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The National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) held a consultative workshop on February 27th, 2024, to examine the evolution of social protection in Sierra Leone over the past 20 years.
The workshop brought together experts from government, NGOs, and the private sector to analyze the country’s social protection initiatives and programs.
Commissioner for NaCSA, Ambassador Ernest Mbaimba Ndomahina, stressed the government’s commitment to social protection, highlighting its flagship Social Safety Net program. Since 2014, this program has provided regular cash transfers to over 190,000 severely poor households.
Ndomahina further emphasized the government’s dedication to building a robust national social protection system. He mentioned the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2019-2023) and the ongoing development of an integrated National Social Protection Strategy as key efforts in this direction.
Mona Korsgard, Acting Deputy Representative of Programmes at UNICEF, commended Sierra Leone’s resilience in strengthening its social protection system, particularly towards women and children.
“The goal of this endeavour is to provide a comprehensive analysis of the social protection system and initiatives implemented in Sierra Leone during the past 20 years. Its main objective is to thoroughly analyze and evaluate the sector’s programmatic, structural, and policy evolution; to record significant turning points; and to identify lessons learned and formulate strategic suggestions that will influence and direct future endeavours.’’ She noted.
The Commissioner Ndomahina gave a brief run through on the progress made by them over the year.
“As a quick run-through, a study on the rebuilding effort of the nation conducted in 2008 carried findings including widespread poverty, unpredictable delays in the payment of cash allowances, the need for special provision for vulnerable groups; disabilities, occupation preferences, and family ties, job creation and access; and promotion of micro and small businesses. Critical to demobilization and rehabilitation interventions was the need to provide social and economic security for the population.” He stated.
He re-echoed that the previous national development plans and the current Big Five game changers focused on Social Action and Poverty Alleviation programs, adding that, as the sector continues to evolve, a documentation and stocktaking exercise is being undertaken to review/assess the progress of the Social Protection sector in Sierra Leone, documenting the evolution of the sector, documenting and generating lessons learnt and seeking to generate strategic recommendations for the way forward.
