The side-event titled – From “Unaffordability” to Rights: Claiming Fiscal Space for Universal Social Security – will take place at the Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF) during the IMF and World Bank Spring meetings.

The session will bring together new research and regional perspectives to examine how narratives around “affordability” shape fiscal choices and to explore pathways toward universal, rights-aligned social security systems.

• Date: Wednesday, April 15, 2026
• Time: 11:00am–12:30pm (Washington, DC / EDT) – Check your local time here.
• Location: IMF HQ2-03B-768B (1900 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC)
• Online: here

Speakers: 
Jamele Rigolini (World Bank)
Stephen Kidd (Development Pathways)
Angella Kasule Nabwowe (ISER Uganda)
Diala Ahwach (Arab Reform Initiative)
Matti Kohonen (Financial Transparency Coalition, tbc).

Moderator: Lena Simet (Human Rights Watch).

Co-organised by: Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP), Act Church of Sweden, Arab Reform Initiative (ARI), ISER Uganda, Human Rights Watch, Bretton Woods Project, Global Coalition for Social Protection Floors (GCSPF), International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP), Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ).

The Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF), a part of the 2026 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG), will take place from 14 to 17 April 2026 in a hybrid format. Find the schedule here.