From 11 to 13 October 2023, the ILO, in partnership with the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), held a regional workshop in Dakar on the role of social mutuals in national social health protection systems in the WAEMU zone. The workshop brought together members of the Advisory Council for Social Mutuality from the eight WAEMU countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo), social partners from the WAEMU zone, and development partners such as Belgium. The workshop enabled WAEMU to define its recommendations in this area, facilitating the implementation of the WAEMU regulation on social mutuality in all the countries in the zone and the extension of social health protection coverage.

The workshop also provided an opportunity to validate a study on the roles of social mutuals in national social health protection systems in the WAEMU, prepared with the ILO's technical assistance. The study presents the lessons learned from international experience in integrating social mutuals into national social health protection systems. Social mutuals are community-based organisations that offer social benefits, including health coverage, to workers in the informal economy.

The workshop and study are part of the technical support provided by the ILO to the WAEMU aimed at extending social protection in the eight countries. They were made possible thanks to the multi-donor programme in support of the ILO Flagship Programme on Building Social Protection Floors for All, funded by the Governments of Belgium and Luxembourg.