The East African Community Advances towards Regional Frameworks in Social Protection and Skills Mobility

In March 2025, the East African Community (EAC), with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO) through the Better Regional Migration Management (BRMM) programme funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), successfully hosted two major regional convenings in Uganda focused on social protection and labour migration governance. These back-to-back meetings, held from 18 to 21 March and 26 to 28 March in Entebbe and Kampala, respectively, are intended to validate regional instruments that will shape inclusive development and safe labour mobility across the EAC.

The first convening in Entebbe brought together government representatives, social partners, and technical experts from EAC Partner States to validate the draft EAC Social Protection Policy and its accompanying Action Plan. This process, which built upon earlier expert meetings and national consultations, sought to establish a harmonised regional policy to address socio-economic vulnerabilities and ensure that all EAC citizens, particularly vulnerable populations including migrants, refugees, and informal workers, have equitable access to social protection systems.

The final draft policy proposes a lifecycle approach to social protection, targeting individuals from childhood through old age and integrating mechanisms for climate-related shocks and economic risks. The policy is anchored in regional frameworks such as the EAC Treaty and the Common Market Protocol while aligning with international labour standards, including ILO Convention 102 and Recommendation 202. One of the meeting’s key outcomes was consensus on establishing a Regional Expert Committee to oversee implementation alongside biannual reporting cycles and a ten-year review process.

The Action Plan accompanying the policy lays out programmatic priorities, including expansion of healthcare, education benefits, and inclusive protections for migrant workers. Notably, the policy proposes mechanisms to support the portability of social security benefits across borders and urges bilateral and multilateral agreements with key destination countries to operationalise these commitments.

Participants highlighted the need for progressive financing, institutional alignment, and enhanced data systems to monitor progress. The meeting also called for stronger engagement with civil society and specialised institutions to ensure broad-based ownership of the implementation process. The validation concluded with Partner States agreeing to submit final inputs by the end of April 2025, paving the way for formal adoption by the Sectoral Council on Gender, Youth, Children, Social Protection and Community Development.

Immediately following the social protection policy validation, the EAC hosted the 3rd Regional Validation Meeting on Competency Standards for Domestic Work in Kampala. With domestic work representing a significant share of employment in East Africa, this initiative responds to long-standing gaps in recognition, protection, and formal training for domestic workers, who are predominantly women.

Participants from all Partner States, including representatives from labour, TVET, education, immigration, and social affairs institutions, reviewed the draft Regional Model Competency Standards (RMCS) for Domestic Work. These standards are designed to harmonise skills recognition across the region, enable mutual recognition of qualifications, and facilitate safer, more transparent labour mobility.

The validation meeting confirmed the structure and content of the standards, ensuring alignment with real-world industry demands and regional legal frameworks. The draft covers functional areas such as household management, hygiene, caregiving, and communication skills, offering a flexible model adaptable to national contexts and labour market needs.

Participants formed thematic groups to assess the draft against eight validation dimensions, including realism, inclusivity, legality, structure, and technical language. Emphasis was placed on ensuring active, action-oriented verb use for clarity in assessment and application. One key takeaway was the importance of balancing regional harmonisation with national curriculum autonomy, ensuring that countries can scale and tailor training programs while preserving the core competencies outlined in the regional model.

The meeting also called for the EAC Secretariat and ILO to support post-validation interventions, including national consultations, assessor training, and translation of materials. A recommendation was made to institutionalise a Technical Working Group to provide oversight and periodic reviews of the standards. With validation complete, the next step will be the submission of the RMCS to the relevant EAC Sectoral Council for official adoption in mid-2025.