Social Protection

Building social protection floors
and comprehensive social security systems

ILO Support

ILO support

The area of Social Protection started in 2006 through the STEP Portugal. STEP has been supporting the gradual establishment of a basic package of social security through various actions. This project was later complemented by the participation in a UN DP, jointly with UNICEF and WFP, in the context of UN "Delivering as One". Within this framework, ILO has been assisting actively the Mozambican Government's efforts to promote the extension of social protection to the excluded populations.

STEP has been supporting the gradual establishment of a basic package of social security through various actions:

  • Technical assistance to the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs in the elaboration and approval of the Basic Social Security Strategy and the Basic Social Security Regulation, this instruments can be considered as a major step forward regarding the definition of a Mozambican Social Protection Floor;
  • Currently is assisting the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs in the definition of the Basic Social Security Strategy operationalization plan;
  • Strengthening the capacity of the National Institute of Social Action (INAS) to manage, deliver, monitor and upscale the Food Subsidy Program, a national cash transfer mechanism targeting the elderly and persons with disabilities, through partnership with DFID, the Netherlands and UNICEF;
  • Supporting the review and design of the new social assistance programmes that foster inclusion of the most vulnerable in the labour market which comprises the design of a public works programme along with other programmes that are part of the Productive Social Action Axis in the Basic Social Security Strategy;
  • Technical assistance in reviewing and designing new social assistance programmes that include other vulnerable groups that are not able to work;
  • Conducted a modeling exercise with projections on the potential costs and impacts of different programmes, and its weight in the state budget and GDP;
  • Advising the Government of Mozambique in responding to the challenges rose by the global food and fuel price increase, including the definition of measures to reduce the impact of the elimination of subsidies on petrol;
  • Training to MMAS and INSS staff to strengthen their capacity to implement contributory and non contributory schemes as well establishing adequate linkages between both schemes;
  • Technical support to the process of developing the operational capacity of the National Institute of Social Action (INAS), participating actively in the Monitoring Group of the Food Subsidy Program (where are accompanied by an important set of actions such as the process of organizational strengthening of the institution, support for the INAS Administrative and Financial Sector, the review of funding and payment mechanisms and the implementation of the new information system);
  • Financial and technical support in reviewing INAS information system (including the creation of a technical team, preparation of the request for proposal to launch the software development, finance the software system and acquisition of material that will allow the connection between INAS and the provincial delegations of the Ministry of Finance, to use e-SISTAFE);
  • Capacity building of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), particularly in the field of coverage of the self-employed, with a special focus on the workers of the informal economy;
  • Technical assistance to the definition of a Strategic Plan of the INSS. ILO supported the development of a diagnosis of the INSS in order to better understand the needs of the institution and is currently supporting the definition of how the INSS intends to pursue this strategic planning process and define their Strategic Plan;
  • Capacity building of the National Workers Union in order to strengthen their capacity to advocate and influence Social Protection policies, including the on-going support to the definition of Workers Position Policy Paper on the Social Protection Floor;
  • Active participation in the national policy dialogue as chair of the PARP (Portuguese acronym for PRSP) working group on Social Action;
  • Active involvement in the launch of the mid-term review of UNDAF (Assistance Framework United Nations Development) and the discussion of proposals to incorporate in its extension to 2010 and 2011;
  • Active participation, along with other partners, in a process of advocacy for social protection involving research, production of papers (including one paper on the “Extension of Social Protection in a context of high informality");
  • Capacity building of the National Directorate of Social Providence of the Ministry of Finance, in charge of the civil servants’ social security.♦