Brazilian Minister of Social Development Tereza Campello and ISSA officials at the award ceremony. (Ibrahim RO)
DOHA: The World Social Security Forum (WSSF) which concludes here today has highlighted the fact that social security is experiencing fundamental changes worldwide, Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, Secretary-General of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) said yesterday.
“In some countries we see austerity and contraction, and in others we see massive expansion of social security. There are remarkable examples of extension of coverage in many regions. One of the most impressive of these has been recognised by the ISSA today, as we have presented the ISSA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Social Security to the Government of Brazil and the Bolsa Familia programme,” said Konkolewsky, addressing a press conference on the sideline of the WSSF.
However, social security continues to face profound economic and demographic transformation. The complexity of national contexts and the global economic environment requires social security administrations to actively work with policy-makers, to help them make the right choices that support social and economic development and that promote more equitable and sustainable growth to the benefit of all, he added.
Konkolewsky said the forum has made visible, with multiple examples, the strengthened political commitment of many countries to social security as a vital component of national development strategies and a factor of sustainable human development.
“The forum has reconfirmed with diverse examples that social security is good for people, good for families, good for productivity of workers, good for social cohesion and therefore also good for domestic demand and economic growth. We must constantly uphold and promote this vision, which is part of the essential values of social security. Social security systems are a key to investment in human capital, which is the essential resource of every society,” he said.
The ISSA has presented the first “ISSA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Social Security” to the Government of Brazil for the pioneering Bolsa Familia poverty-reduction programme.
Bolsa Familia (Family allowance) is a social welfare prgramme of the Brazilian government as part of the Fome Zero network of federal assistance programme .
Bolsa familia provides financial aid to poor Brazilian families, if they have children families must ensure that children attend school and are vaccinated .
The Award was presented by ISSA President Errol Frank Stoove to the Brazilian Minister Tereza Campello, Minister of Social Development of Brazil at a special ceremony held as part of the World Social Security Forum yesterday.
Stoove said: “For its vision of alleviating poverty and improving the quality of life by empowering people, for the political commitment, effective and efficient administration as well as its impressive results, we believe that the Bolsa Familia programme constitutes an inspiration for policymakers and social security administrations around the world.”
The decision to present this Award coincides with the 10 years’ anniversary of the Bolsa Familia.The innovative national bolsa familia programme combines the objectives of poverty alleviation, health promotion and empowerment
The Peninsula
