October 13, 2023 | Side Event at the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings, Marrakech
At a high-level side event during the IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Marrakech, the End Austerity Campaign, together with the Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors and the Campaign for the Right to Social Security, convened a timely discussion on the urgent need to rethink social protection in the context of debt and austerity.
Drawing on recent research, the session revealed that IMF-mandated social spending floors often fail to counteract the broader harm caused by austerity-driven policy conditionalities. Rather than mitigating inequality, these measures tend to entrench it further.
Panelists called for a transformative shift in how the IMF and World Bank approach social policy—moving beyond narrow safety nets to frameworks that embed human rights and social justice at their core. The discussion championed the creation of a new eco-social contract, one that links economic policies with environmental sustainability and universal social protection.
