BY STAFF REPORTER
Social protection, which is crafted under the principles of equality, non-discrimination, transparency and accountability, has significant contributions in terms of ensuring sustainable development, strengthening social cohesion, and nation building. Ethiopia has been implementing a number of activities under its own National Social Policy with the aim to protect citizens from economic and social deprivations, the adverse effects of shocks and destitution.
According to the policy document, Ethiopia’s Social Protection system was enacted to protect poor and vulnerable individuals, households, and communities, reducing poverty, social and economic risk of citizens, vulnerability and exclusion by taking measures through formal and informal mechanisms to ascertain accessible and equitable growth to all. Further, it focuses on strengthening public participation and mobilization, based on the economic, social, cultural, and human rights enshrined in the constitution that have transformative nature, and establish coordinated system to reduce economic and social differences and imbalances in the society, according to the document.
In the past years, Ethiopia has been implementing various food and nutrition policies and strategies to attain food and nutrition security to citizens. These efforts have shown broad-based economic growth. It was enabled to increase per-capita income, improvement in life expectancy and declining trend in the proportion of the population living below the national poverty line. Moreover, there is a declining trend in under five, infant and maternal mortality and prevalence of stunting, said Health State Minister Dereje Duguma (MD).
Speaking at the closing event of the two-day long High-Level National Social Protection Conference held in Addis Ababa under the theme ‘Social Protection for National Building in Ethiopia,’ Dereje said that the government is currently undertaking a home-grown economic reform and implementing a 10 years development plan designed to speed up economic growth, prosperity and ensure food and nutrition security for its citizens. As to the State Minister, one-of the biggest social protection programs in Ethiopia that is implemented through multiple sectors is the Productive Safety Net Program. The fifth Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP-V) including the Urban Safety Net is designed based on the lessons drawn from the previous phases of PSNPV.
Similarly, The Seqota Declaration, along with the nation’s food and nutrition strategy and food system transformation, is currently being led by the highest level of the government from the national level to the community level. Ten sector ministries are working together to implement the Declaration, he added. According to him, during the Innovation Phase, the country has successfully implemented high impact nutrition specific, nutrition sensitive and nutrition smart infrastructure interventions primarily targeting pregnant and lactating mothers with children under two years.
In addition, in order to help vulnerable communities withstand shocks and develop resilience, coordination, integration and synergy between and among programs and sectors is vital. It is also crucial to address its underlying causes, which include poverty, inequality, conflict, and climate change. “In this regard, we have started working with our partners to establish linkage between humanitarian, development, and climate change and peace nexus with our partners. Your contribution and partnership in this regard is critical in order to create resilience communities in a sustainable manner,” he added.
Underscoring that chronic food insecurity and malnutrition cause poverty and social and political instability, he said in this regard, food and nutrition needs to be considered as the foundation of nation-building. “We also needs to put food and nutrition security at the heart of social protection interventions Hence, I will call upon all stakeholders to support the efforts the government of Ethiopia in food and nutrition issues considering the triple burden of malnutrition causes on the social and economic development of the nation.” The social protection interventions and systems also need to address the emerging challenges of urban destitute, migration and internal displacement, and others. The State Minister also urged stakeholders to strengthen role of social protection in resilience building and social cohesion, support Ethiopia’s social protection systems,
which is aligned with the SDG, utilize social protection to address economic and social vulnerability by providing everyone, women and children an equal chance, leverage technology and promotion of employment to enhance access and quality of social protection services. The social protection interventions and systems also need to address the emerging challenges of urban destitute, migration and internal displacement, enhance strong multi-sectoral collaboration and invest on family level to reinforce the social cohesion.
The State Minister also expressed his heartfelt appreciation to the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, the African Union Commission (AUC) and all stakeholders who technically and financially contributed for the success of the conference Women and Social Affairs (MoWSA ) Minister Ergogie Tesfaye (PhD) on her part said that the two- day conference was extremely vital to inform and guide what the government could do in strengthening social protection financing and the system.
“The discussions were so engaging that provided us a great deal of opportunities to review and learn from the global community with a focus on its strategic nation-building role in the transition to green and sustainable development.” She added that it has provided an opportunity to identify key and strategic issues in the area of policy framework and coordination, financing and maintaining adequacy coverage and inclusion, among others.
What is more, constructive lessons are drawn in relation to matters such as finding solutions for the ever-increasing number of citizens who leave their homes and live on the streets and other similar challenges, strengthening social ties and augment the role of the family, financing social protection in a sustainable way, expanding effective social security coverage as much as possible, and identifying risks to reinforce response to risks among others. They announced that more ideas have been found to help the effectiveness of the work being done to build the social protection system.
The strategic issues discussed would serve as a roadmap to strengthen the social protection system in Ethiopia to enhance their contributions to nation building and sustainable development, she underlined. On the occasion, Minister Ergogie awarded appreciation certificates for the development partners including UNICEF Ethiopia, the WB, WFP, ILO, IOM and Save the Children Ethiopia for their special support to the realization of the Conference, It was learnt.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD TUESDAY 30 MAY 2023
