offer high-quality care to members. This is part of its vision to be a leading guarantor of social security in Panama and to ensure efficient, agile and timely management, for the benefit of Panamanian people.

South Sudan Pensions Fund (SSPF) is in the process of receiving the contributions from Khartoum for all the pensioners who worked in Sudan before South Sudan was given autonomy in 2005, and subsequently, became independent in 2011. This is in line with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and South Sudan Pensions Fund Act, 2012.

South Sudan, as sovereign nation, has the Constitution and Pension Fund Act, 2012 mandate to follow up and ensure the contributions for the civil servants who worked in Sudan before independence was transferred to South Sudan.

The issue of population growth and social security planning is one of the biggest challenges facing governments today, and is a key part of a good social security system that instils confidence in its members.

The Retirement and Pension Fund for Employees of Banks and Related Institutions (Caja de Jubilaciones y Pensiones de Empleados de Bancos y Afines) (Bank Fund, hereinafter) is in constant communication with its members. It therefore continuously updates its databases, in order to have a better understanding of members’ current realities, experiences and needs.

The royal project to expand social security coverage in Morocco was launched in accordance with Framework Law No. 09-21 on social protection. The implementation of the royal project to expand social security coverage has been entrusted to the National Social Security Fund (Caisse nationale de sécurité sociale – CNSS), a major player in social protection in Morocco and will take place in line with a staggered implementation schedule.

For the population groups:

In order to put its beneficiaries, especially those most vulnerable, at the heart of everything it does, the National Social Insurance Fund of Chad (Caisse nationale de prévoyance sociale – CNPS) has established a mechanism for paying bedridden people (pensioners and annuitants) in their own homes.

When payments are due, a team made up of social workers and an accountant visits the homes of these bedridden people to make the necessary payments.

Since the crisis started at the beginning of 2020, businesses have been experiencing lower activity levels. The hope of a quick recovery leads them to try, as much as they can, to keep on their employees, favouring part-time work and temporary lay-offs over letting people go entirely.

Inadequate minimum old-age pensions and insufficient social security contributions were the challenges that the Social Security Fund (SSF, hereafter the Fund) of Libya had to overcome by consulting the Libyan Centre for Research and Actuarial Studies, which resulted in an increase in the contributions rate from 15 per cent to 20.5 per cent, thus enabling the Fund to raise the minimum old-age pension by 100 per cent.

In response to the major socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and France’s lockdown of 17 March 2020, the General Assembly of the Council for the Social Protection of Self-Employed Workers (Conseil de la protection sociale des travailleurs indépendants – CPSTI) decided, on 2 April 2020, to put the financial reserves of the Compulsory Supplementary Old-Age Pension for the Self-Employed (Retraite complémentaire vieillesse obligatoire des indépendants – RCI) to unprecedented use in establishing its special RCI CPSTI COVID-19 aid.

During the pandemic, the Government of Brunei Darussalam introduced measures to address the impact of COVID-19 in the country. This was carried out with a “Whole of Nation Approach” – United in addressing the impact and challenges arising from the spread of COVID-19 in Brunei Darussalam. The steps undertaken are focused on three main components, namely, maintaining the well-being of the public, protecting jobs, and providing support for individuals as well as supporting and assisting businesses.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on South Africa’s economy and the livelihood of its citizens. Many South Africans lost their incomes as a result of the pandemic and subsequent lock-down regulations. In an effort to provide relief, South Africa introduced a special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress grant (cSRD) to address income support gap and food insecurity.

The first case of COVID-19 in Fiji in March 2020 followed by the closing of its borders had widespread impact on the Fijian economy. The pandemic triggered one of the worst job crisis that Fiji has ever seen, bringing with it massive unemployment and pay reduction. Without a coherent national social security system and lack of government funds, government relied on Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) for assistance and as its reliable arm for cash distribution to affected workers.

When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), in El Salvador the Directorate General of the Salvadoran Social Security Institute (Instituto Salvadoreño del Seguro Social – ISSS) put forward a new form of care. This was authorized by the ISSS board in agreement No. 2020-0651 ABR. This made it possible to implement virtual care through telemedicine, known as Dr. ISSS en línea (Dr. ISSS online).

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pension Services Sector at The Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) of Kuwait required the in-person attendance of anyone requesting official certificates and documents. Thus, PIFSS is keen to keep pace with ongoing developments and provide its services by utilizing the best available technology.

The project for the execution of the Auxílio Emergencial (Emergency aid), created by Law No. 13,982, of 2 April 2020, with the objective of guaranteeing minimum income to Brazilians in a vulnerable situation during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed more than 100 million people to be assisted by public policy in a timely manner.

To help meet the protection needs of chronic patients and older adults of the Social Insurance Fund of Costa Rica (Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social – CCSS) in the COVID-19 context and to avoid them having to travel to the health establishment to ensure their adherence to treatment, the following strategies were promoted:

Given the growth of the community of the Civil Servants Pension Fund (CSPF) and the numerous needs of this community in various areas such as social, economic, healthcare, etc., designing products and services, providing economic and customized start-up-based solutions are considered as a fundamental necessity. Therefore, the CSPF has established the Saba Innovation Centre (Saba) with two goals:

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Executive Office (Poder Ejecutivo Nacional – PEN) created, by Decree 310/2020, the Emergency Family Income (Ingreso Familiar de Emergencia − IFE), a non-contributory benefit of an exceptional nature. The recipients are households composed of casual workers, unemployed people, workers in private homes and those taxed under the regime for small taxpayers from the lowest categories.

Namibia has experienced significant high rates of unemployment that have needed the involvement of all stakeholders. To this end, the Social Security Commission (SSC) moved to create a platform through which, in collaboration with other key players, would address the challenge of unemployment. This is now known as the Development Fund of the SCC.

Expanding its services from assisting up to 1,200 jobseekers with employment injuries or illnesses annually in 2008, Social Security Organization (SOCSO) now delivers employment services to all categories of job seekers in Malaysia through the establishment of the MYFutureJobs National Employment Services, a framework similar to the Public Employment Services defined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Paraguay’s Social Insurance Institute (Instituto de Previsión de Social – IPS) used to make sick leave payments at its administrative offices, which had associated administrative costs and meant beneficiaries had to visit the IPS service counter in person.

The project Escuta (escuta means “to listen” in Portuguese) of the National Institute of Social Security (Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social – INSS) was conceived and developed by a team from the southern region of Brazil, the Health and Quality of Life at Work team, to meet the needs of employees who, in the context of COVID-19 pandemic, have to observe social distancing to perform their professional activities.

The Medical Board of the Social Security Organization (SOCSO) is a group of medical professionals that is responsible for performing impairment evaluation and determining the social security benefits due to employment injury or invalidity filed by Malaysian employees (insured persons) with SOCSO.

Panama’s Social Insurance Fund (Caja de Seguro Social de Panamá – CSS) has put in place operational models that use and develop new technologies to offer high-quality care to members. This is part of its vision to be a leading guarantor of social security in Panama and to ensure efficient, agile and timely management, for the benefit of Panamanian people.

In response to COVID-19 pandemic, the Social Security Corporation (SSC) of Jordan launched the Sustainability Programme (Istidama) in accordance with the Defence Law, issued by the government in 2020, represented by a package of procedures, aimed at securing workers in the activities and sectors most affected; providing temporary income that enables them to meet their living requirements because of the decrease in their wages.

The Department of Legal Medicine and Evaluation of Disabilities (Departamento de Medicina Legal y Evaluación de Incapacidades) is the technical-administrative body of the Social Security Institute of Guatemala (Instituto Guatemalteco de Seguridad Social – IGSS). Its main objective is to prepare reports, which are used to support different types of evaluations related to the provision of services and economic benefits.

In March 2020, the coronavirus pandemic broke out in Israel.

What began as a health crisis soon turned into an economic crisis, which led many workers to go on forced unpaid leave and went to the National Insurance Institute (NII) for assistance. There was a need to find creative solutions within the limits of the law and the data available to the NII, and to find workable and quick solutions that would allow the payment of unemployment benefits to unpaid workers.

The Pension Services Sector of The Public Institution for Social Security (PIFSS) of Kuwait provides its services to its clients by personally attending to complete transactions, either at the headquarters or at its branches spread throughout the country.

The service performance presents the challenge faced by the National Social Security Institute (Instituto Nacional do Seguro Social – INSS) of Brazil in the accumulation of the stock of Continuous Provision Benefit (Benefício de Prestação Continuada – BPC) requirements for Persons with Disabilities (BPC-PwD) since 2019. It describes the strategy applied to improve responsiveness and service performance, based on user experience, interoperability and continuous process improvement. This strategy resulted in the implementation of the BPC Qualified Requirement.

The effect of climate change is already a measurable reality posing significant social, economic, and environmental risks globally. For a developing country like South Africa, the risks associated with climate change are exacerbated by high levels of poverty, inequality and unemployment. The World Bank’s Climate Risk Country Profile for South Africa (2021) states that climate change is expected to increase the risk and severity of water scarcity and drought across South Africa.

Arterial hypertension has been identified as a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Pharmacotherapeutic monitoring is the professional practice where the pharmacist is responsible for meeting the patient’s medicine-related needs.

The impact of the pharmacotherapeutic monitoring programme was measured via a sample comparison using Student’s t-test. Blood pressure values were compared as well as adherence to treatment for the patients in the study, before and after receiving the programme.

Chile’s Mutual for Safety CChC (Mutual de Seguridad CChC) has formed a multidisciplinary team to develop and implement a care model for its patients with sequelae. Tailored to the needs of chronically ill patients, the model allows appropriate monitoring of related risks with a view to preventing bio-psychosocial complications that can affect how such patients maintain their residual capacity in the long term.

The Brazilian social security system is composed of three schemes: The General Social Security Scheme (Regime Geral de Previdência Social – RGPS), the Own Social Security Scheme (Regime Próprio de Previdência Social – RPPS), and the Complementary Pension Scheme (Regime de Previdência Complementar – RPC).

Social security is a complicated and wide-ranging topic that can be difficult to grasp for many of our customers. We often receive feedback from customers criticising the language we use as difficult to understand and telling us about the challenges of completing benefit applications. Based on that feedback, we have taken steps to simplify the language we use and to streamline the applications. One of the ways we have tried to make it easier to discover and interpret information and to complete benefit applications has been to deploy a chatbot.

The Listening and Guidance Centre (Centre d’écoute et d’orientation – CEO) at Madagascar’s National Social Insurance Fund (Caisse nationale de prévoyance sociale – CNaPS) helps to improve the living conditions of those CNaPS members who are more vulnerable, in psycho-social, health and economic terms.

In Guinea, the population has suffered from difficulties in accessing health care for a long time. The country has lacked sufficient health infrastructures and facilities.

This good practice was introduced in 2014, based on the search for administrative solutions among health providers in Uruguay that guarantee care and coverage for specific vulnerable populations. We identified that these target groups would likely struggle to reach and access care, given that they lived far from the capital, primarily in suburban and rural areas. Moreover, beneficiaries were generally covered by the universal health-care system but worked in the informal sector.

Persisting in strengthening the Libyan Social Security Fund (SSF)’s financial position and achieving financial sustainability is our duty. The implementation of our mission is to fulfill the rights of the insured persons in a way that protects the dignity of Libyans and makes them feel satisfied with our services while preserving economic stability and social security, reaching our goal of activating institutional performance and developing work methods according to the use of institutional excellence practices.

The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) stands out as Nigeria’s foremost social security institution, with vast experience in the implementation of social security programmes in Nigeria. With a history that dates back to 1961, NSITF is famous for its continuous provision of social security to the Nigerian population. Between 2010 to 2019, i.e. the years covered by this good practice report, the NSITF has experienced tremendous improvement in its operational methods.

Chile’s Mutual for Safety CChC (Mutual de Seguridad CChC), in its role as administrator of Law No. 16,744 on work accidents and occupational diseases, has for more than 15 years had a process in place to promote and facilitate workers’ return to work. It has helped to generate rehabilitation processes through its holistic approach to health, with a focus on providing social protection and social security coverage to Chile’s workforce.

Research has shown that the prevention of long-term unemployment is important from both economic and social perspectives. Long-term unemployed individuals suffer from skill erosion and encounter difficulty in re-entering employment. In the wider economy, welfare payments and lost revenue mean that long-term unemployment entails substantial financial costs.

The Child Support Grant (CSG) is one of the social assistance programmes in South Africa established to address child poverty. Emerging from the apartheid regime, the democratic government introduced the CSG in 1998 to replace the racially based State Maintenance Grant (SMG), which had been in existence from the 1930s providing income protection to white families, excluding most black families and their children. The new grant removed the racially discriminatory features, which expanded the coverage to all eligible children.

Leave granted under Law 7756: Benefits for caregivers of terminally ill patients and seriously ill minors (Licencias en apego a la Ley 7756: Beneficios para los Responsables de Pacientes en Fase Terminal y Personas Menores de Edad Gravemente Enfermas) reflect the solidary nature of the Costa Rican State, as they are geared to ensuring economic protection of families obliged to care for a terminally ill patient, a seriously ill minor or a person up to the age of 25 who is directly dependent on the designated caregiver.