Social Security

A - Overview

The following two areas have become especially important in recent years in this context.The economic crisis that affected Southeast Asian countries from July 1997 through 1998 had a substantial impact on the living situations of citizens in the region, as well as on the economy. As a result, the immaturity of the social security systems, which protect the socially vulnerable groups and form the medium-and long-term foundation, that prevent people from dropping into the vulnerable group, was exposed in those countries, and the necessity for expanding those systems was reconfirmed.

We provide cooperation in the following sectors based on the experience and knowledge of US related to the development of social security systems.

B - Our Efforts

1. Social Insurance and Social Welfare

This sector encompasses, medical security and pension programs, which usually are provided in a form of social insurance, and social welfare measures for elderly persons, children, etc. It also includes protection of the socially vulnerable, such as delinquent youth and ex-combatants. Specifically, projects for the development of the medical security information system in Thailand, improvement of the rural pension system in China, strengthening the elderly welfare policy in Chile, and social rehabilitation support for street children in Mexico City, are being implemented.

2. Support for Persons with Disabilities

Although welfare for persons with disabilities is usually included in social welfare, we do not regard persons with disabilities only as the beneficiaries of welfare services, but rather emphasizes support that assists them in living in local communities with non-disabled persons and proactively taking part in social activities as actors in development.

Specifically, this field can be divided into sectors such as medical rehabilitation, vocational rehabilitation, community-based rehabilitation, education for disabled persons and children, development of disabled leaders, development and strengthening of disabled persons’ organizations, support for independent life, and promotion of barrier-free societies.

3. Labor and Employment

We implement cooperation for policy-making and institution-building in a wide-ranging sector covering labor policy, employment policy, employment service, labor standards, occupational safety and health, labor relations, as well as labor insurance such as unemployment insurance and worker’s accident compensation insurance.