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ACTION/Portugal

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

In order to reach the development objective, the project contemplates three immediate objectives: (1) the governments have developed policies, plans and programmes to broaden social protection coverage, and/or have modified the legal framework for extension of social protection, in line with the social protection floor guarantees;

(2) the countries – and in particular the social protection institutions and the organizations of employers and workers – have developed their capacities and skills for implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the policies and programmes related to extension of the social protection programmes; and

(3) the actors in social protection have improved their access to knowledge and their capacities for participating in the global campaign for extension of social protection, and have transferred good practices to other countries within the realm of South–South cooperation.

 

ANGOLA

Priority action axes and intervention strategy

In order to define the intervention strategy, the ACTION/Portugal project organized a seminar in Luanda, with the theme "The Social Protection System in Angola: the way forward and challenges for the future", on the 16-17 November 2015. This seminar provided an opportunity to review the results achieved to date and the work that still needs to be done to strengthen the social protection system in Angola. It was the result of the cooperation between the ITC-ILO, the ILO-Geneva and the ILO office in Yaoundé, the APROSOC (Social Protection Support) project that is managed by UNICEF with financial support from the European Union, the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) - Ministry of Public Administration, Labour and Social Security (MAPTSS) and the Ministry of Social Assistance and Reintegration (MINARS). The seminar allowed a reflection on the work developed and the strategic guidelines that orientate the work of the institutions responsible for the various components that constitute the social protection system in Angola: the National Social Security Institute (INSS), the Ministry of Social Assistance and Reintegration (MINARS), the Program for Combating Poverty under the Ministry of Commerce and the Social Support Fund of the Ministry of Territory Administration.

 

CABO VERDE

Priority action axes and intervention strategy

Cabo Verde was the country that hosted the first of the ACTION/Portugal national seminars held between October 2015 and January 2016. The national seminar entitled "Social Dialogue on the Social Protection System in Cape Verde" was held on 8-9 October 2015.

The seminar was attended by a diverse audience and was an opportunity to identify, in a general way, the situation of social protection in the country, the latest advances, the system gaps, the challenges and possible areas of intervention in the near future for strengthening the social protection system.

The following areas of work were identified as areas which could receive support under the ACTION/Portugal project in Cabo Verde:

a) Support for the revision and regulation of some legal provisions;

b) Integrated analysis of certain social responses/benefits in order to assess the impact and make recommendations to improve their implementation and effectiveness;

c) Improvement of the tools of the integrated management information systems;

d) Support the implementation of unemployment benefits;

e) Identify and raise awareness of new medium- and long-term challenges to the social protection system through the dissemination of good practices and the sharing of experiences between countries.

 

GUINEA-BISSAU

Priority action axes and intervention strategy

The ACTION/Portugal seminar in Guinea-Bissau took place on 21-22 January 2016 under the theme "Social dialogue on the social protection system in Guinea-Bissau". The seminar was attended by a diverse audience and was an opportunity to identify, in a general way, the situation of social protection in the country, the latest advances, the system gaps, the challenges and possible areas of intervention in the near future for strengthening the social protection system.

The following areas of work were identified as areas which could receive support under the ACTION/Portugal project in Guinea-Bissau:

a) Promotion of the extension of coverage at various levels (population not covered);

b) Promotion of the convergence and unification of the compulsory social protection system for the civil servants;

c) Improvement of the quality of the INSS statistical information;

d) Strengthening of the articulation and governance of the social protection system (Social Protection Strategy, among others);

e) Capacity building of human resources at the level of the social protection system.

 

MOZAMBIQUE

Priority action axes and intervention strategy

In order to outline the intervention strategy, the ACTION/Portugal project seminar was held in Maputo with the theme "Social Protection System in Mozambique: the way forward and challenges for the future", on 2-3 November 2015. This seminar provided an opportunity to review the results achieved to date and the work that still needs to be done to strengthen the social protection system in Mozambique.

The seminar, considered as the starting point to define the activities necessary to overcome the identified challenges, was attended by twenty-five managers and technicians from the different institutions (MITESS, MGCAS, INAS, INSS, OTM-CS, CONSILMO, CTA, PSCM-PS, Bank of Mozambique, DNPS, MISAU, INEFP) linked to Mozambique's social protection system, in order to ensure that social partners and policy-makers participate in a process of dialogue and consultation regarding the measures needed to ensure the strengthening of social protection in the country.

Based on the outcome of the discussions during the workshop, five working areas were identified that could receive support from the ACTION/Portugal project in Mozambique in the period 2016-2018:

a) Extension of coverage to the population not covered;

b) Improvement of the access to health care;

c) Articulation for a more efficient system;

d) Creation of fiscal space for the extension of coverage;

e) Strengthening the governance of the Social Protection system.

 

SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE

Priority action axes and intervention strategy

The ACTION/Portugal project organized a seminar in São Tomé and Príncipe on 19-20 November 2015. The seminar, which was titled "National Dialogue on the Social Protection System in São Tomé and Príncipe" was an opportunity for reflection and analysis of the results achieved to date and allowed to identify areas for the work that needs to be undertaken with a view to strengthening the social protection system in São Tomé and Príncipe.

The seminar was attended by 24 stakeholders from different institutions, including public institutions and the social partners. The aim was precisely to ensure that the social partners and policy-makers participated in a process of dialogue and consultation on the work carried out and discussed future challenges to ensure the strengthening of social protection in the country.

The following areas of work were identified to be supported by the ACTION/Portugal project in São Tomé and Príncipe:

a) Support to the effective implementation of the National Social Protection Council, including capacity building and other technical inputs;

b) Extension of the coverage of compulsory social protection to the population not covered;

c) Support for the revision and regulation of some legal provisions;

d) Improvement of access to health care.

 

TIMOR-LESTE

Priority action axes and intervention strategy

The definition of priorities was carried out on the basis of a process of dialogue with the national authorities, including the social partners. To this end, an ILO mission to Dili was held in order to dialogue with the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MSS) and the different national actors.

The main scope of the project will be to support the Government of Timor-Leste in the process of elaborating a National Strategy for the Development of Social Protection.

Technical support and follow-up of activities, in particular the process of supporting the development of the National Social Protection Strategy, will be conducted by the specialists from ILO-Díli and with the technical oversight of the Social Security Specialist based in Bangkok and in coordination with the ILO Office for Indonesia and Timor-Leste (CO-Jakarta).

The basis for this support will be the implementation of an Assessment-Based National Dialogue (ABND) exercise, which will contribute to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the current Social Protection system and promote the gradual implementation of a Social Protection Floor in the country.

The ABND exercise will assess existing measures to promote social protection, identify gaps and challenges, and provide recommendations and cost estimates to help build a more comprehensive, coherent and inclusive national social protection system.

The process will be incorporated in a broad training exercise, translated into seminars involving different actors of the Timorese society, in order to understand the different social sensitivities and seek to develop a system that reflects the concerns of the different sectors of the society. One of the objectives will also be to familiarize as many actors as possible with the concepts of social protection, the existing interventions at national level, as well as with good international practices.

The exercise will be carried out under the supervision of the Government of Timor-Leste with the technical leadership of the Ministry of Social Solidarity and with the assistance of the International Labour Organization.

 

Partners

Ministries of Labour and Social Security; Ministries of Social Welfare; Ministries of Health; workers’ organizations and employers’ organizations.

 

Donor

Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security - Portugal

 

Duration

September 2015 – December 2018

 

Target beneficiaries

Final beneficiaries

The expected final beneficiaries of the Project are those people who are excluded or inadequately covered by social protection (contributory and non-contributory schemes), and their family members.

In some countries (Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and São Tome and Principe) efforts will be centred on the design and implementation of the four social protection floor guarantees, and the priority final beneficiaries will be the most vulnerable social groups, while always incorporating a gender perspective.

Direct beneficiaries

The strengthening of the social protection systems of the countries necessarily involves strengthening of the institutional capacity of the ILO constituents involved, and promotion of constructive and inclusive opportunities for social dialogue.

In this way, the Project’s direct beneficiaries are the public institutions of the PALOP and of Timor-Leste that are involved in the development and implementation of the national social protection floors such as:

a)         the Ministries that have oversight responsibility for social protection and health, in particular the Ministries responsible for the labour and social affairs portfolios;

b)         the institutions responsible for administration of non-contributory and contributory social protection;

c)         the institutions responsible for programmes and policies for economic and social development and poverty reduction, specifically the Ministries of Planning and of Finance;

 

In addition to public institutions, there is great commitment to work with:

•           the workers’ and employers’ organizations involved in the development and implementation of the national social protection floors and in reducing social exclusion in the PALOP and Timor-Leste;

•           the civil society support structures that conduct or are involved in actions for development and implementation of the national social protection floors in the PALOP and Timor-Leste.

 

In the specific case of the training and capacity building actions, the Project will be focused on the following target groups:

a)         decision makers responsible for the definition of the social policies at policy and strategy levels: management staff from the various ministries with direct or indirect influence on social protection policies such as ministries that oversee the areas of labour, social protection, health, education, finance and planning, among others, as well as Members of Parliament and the leaders of parliamentary groups.

b)         senior staff and technical officers involved in the execution of the policies and systems of the Ministries of Labour and Social Affairs and from the various social security or social welfare and social assistance institutes.

c)         representatives of organizations of civil society: associations, national and international NGOs and organizations of employers and workers. With the social partners, particular emphasis will be given to the essential role that they play in social dialogue with the governments regarding social protection.

 

Geographical focus

PALOP (Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe) and Timor-Leste 

 

ACTION/Portugal in social media (news, photos, seminar information, other resources): https://www.facebook.com/groups/620237081466171/

 
Project Mozambique , Sao Tome and Principe , Angola , Cabo Verde , Guinea-Bissau , Timor-Leste
04.12.2023
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