M-GA Initiative Social protection and decent work: the foundation for poverty reduction, conflict prevention and resilience

    During Germany’s G7 Presidency in 2022, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Bank and the Federal Republic of Germany agreed to jointly support low- and middle-income countries in developing social protection systems and in promoting decent work.

    From this agreement the M-GA Initiative emerged. M-GA stands for Multi-stakeholder Engagement to Implement the Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions and the World Bank Compass. The aim of the Initiative is to bring together various interest groups in order to successfully implement the goals of the Global Accelerator – a United Nations initiative.


    The Global Accelerator

    Logo. Global Accelerator

    Website of the Global Accelerator

    The Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions was launched in 2021 by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. Its aim is to accelerate extending access to social protection by 2030 to an additional four billion people and creating 400 million decent jobs. The dual strategy of social protection and employment is an important lever for reducing poverty and hunger, protecting people against crises and making societies more resilient in the face of global challenges such as climate change. The speedy realisation of the goals of the Global Accelerator is intended to make a decisive contribution towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.

    The M-GA Initiative

    In order to achieve the goals of the Global Accelerator, a strong international alliance will be needed. The M-GA Initiative launched by Germany in 2022 therefore brings together two of the most important international players in this context: the United Nations with its specialised agency the ILO and the World Bank, which provides the biggest share of Official Development Assistance (ODA) for measures concerned with social protection. Together with other partners, they want to pool their forces and mobilise new funding.

    In order to avoid start-up costs and duplicate structures, it was decided not to create a new fund for the M-GA. Instead, the Initiative builds on two existing funds at the World Bank and the United Nations, improving coordination between these two funds thanks to a shared steering structure.

    In June 2023, Development Minister Svenja Schulze announced at the Global Forum on Adaptive Social Protection in Berlin that Germany was committing seven million euros in start-up capital for the M-GA from the BMZ’s special initiative on Decent Work for a Just Transition. This funding has already been disbursed in equal halves to the two funds at the UN and the World Bank. In 2024, a further 20 million euros was committed as follow-up funding for the M-GA.

    Development Minister Svenja Schulze
    In places with social safety nets, all are able to weather a crisis better. Social protection facilitates crisis preparedness. And it is one of the most important levers for fighting poverty and hunger.
    Development Minister Svenja Schulze on 29 November 2022

    Having a say in steering the process

    Donor countries, UN organisations, international financial institutions, pilot countries, social partners and civil society are all represented in the M-GA Coordinating Council. The Council sets out strategic guidelines and, working with the management team of the M-GA, prepares the ground for financial decisions that are then given the go-ahead by the participating Funds.

    The M-GA Initiative also aims to use a modern steering structure with strong participation by the Global South, civil society and the social partners. This creates concrete opportunities for active involvement at both the level of the global steering structures and in the country processes.

    Project implementation in the countries involved

    The first round of calls for proposals under the M-GA Initiative took place in May 2024; 14 countries participated; all of them had already given an undertaking within the framework of the Global Accelerator to step up their investments in employment and social protection. Nine projects are currently being supported via the M-GA and are being jointly implemented by the respective national governments, the UN and the World Bank. The projects include supporting better qualifications with a view to promoting employment in Cambodia, expanding the social register in Colombia and drawing up legislation for maternity leave, sickness and unemployment in Uzbekistan (as at December 2024).

    In the next round of M-GA proposals in 2025, all interested countries will be able to apply for M-GA funding – including countries that are not yet participating in the Global Accelerator. In order to expand the Initiative and offer more countries the opportunity to participate, the M-GA needs more partners that are ready and willing to make a financial commitment. Bilateral donors and international financial institutions have the possibility of providing support under the framework of the M-GA. This automatically makes them members of the Coordinating Council and means that they can be involved in steering the M-GA.

    Contact

    For further information on the M-GA and on the dates for proposals, contact the BMZ’s social protection team at RL102@BMZ.Bund.de.

    Jointly financing social protection with the M-GA

    In pledging its support for the SDGs, the BMZ made a commitment to facilitate access to social protection for more people, stepping up its efforts to champion this goal during the German G7 Presidency. Additional financial resources and strong partnerships between the key players in the field of social protection are necessary for this. The M-GA is the first step in creating an international fund for social protection with a view to improving how implementation is coordinated – as set out in the German government’s coalition agreement.

    The M-GA is a link between the World Bank, which is the biggest donor of funds for Official Development Assistance (ODA) in the field of social protection, and the United Nations’ SDG Fund. The jointly provided funds are used to develop social protection systems, thereby supporting the goal of integrating four billion people who are currently without such cover into social protection systems. Unlike the GA, with the M-GA it is possible to support a larger number of countries and the range of topics covered is also broader.

    The aim of the M-GA is to develop sustainable social protection systems that are integrated into the existing strategies of the countries concerned. This way we are able to make sure that these countries take responsibility for the projects and are able to finance them themselves in the long run. Countries can apply directly to implement their own projects. After the applications have been received, an expert team from the UN and the World Bank coordinates the selection process. Recommendations are passed on to the Funds, which then decide which projects will be supported. The projects are currently implemented by the UN and the World Bank; in future, governments will also be able to receive funds themselves.

    Promoting knowledge sharing at a global level and continuously evaluating processes and project activities in the countries concerned are core elements of the M-GA, serving to make it flexible and adaptable. For example, global knowledge products created via the M-GA take and process best practices from the countries involved, making them universally accessible. In addition, the BMZ is currently supporting an evaluation of the process with the aim of optimising the steering structure of the M-GA and thereby improving the coordination and efficiency of the financing of projects concerned with social protection and decent work.

    As at: 19/12/2024