A groundbreaking series of national and regional consultations on social protection in Africa has concluded with a recommendation by 38 African governments that social protection should be recognised as a right and a state obligation in order to reach the poorest and most vulnerable children, older people and those living with disabilities.

Between March and June 2008, six national consultations were held in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Tunisia, followed by three regional expert meetings in Egypt, Senegal and Uganda. The events were organised by the Social Affairs Division of the African Union Commission in collaboration with HelpAge International and host governments.

The meetings take forward commitments made in Livingstone, Zambia and Yaoundé, Cameroon in 2006, when African governments agreed to further social protection in support of their most disadvantaged citizens through mechanisms such as social pensions, child and disability grants and other cash transfers.

Review and debate

The 2008 consultations brought together senior representatives from Ministries of social development, and Planning and Finance. Participants also included representatives from civil society, development partners, United Nations agencies, multilateral institutions including the World Bank and the African Development Bank, and the Government of Brazil.

Progress, challenges and opportunities for extending social protection across Africa were reviewed, and case studies on the design and impact of existing social protection programmes worldwide were debated. Government representatives shared progress on social protection programmes in their own countries.

Recommendations

Recommendations from the regional expert meetings included building a political consensus for social protection, developing costed national plans based on a minimum package of social protection, strengthening technical capacity, expertise and mechanisms of coordination, awareness raising and measuring impact. The meetings acknowledged the African Union’s leadership in embedding social protection into national and regional development plans.

Next steps

The recommendations will be consolidated into a report for review at the first-ever African Union Conference of Ministers in charge of Social Development, to be held in Namibia in October 2008. The conference, with the theme ‘Towards a Sustainable Development Agenda for Africa’, will review progress on implementing social development commitments across Africa, and discuss a revised Social Policy Framework for adoption by  Member States, with social protection recommendations embedded into it.

Dr Tavengwa Nhongo, HelpAge International Regional Representative for Africa, says:

‘These meetings mark an important milestone in furthering social protection in Africa. High-level endorsement of the recommendations at the Conference of Ministers will put African governments in a strong position to further develop social protection policies and secure necessary resources for long-term implementation.’