PHASE 3 : ELABORATION OF THE NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR BASIC SOCIAL SECURITY 2015-2019 (February 2015-April 2015)

This phase consisted of multiple iterations.

First Iteration

The findings of the costing exercise and the technical document of the new National Strategy for Basic Social Security 2015-2019 (link to document of the ENSSB II in Portuguese) were presented at a series of back-to-back national dialogue workshops in February 2015. This included:

• A 3-day retreat with the technical working group of MMAS and INAS, and ILO technical support (link to agenda and .ppt presentations);
• A one day strategic meeting with the Ministry of Health, responsible for implementing the pillar of health social action  (link to agenda and .ppt presentations);
• A one day strategic meeting with the Ministry of Education, responsible for implementing the pillar of education social action  (link to agenda and .ppt presentations);
• A 1-day meeting with members of the technical and consultative Council of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Action  (link to agenda and .ppt presentations);
• And a 1 day meeting with civil society and development partners  (link to agenda and .ppt presentations);
• And meeting with the Minister of Gender, Children and Social Action.

Outcomes

At the technical level, the proposals outlined were accepted and there was consensus at the technical level that the in-kind food kit program, should be replaced with a more effective and efficient cash transfer program. This marks a radical shift in the conception of social protection. The proposal is that the new programs be introduced gradually. There is a question therefore of how to prioritize interventions, focusing efforts on larger programs that have the potential to make the case for greater investment in social protection.

In terms of social services, there was also consensus on the need to improve the provision of social services, bringing social action workers closer to the beneficiaries and setting up referral services to professionals specialized in social action. The services provided should be geared towards the social challenges faced by the majority of the population, namely: negligence, violence, trafficking, child labor, early marriage, sexual assault, and other practices. 

In terms of institutional capacity, there was consensus on the need to place INAS technical staff in all district in the country even where there is not a delegation. In addition, emphasis was made on the need to strengthen the capacity of the SDSMAS and to replace the semi-volunteer force of ‘permanentes’ who represent INAS at the local level, with a Social Action agent.  Furthermore, there was consensus on the need to invest in operating systems in order to ensure cost-effectiveness and operational efficiency, specifically through the MIS, monitoring and evaluation, the outsourcing of the payment system and a complains mechanism.

Second Iternation

Phase 3 will include one more series of national dialogue workshops through:

• Six thematic working group workshops related to the new pillars of the National Strategy for Basic Social Security 2015-2019, which will include members of the relevant Ministries, civil society organizations, and development partners (link to agenda and .ppt presentations);
• A one-day workshop with members of the Technical and Consultative council who will ultimately approve the ENSSB 2015-2019 (link to agenda and .ppt presentations);
• Provincial consultations with INAS and MMAS delegates at the regional level in the South, Central and North of the country (link to agenda and .ppt presentations);
• Follow up discussions with the technical team regarding the monitoring and evaluation framework for the ENSSB 2015-2019 (link to agenda and .ppt presentations).