Areas of work
Introduction to the work of ILO Regional Office for Africa and its different areas.
Cooperation with AU and RECs
Following the African Union Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government on Employment and Poverty
Alleviation in Africa (Ouagadougou, 2004), the ILO has been working with member States, the African Union,
the Regional Economic Communities (RECs), UN specialized agencies, the UN Economic Commission for Africa,
and the African Development Bank to achieve greater policy coherence and to increase support for the decent work agenda
within the context of continental, regional
and national development strategies. | Go to Cooperation with AU and the RECs >
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Research on Decent Work
The ILO’s mission today is to promote opportunities for
women and men to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom,
equity, security and human dignity. This mission is pursued through the introduction of comprehensive programmes,
Decent Work Country Programmes, that aim at an integrated approach to achieve the ILO’s four strategic objectives i.e.
the promotion of rights at work; employment; social protection; and social dialogue. Decent Work Country Programmes bring governments,
employers and workers together respond to the demand for decent work placed upon them by individuals, families and the international
community.| Research on Decent Work >
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Social Finance
Financial exclusion in Africa has a dramatic social cost; it tends to reinforce the stagnation in production and job creation that cripple Africa’s development.
Social Finance – sustainable finance with a social goal -is using financial instruments to promote Decent Work.
In Africa ILO’s work on social finance is focused on:
- Carrying innovative substantive work on financial products - credit, savings remittances, guarantees, leasing, payment services and insurance - tailored to the financial needs of the working poor including workers in the informal economy, women entrepreneurs, youth; vulnerable groups…
- Capacity building through design of training packages for MFIs which address financial needs of the working poor, including women groups and small and medium enterprises that create jobs;
- And policy advice to national authorities to set incentives to open up the financial sector to the working majority and create a better environment in which microfinance institutions can operate.
| Go to Social Finance >
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Youth Employment
Youth employment is a global challenge that is gaining increasing attention given its high economic and social costs associated with youth unemployment. In Africa, governments increasingly recognize the importance of youth employment and are putting in place measures to address the issue. Several countries have identified youth employment as a priority in their Decent Work Country Programmes (DWCPs) and are developing National Action Plans that provide coherent and coordinated frameworks to articulate policies and programmes and bring all stakeholders concerned with the issue together.
The Regional Office has appointed a Youth Employment Specialist to assist constituents in this area, working closely with ILO’s offices in the region, with the ILO’s Youth Employment Programme (YEP) at headquarters and liaising with the global Youth Employment Network. The specialist is responsible for the coordination of ILO’s youth employment activities in the region; the management of regional programmes on youth employment; and the gathering and dissemination of information and good practices on youth employment
| Go to Youth Employment > |
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