There is a Pension Scheme for all persons employed under a labor contract, including domestic workers, certain categories of fishermen and apprentices earning at least half the legal minimum wage. There are special systems for armed forces personnel and the self-employed.

Despite there being no overarching framework for Social Protection, the country focuses on employment generation, child education support, food programmes, occasional cash transfers and housing support for the most vulnerable. There is no CT specific programme, but only initiatives within other programmes.

Caisse Nationale des Retraites (National Social Insurance Fund)

References:
Ministry of Employment and National Solidarity

In Angola there are pension schemes for employees of private companies as well as a special regime for public servants. The Basic Law of Social Protection (n.07/04) is the main regulation in the sector, which established a National Council on Social Protection. The main policies in place focus on the population affected by the 30 year civil war, especially the most vulnerable.

In terms of cash transfer programmes, an initiative is currently being designed by the Ministry of Assistance and Social Reintegration in partnership with UNICEF.

Presently, a series of policies are awaiting enactment in the Congress such as the National Policy to Integrate People with Disabilities and the National Policy for the Elderly.

References:
Ministry of Assistance and Social Reintegration

The Caisse Nationale de Sécurité Sociale is a pension fund for the private sector. In the public sector, benefits come from the Fonds National de Retraite. There is no overarching framework regulating Social Protection, but the country provides loans for the poor at low rates, in order to facilitate professional training, placement in the market, etc.

References:
Ministry of the Family, Social Protection and Solidarity

The Universal Old Age Pension is the main scheme in Botswana. Established in 1996, this non-contributive pension system offers income and financial security to citizens 65 years of age and above.

Despite the absence of an overarching framework for Social Protection in Bostwana, there are some important programmes running in the country. The cash transfer component is included in some of these programmes, such as: the Programme for Destitute Persons (food aid and cash transfers for the destitute as well as access to social services); the Orphan Care Programme (cash transfer, food basket for orphans, and additional support); the Vulnerable Group Feeding Programme (distribution of meals); and the World War II Veterans Allowance. There are other food-for-work programmes as well.

References:
Ministry of Local Government

Burkina Faso has a pension scheme for employed persons and apprentices. It is open for those previously insured for at least 6 consecutive months, who are allowed join on a voluntary basis, so long as they apply 5 years after the compulsory insurance began. The scheme excludes self-employed individuals as well as temporary workers. There is a special system for civil servants.

On April 2007 the National Policy of Social Action was approved by the government. It is based on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and has five priorities: improvement of living conditions for families, promotion of a culture of national solidarity, protection and promotion of specific social groups, contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the strengthening of institutional capacity. The Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity is charged with drafting a Programme of social protection and promotion for the vulnerable people to submit to donors and partners.

References:
Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity

There is a contributive pension for salaried workers, military personnel, civil service and public utility contract workers, all covered by the labour code. There is also a special system for civil servants and voluntary coverage for persons previously insured for at least 6 consecutive months. The government plans to create a Social Protection framework as well as a federal department in charge of social protection.

In 2006 the government produced the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. It focuses on supporting victims of the civil war, facilitating their reintegration, upgrading their productive capacities, improving the coordination of interventions targeting victims, strengthening the capacity to treat psychological trauma, and assisting the disabled. Furthermore, health assistance and primary school are free of fees. There are some cash transfers to children, the elderly and the disabled.

References:
Ministry of National Solidarity, of Rights and Gender

The Caisse National de Prévoyance Sociale (CNPS) is a pension scheme for employed persons under the coordination of the Ministry of Work and Social Security, created in 1967. The Regime de Fonctionnaires et assimilés is a special system for public servants.

There is no health or unemployment assistance. Less than ten percent of the population is covered by any social protection scheme. However, the government has plans for strengthening the institutional capacity of the organizations. It intends to address Social Protection by designing specific laws, creating a National Solidarity Fund, incorporating other groups into the Social Security scheme, and increasing investments in health.

PSS – Pensão de Solidariedade Social and PSM – Pensão Social Mínima are the two basic non-contributory Pension Schemes in Cape Verde. The Safety Net defined in the Second Article of the Social Protection Law aims to prevent situations that lead to the marginalization of the society.

A Social Protection Development and Social Risk Management Strategy was developed, which redefines the framework of public institutions responsible for SP. The strategy also reconstructs a framework for public/private partnerships in this area. The same strategy is being used to implement a community-based health insurance system which will ideally improve access to health care and medication for the rural population.

Cape Verde also has a National Strategy for Food Security (ENSA). Developed in 2002, its objective is to assure the population access to health and food through the creation of conditions for sustainable food security. Ministry of Labour, Family and Solidarity

References:
Ministry of Labour, Family and Solidarity

A pension fund covering private sector employees and a special system for civil servants is present in Chad. However, the country lacks an overarching SP strategy.

The Food Security Project in Northern Guera is an unconditional cash transfer and loan programme aimed at food security. By improving food accessibility and stability, the project greatly contributes to providing institutional and social stability to the region, allowing residents to sustainably improve their well-being and to undertake their own development. The project has four components: the development of rural organizations; a rural development fund; the promotion of support services; and project management.

References:
Ministry of Agriculture

In Congo, there is no coherent social security system, no medical insurance, and school fees hamper access to education. Thus, there is very little coverage. There is, however, a collection of laws that protect employed individuals (including casual workers) and a special system for civil servants, run by the National Social Security Institute. The government is currently working on a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper.

The Social Insurance Institute – National Social Insurance Fund is responsible for managing the compulsory social insurance for employees in the private sector scheme. Besides this scheme, there is also a special system for civil servants. In 1999, reforms in the social security system were implemented to extend coverage and benefits, as well as to make the system more flexible.

The Social Security system basically relies on contributions paid by employees and employers, with benefits paid out in cases of work-related accidents, sickness, maternity, unemployment, old age, disability and death.

In terms of scope, it covers workers in both formal and informal sectors, employers, government employees, seasonal workers, workers based abroad, as well as the armed forces. The system has a wide range of social provisions. Although the majority of workers are covered, there are gaps for casual workers.

There is also a social pension known as the Sadat pension, a non-contribution monthly benefit paid on a means-tested basis to the elderly poor aged 65 and over.

Many policies are in place. Experiments with conditional cash transfer programme are being implemented in a slum in Cairo. The Pilot Programme in the district of Ain el-Sira, under the administration of the Ministry of Social Solidarity aims at empowering women.

References:
Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs.

Sholkamy, H.. 2008, Conditional Cash Transfers: The Ain el-Sira Project, The Social Research Center, The American University in Cairo.

El-Saadani, S. 2008, Characteristics of A Poor Urban Setting in Egypt: Ein El-Sira. The Social Research Center, The American University in Cairo.

Introducing Empowering Conditional Cash Transfers to Egypt - The Ain el-Sira Experiment The Social Research Center, American University in Cairo. January, 2008.

Meeting with the Minister of Social Solidarity and Visit to Ain el-Sira. February, 2008.

There is a pension scheme for public-sector employees only, including military and police personnel and employees of government-owned enterprises.

The Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) is Africa’s largest public works programme. It has both conditional and unconditional components. Under the overall supervision of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, it benefits 8.4 million people without secure food access, including children, the elderly and disabled men and women.

The PSNP is a component of the larger Food Security Programme that is targeted mainly towards those chronically suffering from food insecurity with a focus on environmental rehabilitation to reverse the level of degradation and also as a source of income generation for food insecure households.

References:
Ministry of Finance and Economic Development

Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme, 2007, Wahenga Brief, Number 14, August 2007.

DFID, 2007, Building consensus for social protection: insights from Ethiopia’s Productive Safety Net Programme (PNSP), the IDL Group.

There are pension schemes for those in the private sector as well as for employees in quasi-governmental institutions. There is also a special system for civil servants covered by the 1950 Pensions Act and armed forces personnel. However, the country lacks a Social Protection Strategy.

There is no CT specific programme, although some important projects are taking place in The Gambia, such as projects on food transfer and also other in-kind transfers targeting pregnant women, malnourished children, poor households and farmers (female).

There is a recognized basket of social provision in Ghana. This includes access to water and sanitation, tuition-free basic education for all citizens, and primary health care.

The Social Security and National Insurance Trust manages the administration of Ghana's National Pension Scheme . It is mainly a scheme under which members contribute during their working life and later receive benefits in the event of old age, injury or death, while the member's dependants receive a Survivors' Benefit.

In 2003, the National Health Insurance Scheme was established based on the principle that the inability to pay the costs incurred at the point of service should not prevent access to health care services.

The National Social Protection Strategy (NSPS) represents a set of social assistance policies targeted at the poor, vulnerable and excluded, in which the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty (LEAP) Programme is a fundamental components. The LEAP is intended to empower and help orphans and vulnerable children (OVC), those above 65 years old and the disabled, primarily by providing assistance for basic needs. A Social Grant of GH¢8-15 is paid monthly to each household declared eligible for the programme.

There are also other programmes under the NSPS which include the School Feeding Programme, Microfinance Scheme, Capitation Grant and the National Young Employment Programme, among others.

References:
National Development Plan Commission
Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment
Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs
Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

The National Social Security Fund was established in 1965 by an Act of Parliament ( CAP 258 Laws of Kenya) and currently (2008) it has a membership of roughly 800,000 individuals. It manages social security benefits and grants, such as age/retirement, withdrawal, invalidity, maternity leave and veteran benefits. Furthermore, it coordinates the contributory scheme for workers in the formal sector.

The School Feeding Programme was launched in 1979/80 by the government of Kenya in a partnership with the UN World Food Programme. It aims at maintaining and increasing enrollment rates, preventing drop-outs, stabilizing attendance, and improving attention span and, ultimately, improving learning capacity by relieving short-term hunger.

Kenya has an extensive list of development funds, such as the Constituency Development Fund (CDF), the HIV/AIDS global fund, the Free Primary Education (FPE), the Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF), the Secondary School Education Bursary Fund (SEBF), the Kenya Roads Boards Fund, the Rural Electrification Programme Levy Fund (REPLF), the Female Enterprise Development Fund and the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF).

There is a Cash Transfer programme for OVC (orphans and vulnerable children) supported by UNICEF that covers 25,000 households and transfers at a rate of US$23.00 per family per month. Created in 2004, it aims to provide a social protection system through regular and predictable cash transfers to families with OVC in order to encourage the fostering and retention of OVC within their families as well as to promote human capital development. In 2001, the government enacted the Children Act. A Draft of the Orphans and Vulnerable Children Policy and a Draft of the National Policy for Children have been also put together.

The Government of Kenya has also designed and implemented a Cash Transfer for the Elderly and People with Disabilities, targeting those above 70 years old or those having a form of severe disability and suffering with extreme poverty. It aims to provide some kind of relief from poverty while enhancing basic rights. The transfer is US$15.00 per household per month. The Elderly Persons Vouchers Health Care System also assists the elderly, in which people over 65 years old receive health care in hospitals throughout the country.

The Proposed Hunger Safety Net Programme is intended to commence between 2008 and 2009, and cover roughly 60,000 households.

References:
Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA) and its Chidren’s Department, UNICEF.

Pearson, R. and Alviar, C., 2007, The Evolution of the Government of Kenya Cash Transfer Programme for Vulnerable Children between 2002 and 2006 and prospects for nationwide scale-up, Nairobi.

The Social Pension scheme in place in Lesotho, since 2004, is a non-contributory scheme provided by the government for citizens over the age of 70. These citizens, with the exception of those already receiving a government pension from elsewhere, receive 150 Maloti (US$22) per month.

The cash transfer for orphans is a component of the National Policy on Orphans and Vulnerable Children which intends to foster protection, care and support for the development of OVC. Additionally, there are food transfer schemes, farming inputs, monthly cash grants for the destitute and cash transfers to World War veterans and their spouses.

References:
Ministry of Finance and Development Planning
Department of Social Welfare
Regional Hunger and Vulnerability Programme, Jan. 2007, Lesotho: summary data on social protection schemes, Wahenga net.

There is a National Social Security Fund that provides family allowances and injury compensation for wage earners. The pension scheme for employed persons encompasses agricultural workers in the formal sector, domestic workers, the clergy, executives of private companies, managers of limited companies, formally employed taxi drivers, and certain categories of employed seamen. There is also a special system for civil servants.

Some Conditional Cash Transfer schemes are mixed within social protection policies. Funding comes mainly from external sources.

Cassé Nacional de Prévoyance Sociale

References:
Ministry of Health, Family Planning and Social Protection.

A pension scheme exists in Malawi for public-sector employees only. The government is currently working on a project, in partnership with Help Age, to support the development of a policy for older people and the establishment of a social pension scheme.

In 2001, the Malawi Poverty Reduction Strategy (MPRS) was implemented as a concrete expression of the 2000 National Safety Nets Strategy (NSNS). In this document, Social Protection (SP) is recognized as a key element of Malawi’s national policy to reduce poverty and protect human capital.

The Malawi Social Action Fund (MASAF) operates cash transfer programmes. In July 2006 a Pilot Programme was implemented in the districts of Mchinji and later extended to Likoma, Machinga and Salima. The targeting criteria used for this pilot scheme are the extremely poor and labour constrained households. The monthly cash transfers vary according to household size and take into account the number of childen in primary and or secondary school in each household. Where there is a child enrolled in primary school, a bonus of US$1.3 is added; in the case of a secondary school child, the bonus amounts to US$2.6.

The National Plan of Action for Orphans and other Vulnerable Children (NPA for OVC), 2005-2009, is another key instrument that provides commitment and guidance for the establishment of meaningful social protection interventions.

References:
Ministry of Women and Child Development

Schubert, B., 2007, Piloting the Scale up of the Malawi Social Cash Transfer Scheme – Fifth Report, January to June 2007, Report on a Consultancy Financed by UNICEF, Lilongwe.

Chinsinga, B, 2007, The Social Protection Policy in Malawi: Processes, Politics and Challenges,Working Paper Future Agricultures, Zomba.

There is a pension scheme for employed persons and voluntary coverage for the self-employed. There is also a special system for civil servants, magistrates, and armed forces personnel.

The National Policy of Social Development and Solidarity, coordinated by the Ministry for the Social Development, Solidarity and the Elderly, aims at increasing the coverage of social security and implementing a new regime for mandatory medical insurance. This includes new target groups, the improvement of management capacity and the development of other forms of mutual community protection.

The country’s largest social protection scheme depends on the National Social Security Fund. However, t he retirement pensions sector is not organized in any legislative framework and the total coverage is still limited.

Social security arrangements have been covered almost exclusively by two parallel government systems. Pensions, sickness and invalidity benefits for private formal sector employees are covered by the Ministry of Labour, while the Ministry of Finance administers a similar scheme for civil servants.

Formal sector employees are also covered by minimum standards legislation providing for a minimum wage, maternity leave and breast-feeding rights for women and the prohibition of discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. Furthermore, in kind transfers (food, school materials etc.), cash for work programmes, loans, community development programmes, health and education fee waivers and drug subsidies are part of Mozambique’s Social Protection Strategy.

The Food Subsidy Programme (PSA – Programa de Segurança Alimentar) started in 1990 and provides a monthly cash transfer to those who are destitute and without capacity to work, including the elderly, disabled, chronically ill (but not including those with HIV/AIDS and TB), and malnourished pregnant women. The PSA is implemented by the National Institute of Social Action (INAS) a semiautonomous agency of the Ministry for Women and Social Action (MMAS).

References:
Institute of Social Action (INAS) under the Ministry of Women and Social Action
Unicef, Sept. 2007, Perfil dos Beneficiários do Programa Subsídio de Alimentos, Maputo, Kula, Estudos e Pesquisas Aplicadas, Lda.

Waterhouse, R., 2007, Briefing Paper: Coordination and Coverage of Social Protection Initiatives in Mozambique, Mozambique

Waterhouse, R., 2007, Mozambique Briefing Paper - Vulnerability - REBA Briefing Paper, Mozambique

Waterhouse, R., 2007, The Political and Institutional Context for Social Protection in Mozambique - A Brief Overview, Mozambique

Taimo, N.V. and R. Waterhouse, 2007, REBA Case-Study of the Food Subsidy Programme of the National Institute for Social Action (INAS), Maputo and Inhambane, June.

The Social Pension which is an old age universal pension that covers nearly all eligible individuals. This programme was extended to the black population in 1990 and is administered by the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, which is also responsible for the disabled. Beneficiaries of the Social Pension programme receive an amount of US$ 58.44 per month, the same amount disbursed in the Disability Grant.

Women and children, being the most disadvantaged groups, have received special attention in social policy. Namibia has three grants targeted at children : a maintenance grant, a foster parent grant, and a place of safety grant. All three grants are administered by the Department of Social Welfare. Women also benefit from maternity leave which covers a 12 week period.

Apart from the Grant Programmes, there are also small-scale cash transfers , such as the Cash Transfer Programme for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. There is also Sick Leave, Death Benefit, Pension and Medical Funds, the Employee Compensation Fund and a Development Fund.

References:
Ministry of Health and Social Services

There is an overarching strategy for Social Protection which was developed in 2004 based on a life cycle approach that includes support for child care development centers, school feeding programmes, scholarships for the most vulnerable, loan schemes, public works programmes, and nursing homes.

In December 2007, the government of Nigeria launched a conditional cash transfer as a component of the State’s Social Safety Net programme. Supervised by the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP), the programme called In Care of Poor (COPE) is in its initial phase, being implemented in 12 states besides the federal capital, Abuja, intending to assist roughly 12,000 households.

References:
National Agency for Poverty Eradication Programme.

The Ministry of Local Government, Good Governance, Community Development and Social Affairs is the organization responsible for the administration of Social Security and Social Assistance in Rwanda. Under its coordination is the assistance of vulnerable groups (poor, disabled, elderly, and refugees).

There is a pension scheme for salaried workers including permanent, occasional, and temporary workers; civil servants; political appointees; and government officials. There is a possibility of voluntary coverage for previously insured and self-employed individuals.

The country has fragmented strategies. One of the most important is the Genocide Survivors Fund (FARG), which the government devoted to addressing needs of survivors of the 1994 genocide. Food aid predominates in the country.

The Vision 2020 Umurenge Programme (VUP) is an initiative of the Government of Rwanda that works as part of the National Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (2008-2012). It is led by the Ministry of Local Government, Good Governance, Community Development and Social Affairs (MINALOC) and supported by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MINECOFIN). It seeks to eradicate extreme poverty by 2020 through income transfers to vulnerable households . The actual income transfer in hand is 450 - 500 FRW per month, though there is a proposal to increase the amount of the transfer.

References:
Ministry of Community Development and Social Affairs.

There is a contributory pension managed by the Social Insurance Institute for the Elderly with limited coverage, in which less than 8% of the working population is included and a low amount is given. There also are contribution-based health insurance programmes and many private health insurances schemes.

The National Social Protection Strategy from Senegal includes: reinforcing the formal system of social security; increasing enrollment in medical insurance and promoting insurance schemes for informal sector workers and the rural population; coordinating the interventions of different actors; and strengthening the mechanisms of direct resource transfers for the vulnerable groups.

Initiatives in the country include: School feeding programmes, supplementary feeding programmes and public works programmes. The government has drawn up an ambitious programme aiming to improving the sanitation sector, namely via the Millennium Drinking Water and Sanitation Programme (PEPAM). This programme is a unified intervention plan for the supply of water and sanitation in urban and rural areas. There is also a family allowance programme managed by the Senegalese Social Security Fund.

References:
Ministry of Woman, Family and Social Development and Ministry of Agriculture and National Solidarity.

The National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT) established by the National Social Security and Insurance Trust Act No. 5 of 2001 is the mechanism responsible for the administration of Sierra Leone ’s National Pension Scheme. It covers employees in the public and private sectors and provides voluntary coverage for the self-employed and insured persons who leave insured employment.

The National Safety Net is the major programme, which targets those who are older, are without steady income, have no family or community support or are unable to work. It is a pilot scheme. Targeting is done at “chiefdom” and “sectional” level. Benefit is of US$68 per person per month for a period of six months. In addition, there are a small number of governmental and non-governmental cash transfer schemes.

NASSIT and the government are currently discussing a Safety Net/Social Assistance Programme and the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA) is preparing a proposal for conditional cash transfers for families with children.

The government of South Africa implemented a means-tested, non-contributory old age pension in 1928 which was extended to all racial groups in 1993. It represents the greatest social security transfer programme in the country; it covers women over 60 years and men over 65 years. The monthly pension is roughly R780 (US$109).

The Social Assistance Act, No. 13 of 2004 is the landmark of a new strategy in the field of social protection in the country. The act charges the national government with responsilibity for social security grants. In April 2006 the task for the management, administration and payment of social assistance grants was transferred to the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).

South Africa has developed an extensive social security system. The types of cash transfers provided by the state include Child Support Grant, Old Age Grant, Disability Grant, Grant in aid, Care Dependency Grant and Foster Care Programme.

References:
Ministry of Social Development.
Social Assistance Act, No. 13 of 2004.

The country employs a pension scheme for salaried workers and a special pension scheme for public servants.

Swaziland currently lacks a formal framework for public social transfers. However, a Social Assistance Bill is currently being drafted in the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW).

The Old Age Grant (OAG) and the Public Assistance Grant (PAG) are the country’s two largest cash-based social transfers. The first one is targeted at poor individuals over the age of 60; the second covers vulnerable groups below the age of 60 who are not beneficiaries of any other grant and without income. Besides cash transfer for the elderly, disabled, poor and terminally ill, there are school fee waivers, several food transfers and farm inputs programmes.

References:
Ministry of Health and Social Welfare
Wahenga, 2007, Swaziland: summary data on social protection schemes.

Social security schemes are largely limited to those employed in the public and private formal sectors, representing only a fraction of the population. There are several different schemes to cover these sectors, such as the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the Parastatal Pension Fund (PPF), theNational Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and the Public Service Pension Fund

Save the Children (Nufaisha, in original), Tanzania’s pilot cash transfer programme, targets households which are unable to provide two meals a day. Each household receives a monthly grant of Tsh. 6,000 (about £2.60) with an additional monthly grant of Tsh. 3,000 (about £1.30) for every child. Established in 2007, there is no conditionality involved and, broadly speaking, it aims to reduce the vulnerability of chronically poor households, and to improve the status of malnourished children.

References:
Department of Social Welfare.

Pension funds in Togo cover private sector employees, including agricultural workers in the formal sector and domestic workers, but exclude self-employed individuals. There is also voluntary coverage for persons previously insured for at least 6 consecutive months and special systems for civil servants and armed forces personnel, in which self-employed persons are again excluded. Less than 20% of the population is covered under this system.

A social protection framework is currently in the development phase.

The National Pension and Social Province Fund (CNRPS) is the social security organization in charge of ensuring social coverage to public sector employees in Tunisia. The Pension Fund covers private sector employees and certain categories of fishermen. There is voluntary coverage for Tunisian workers employed abroad. There also are special systems for civil servants, members of parliament, armed forces personnel, agricultural workers, farmers, the self-employed, fishermen, domestic workers, and some categories of low-income earners, artists, and intellectuals (the pension fund covers a significant part of the private sector).

There are cash transfers and other types of assistance available for vulnerable families, the disabled and the elderly.

References:
Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity and of Tunisians abroad.

The Ministry of Public Service 1994 Pension Act and the 1985 National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Act are the main instruments of Ugandan legislation. These are policies for social security and social protection, the first being related to retired civil servants and the latter to a contributory scheme for workers in the formal sector. At present, however, the country’s social security legislation provides far more for workers in the formal sector than it does for those employed in the informal sector and for unemployed individuals.

The social security sector is regulated through the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD), which is currently undertaking the National Strategic Programme Plan for Orphans and Other Vulnerable Children: 2005-2010. Other important policy guidelines related to children include the National Child Labour Policy.

Other social security-related policies being developed include the Social Health Insurance and Community Health Insurance schemes by the Ministry of Health, and cash transfers for the poor by the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development in which a pilot scheme has been designed but not yet implemented. Moreover, the country has projects including distribution of vouchers for inputs and microfinance.

References:
Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development

Ntale, C.;DFID, 2007, National Experiences of Social Transfer Programmes in Uganda.

The National Security Fund is the main organization responsible for social security in Zambia. The system includes pension scheme for employed persons, including agricultural workers, domestic servants in urban areas and apprentices. There is a special system for public-sector and local government employees.

In 2005, the government of Zambia developed a Social Protection Strategy to guide and coordinate social protection interventions intended to help the poor. It includes social assistance and social insurance programmes, as well as programmes to improve economic productivity.

The Public Welfare Assistance Scheme (PWAS) is an unconditional in-kind transfer programme for the most vulnerable (45% of the targeted population), offering social assistance for meeting basic needs.

A Pilot Unconditional Cash transfer scheme in Kalomo District is supported by GTZ and focuses mostly on households headed by older people caring for orphans and vulnerable children. The payments are roughly ZK 30,000 (US$6) per month per household. The amount increases to ZK 40,000(US$8) for households with children.

References:
Ministry of Community Development and Social Services & German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), (Sept, 2007). Final Evaluation Report Kalomo Social Cash Transfer Scheme, Lusaka.

The Pension scheme has c ompulsory coverage for all employed persons between the ages 16 and 65 who are citizens or residents of Zimbabwe. Universal coverage is provided, though second priority is given to domestic workers, civil servants, self-employed workers and informal-sector employees.

There are a few social schemes in the country, such as fee waivers for medical treatments and the Protracted Relief Programme, which gives vouchers and food aid for the poorest communities, particularly in case of HIV/AIDS. The government focuses on public works programmes rather than cash transfers.

The Public Assistance Programme (PAP), established by the Welfare Assistance Act (Zimbabwe, 1988) is a governmental programme that includes a cash grant for the chronically poor. Administrated by the Department of Social Welfare (DSW), eligibility applies to people who are destitute, unable to work, over the age of 65, disabled or chronically ill; they must also have no family support available.

References:
National Social Security Authority
Ministry of Women Affairs, Gender and Community Development