8. Social protection also contributes significantly to economic growth in two main ways. First, by improving access to health care, education and income, it tends to unlock the full productive potential of a country, increase labour market participation and entrepreneurial activity. Second, it acts as a stabiliser in times of economic crisis by helping to maintain a minimum level of purchasing power and therefore, prevents demand from dropping sharply. It helps to maintain household consumption such that people are enabled to overcome the risk of poverty and social exclusion. 9. Social protection also risk behaviours related to HIV, teen pregnancy, crime, among others – thereby sustaining human capital. 10. Social protection has been identified as having the potential to support environmental sustainability by strengthening the capacity against natural disasters. Types of Social Protection Three major types of social protection are identifiable as follows: 1) Social Insurance aims at assisting people to deal with issues of vulnerabilities linked to old age, such as loss of income due to retirement, illness or disability. Examples are the Contributory Pensions Scheme(CPS), the National Health Insurance Scheme(NHIS) – based on insurance principles. 12