Yaoundé. Photo: Elaine Pearson

The Liaison Office for Central Africa will be hosted by the National Social Insurance Fund of Cameroon, and will work with ISSA member organizations and social security institutions in the country and in Angola, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Sao Tome and Principe. The new office is the fourth to be opened on the African continent in recent years.

The inauguration in Yaoundé was attended by Robert Nkili, Minister of Labour and Social Security of Cameroon, by other government representatives and by leaders of social security organizations from throughout the Central African region.

Addressing the gathering, the ISSA Secretary General, Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, expressed his hope that the new initiative would encourage regional cooperation and exchange of technical knowledge among institutions and reinforce social security in Central Africa.

“The support of the Government of Cameroon for this new office demonstrates the priority given at the highest level to the key role of social security for development, both nationally and in the region,” Mr. Konkolewsky stated.

“We hope that this initiative will develop into a common and fruitful project that will promote social security, strengthen the participating organizations, and contribute to the viability of social security organizations for generations to come,” he said.

Adequacy and service quality

The opening of the Liaison Office was followed by a Technical Seminar on the themes of adequacy and service quality, attended by directors and senior managers of social security institutions from six countries. The seminar participants recognized the positive impact of national poverty-alleviation strategies in many African countries, and discussed the importance of coordinated policies for ensuring compliance in collecting contributions and the extension of social security coverage to ensure the adequacy of social security benefits. Participants agreed that improvements in administrative and financial performance were conditions for realizing more efficient and effective social security systems, and ensuring quality of service.

Further information

Website of the ISSA Liaison Office for Central Africa >>