The Government of Tanzania through
the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with UNICEF, ILO, UNAIDS and
the Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI) based in South Africa, is
organizing an International conference on Social Protection from 15th to 17th
December 2014 in Arusha, Tanzania. This marks government’s commitment
to poverty eradication and achieving growth with fairness and justice
for all especially women and children.
The conference, to be officiated
by H.E. Dr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the United Republic of
Tanzania is aimed at encouraging South-South exchange of knowledge and
best practices to support Tanzania’s efforts in designing policies and
programmes for assisting the poor and vulnerable including women,
children, elderly, disabled and youth to achieve a basic standard of
living.
As Tanzania prepares and works
hard to graduate to a middle income status by 2025, the government wants
to ensure that its citizens, including the poorest and the weakest
develop their capacities to realize their rights and make Tanzania
stronger and a more equal society. Addressing the needs of children
especially their nutrition, health and education is critical to helping
them grow into happy, productive adults and escape from the
inter-generational poverty trap.
The meeting will bring together
policy-makers, researchers and practitioners involved in the planning,
design, and implementation of social protection programmes and systems
countries like Kenya, Uganda, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Mozambique,
Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Ghana, Ethiopia, Zambia, South Sudan and
Tanzania.
At national level, the knowledge
and experience gained will support the country’s ongoing efforts to
expand its Productive Social Safety Net Programme (PSSN) or TASAF III to
reach about six million poorest people by mid-2015. TASAF provides
cash assistance to poor families to send their children to school and
seek health care for the mother and the child. It also provides income
opportunities through public works projects and helps families gradually
escape from poverty through livelihoods and savings group support. It
is one of the largest social protection programmes in Africa.
An inter-sectorial taskforce has
been set up at the Prime Minister’s office and is mandated to present a
finalized document on ‘National Social Protection Framework’ to the
cabinet by the end of December 2014. A draft of this framework will be
presented by Permanent secretary-Treasury, Ministry of Finance Dr.
Servacius Likwelile, for feedback from the international experts present
at the Conference.
Honourable Prime Minister of
Tanzania Mizengo Peter Pinda will officiate at the closing session of
the workshop. The workshop will adopt a policy consensus document in
social protection for guiding Tanzania’s ongoing efforts in setting up a
comprehensive social protection system for the poor and vulnerable and
ensuring all citizens’ have access to basic health, education and
income.
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