A joint ILO and UNHCR feasibility study assessed the inclusion of refugees and asylum-seekers in the national Universal Health Insurance scheme, identifying a legal framework and proposing cost policy options. Five policy papers explored the legal, institutional and financing pathways. This work supported a government-led pilot on refugee inclusion in two governorates.

PROSPECTS programme teams supported the review of national social protection strategies and advocated for the inclusion of refugees and non-nationals. A joint ILO and UNHCR study assessed the feasibility of enrolling urban refugees and asylum-seekers in the Community-based Health Insurance (CBHI) scheme in Addis Ababa, leading to engagement with the government on a potential pilot. 

PROSPECTS designed a targeted scheme for the extension of social security to informal workers, including refugees. The scheme, called the Estidama++ programme, introduced a contribution subsidy model and targeted outreach, successfully registering thousands of non-nationals in social security. There was considerable investment in outreach to and raising the awareness of the Social Security Corporation on the protection needs and realities of refugees in the country.

PROSPECTS collaborated with Kenya's National Social Protection secretariat to draft the National Strategy for Extension of Social Protection Coverage to Workers in the Informal and Rural Economy, including refugees. Kenya also incorporated refugees under its new Social Health Insurance Law, passed in 2023. A feasibility study was conducted for a maternity cash benefit that included non-nationals. The programme also supported the ongoing integration of refugees into the Enhanced Single Registry (ESR), a centralized database used for cash transfers and other benefits. 

In Lebanon, farmers and agricultural workers are not covered by the Labour Code and the National Social Security Fund, leaving them without access to social protection. Since 2023, under the PROSPECTS programme, the ILO has been conducting interviews and discussions throughout the country to understand social protection challenges faced by farmers and agriculture workers. In addition, the ILO and UNICEF signed an agreement on collaborating with the Ministry of Social Affairs to provide people with disabilities (PWDs) with basic income support. The overall approach was inclusive across communities, not just for Lebanese PWDs, providing an entry point for the extension of the National Disability Allowance (NDA) to refugee PWDs.

PROSPECTS programme teams supported the review of national social protection strategies. They also actively advocated for the inclusion of refugees and non-nationals on a par with nationals within these strategies. Inclusion studies of national health insurance schemes were conducted and fed into dialogue with social protection policymakers.

PROSPECTS supported work on the National Strategy on Coverage Extension to Workers in the Informal Economy, which explicitly references inclusion of both refugees and host communities. A costing strategy was developed, which is a pre-requisite for policy adoption in Uganda. At the district level, PROSPECTS supported the development of concept notes to localize the social protection strategy in Isingiro, Terego and Madi-Okollo.