Social Action Fair

The Social Protection Week kicked off in the district of Mecuburi, Nampula Province, where the Social Action Fair was held from 21 to 22 November. This province was chosen to host the fair because of the significant population of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who relocated there due to the humanitarian crisis in the neighboring province of Cabo Delgado. The Government used it as an opportunity to raise awareness at provincial level on the role of social protection as well as to provide social services during the event.

The Fair was opened by the Deputy Minister of MGCAS, Mr Lucas Mangrasse, who spoke about the importance of social protection for improving the living conditions of all citizens, particularly vulnerable groups. This was followed by the launch of the expansion of Child Grant, a subcomponent of the country’s largest social assistance programme, the Basic Social Allowance Programme (PSSB). The Child Grant was implemented by INAS - with UNICEF support in the framework of UNJP-SP - in a pilot phase between 2018 and 2021, covering 11,400 children from 0 to 2 years old in three districts of Nampula. In this new phase, starting in December 2022, around 177,000 beneficiaries are expected to be covered in the next two years in the provinces of Nampula, Zambezia and Cabo Delgado.

Other activities carried during the Social Action Fair out included exhibitions on social protection programmes, awareness raising for improving the retention of girls in schools, and sensitization on prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse of minors. The population also had the chance to benefit from public services, including the issuance of personal documents (birth certificates, IDs, tax identification number, etc.), health services for mothers, infants and old-age people, and legal counselling.

Official launch of new IV Statistical Bulletin on Social Protection and presentation of the results of MEF’s Policy Briefs on social protection using MOZMOD

On 25 November, the ILO also supported two other events within the scope of the Social Protection Week. The first was the official launch of the Fourth National Statistical Bulletin on Social Protection, which was convened by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MITSS). This bulletin is a result of the joint effort of MITSS, MGCAS, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF), the Ministry of Health (MISAU), the National Institute of Social Action (INAS), the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), the National Institute of Social Providence (INPS) the National Institute of Statistics (INE). ILO’s ACTION/Portugal project has been supporting the production and dissemination of annual editions of the bulletin since 2019, and Mozambique’s experience with the statistical bulletins has become an example for other African countries.

During the launch, the National Director of Planning and Cooperation at MITSS, Mr Emídio Mavila, stressed the Government’s commitment with the expansion of the right to social protection. Speaking on the importance of strengthening social protection statistics, he said “The production of information on results achieved in social protection enables the monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the Government’s interventions for poverty reduction.”

Later that day, MEF organized a presentation and discussion on the preliminary results of the 2022 edition of Policy Briefs based on the tax-benefit microsimulation model for Mozambique (MOZMOD), produced with ILO support. MOZMOD allows the simulation of scenarios on poverty, inequality and government revenues, serving as an analytical tool for devising new policies and reforms.

Three studies were elaborated by an interinstitutional team composed of representatives from MEF, INSS, INAS, INPS, INE and the Tax Authority, who began working on the briefs during a technical retreat on MOZMOD in April 2022 that was supported by the ILO through the UNJP-SP and the Irish Aid regional project “Inclusive Growth, Social Protection and Jobs.” The topics of the briefs are the impact of the war between Russia and Ukraine on household consumption in Mozambique due to basic goods prices increase, the effects of VAT reform on poverty and inequality, and the impact of the coverage and adequacy expansion of PSSB to eligible households.

Speaking at the opening session, Ms Enilde Sarmento, National Director of Economic Policies and Development at MEF, highlighted MEF’s openness and interest in continuing working and reflecting on social protection matters in collaboration with ILO. The three evidence-based Policy Briefs on Social Protection will be published in December 2022 and will contribute towards informing policy discussion about social protection system coverage expansion in Mozambique in 2023.