African Union (Addis Ababa)
24 April 2008
press release
Representatives from governments across Eastern and Southern Africa will join civil society groups, NGOs, faith based organisations, and multilateral and bilateral agencies in Kampala from 28-30 April for a Regional Expert Meeting hosted by the Ugandan Government to review the progress of African governments’ commitment to social protection.
The meeting is one of a series of national and regional dialogues being convened by the African Union (AU) in close collaboration with HelpAge International to develop programmes that deliver social protection for the most vulnerable and chronically poor people in society; including children, older people and those living with disabilities.
The meetings follow on from conferences which took place in Livingstone, Zambia and Yaoundé, Cameroon in 2006, when a number of African governments made commitments to further social protection in support of their most disadvantaged citizens. Special emphasis was placed on implementing cash transfer schemes, including social pensions and child grants.
The objectives of the Regional Expert Meetings are to review social protection programmes and policies already in place, debate findings, and look at ways of addressing the challenges of introducing social protection into national development policies. International agencies and other stakeholders including civil society groups will also share their expertise.
Key recommendations from the meetings will be presented at the first-ever African Union Conference of Ministers of Social Development to be held in October 2008. The conference will review progress in Africa on social development, and discuss a revised AU Social Policy Framework which includes social protection.
Antoinette, aged 60, cares for seven grandchildren in Uganda. She does not receive a pension and finds it difficult to provide the basic necessities for her extended family. Access to a social protection programme would deliver greater security to Antoinette in her old age and also tackle intergenerational poverty by helping her to care for the future generations she and many other older people in Africa support.
Antoinette says: “My biggest worry is finding enough food and money to pay for my grandchildren’s school fees, and pay rent for the house we live in. Older people need pensions, whether they have worked for the government or not. Old people should also have a better income to support the orphans that are in their care.”
Richard Blewitt, CEO of HelpAge International, says: “Social protection investment is key to furthering the rights of the poorest people. Social protection provides opportunity for people of all ages and capabilities to build decent and dignified lives.
“We are honoured to work in partnership with the African Union to further the development and implementation of ground-breaking policy and programmes which will improve the lives of the poorest people of Africa.”
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