Abstract
Social Protection Programmes for Sāmoa have assisted our policy makers and development partners to promote economic growth and development of physical and social infrastructure. The significance of social protection has become evident, as investments in social protection reduce vulnerability, mitigate chronic poverty, and nurture inclusive growth. Social protection programs assist households to invest in their future and to manage risks, such as extreme environmental events, sudden illness, and economic shocks. Governments across the globe recognize the need to improve their countries’ social protection systems to better target disadvantaged and marginalized groups. To develop and implement effective social protection programs, a Social Protection Index, a monitoring tool is essential to inform decision making and track progress over time. By reviewing the current Social Protection Programmes for Sāmoa, which are specifically enhancing our own social protection. In essence, an update of the Social Protection Index’s (SPI) are encouraged to be conducted regularly which will lead to improvements in the way that the tool is constructed and used. These revised SPIs enables in-depth analysis of social protection at the country and regional levels, capturing the adequacy of social protection by looking at program expenditures, coverage, distribution, and impact. With uniformity in metrics and methods, the revised SPI can be used as a benchmark to improve social protection through better design, coverage, gender equity, and poverty targeting.
Keywords: Social protection, Social Protection Indexes, poverty, program expenditures.
