ABSTRACT
In most countries of the developing and developed world, informal sector workers remain an important part of the workforce. This is contrary to the perceived wisdom in development economics which had assumed that with continuing economic growth more and more workers would become part of the formal sector. At the same time, in most developing countries structural adjustment measures over the past 10–15 years have forced many governments to cut down on social services, including access to health services. While formal sector workers often enjoy health protection, in the form of access to health services in general as well as to safety and health measures at work in particular, such protection has generally not been extended to the large majority of informal sector workers.
