This edition of the Social Panorama of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2024 focuses on the challenges of non-contributory social protection in advancing towards inclusive social development in the region. Tackling the development crisis, inclusive social development gaps and changing risk structure demands progress towards universal, comprehensive, sustainable and resilient social protection systems. Non-contributory social protection policies are essential to fulfil the goals and functions of social protection systems: the protection of income, access to social services and labour inclusion. One in three households in the lowest income quintile lacks access to social protection and the amounts provided by social protection programmes are generally insufficient to overcome poverty. The region faces persistent gender inequality and a care crisis that is likely to be exacerbated by rapid ageing. Eliminating poverty requires comprehensive policies and progress in establishing a standard of investment in non-contributory social protection.