The proliferation of social protection schemes has prompted a number of countries to attempt to weave individual schemes into comprehensive and coherent social protection systems. This approach is in line with Target 1.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals: ‘To implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all’. The systems-building process usually begins with the formulation of a social protection policy, which lays out a vision for integrating different schemes and achieving better coverage. While there is variation across countries, the term social protection system usually refers to a framework whereby the three pillars of social protection – social assistance, social insurance and labour market programmes – are integrated or (at a minimum) co-ordinated. Integration usually involves creating linkages between different programmes under each pillar of the social protection system, for example, combining different food security transfers within the social assistance pillar.