The ILO is supporting the Government of Mozambique in the organization of the 10th edition of Mozambique’s Social Protection Week, which is taking place from 11 to 17 October 2021 under the theme “Investing in social protection is investing in human capital.” This event is being led by the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Action (MGCAS) and receives technical and financial assistance of the ILO through the United Nations Joint Programme on Social Protection in Mozambique, financed by the Netherlands, Sweden and the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office of the United Kingdom. Many other international and national partners are also engaged in the organization of sessions and events, including UNICEF, WFP, the World Bank, the European Union, SASPEN, and the Mozambican Civil Society Platform for Social Protection (PSCM-PS). The event has a hybrid format (in-person and virtual) and follows the precautionary measures to prevent and contain the COVID-19 disease.

Several activities are planned, including:

• The second edition of the dialogue on social resilience on 11 October (organized by the Government, the World Bank and WFP), including three panel sessions on adaptive social protection, including on mechanisms of response to crisis, coordination challenges, and financing mechanisms.
• An international conference on social protection co-organized by SASPEN and PSCM-PS is taking place from 12 to 14 October. This conference will provide a space for partners to discuss challenges and opportunities regarding Mozambique’s social protection system, the policy response to the COVID-19 crisis, as well as issues related to financing, migration and informality. Relevant publications in which the ILO is actively involved are being launched. These include an ILO study on obstacles faced by workers in the informal economy in accessing social insurance, the 2021 edition of the joint ILO-UNICEF publication “Mozambique’s social protection budget brief,” and the results of an independent community monitoring activity on Mozambique’s social protection policy response to the COVID-19 crisis prepared by PSCM-PS.
• A technical session for presenting the preliminary results of the mid-term evaluation of the National Strategy for Basic Social Security 2016-2024 is taking place on 14 October under the leadership of MGCAS and with ILO’s support.
• An event organized by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) in partnership with the ILO and UNU-WIDER is taking place on 15 October for launching three policy briefs focusing on different scenarios of social protection reform and expansion. These briefs cover the topics of universal coverage for children, universal coverage for old-age persons and increase of coverage and adequacy of social assistance, presenting different scenarios based on the MOZMOD microsimulations’ tool.
• A launch event on 15 October to present the new and third edition of the National Statistical Bulletin on Social Protection, which is being organized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MITSS). This bulletin is a result of the joint effort of several national social protection institutions, namely MITSS, MGCAS, MEF, the National Institute of Social Action (INAS), the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), the National Institute of Social Providence (INPS) and the National Institute of Statistics (INE), As in previous editions, the ILO is providing technical and financial support to the elaboration of this bulletin through the ACTION/Portugal project.