Extending social health protection to informal sector workers in India: A survey report

The survey report on extending social health protection to informal sector workers in India is an outcome of ILO-supported ESIC project. The purpose of this project is to strengthen its health services while increasing coverage and financial protection of working people in India.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) adopts a right-based approach on social health protection as part of its larger goal of developing strong social protection systems to increase resilience, contribute to preventing poverty, unemployment, and informality. The ILO lays special emphasis on the financial protection of vulnerable working populations accessing health services.

The ILO in India, through the ILO-ESIS project, has been contributing to this goal by providing technical support to the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) to strengthen its health services while increasing coverage and financial protection of working people in India. The report ‘Extending Social Health Protection to Informal Sector Workers in India’ is an outcome of the project.

The ILO lays special emphasis on the financial protection of vulnerable working populations under the larger goal of developing strong social protection system to achieve goal of social justice for all.

The ILO in India, through the ILO-ESIS project, has been contributing to this goal by providing technical support to the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) to strengthen its health services while increasing coverage and financial protection of working people in India.

‘Extending Social Health Protection to Informal Sector Workers in India: A Survey Report’ is an outcome of the project. It has been developed in partnership with Institute for Human Development (IHD), New Delhi. The broad objective of this study is to analyse the potential of upscaling the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme (ESIS) services for the inclusion of economic units and workers from the informal sector to mitigate the health-related financial burden on households.

A report launch event was organized on 23 November 2022 in Delhi. Ms Dagmar Walter, Director, ILO, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, DG, ESIC, Prof. Alakh Sharma and Prof. Ravi Srivastava of IHD and Ms Mariko Ouchi attended the workshop. A panel discussion on “Extension of social health protection in India: possibilities and challenges” was part of the event.