The International Social Security Association (ISSA) awarded the Cameroonian institution two certificates of excellence in Recovery and Good Governance on 25 October 2022 in Marrakech, Morocco.

The awards were presented during the World Social Security Forum, held in Morocco until 28 October 2022. On the ISSA podium to receive the highest award, the NSIF of Cameroon.

Certification on Recovery of contributions and compliance

Indeed, the correspondence from the ISSA Secretary General, Abi-Ramia Caetano, reveals that the Cameroonian Social Security Institution met the expectations and requirements of the recognition programmes on the Recovery of social contributions and Good Governance: “I have the honour to inform you that the National Social Insurance Fund (NSIF) of Cameroon has successfully completed the International Social Security Association (ISSA) Guidelines Recognition Programme on the Recovery of contributions and compliance. The NSIF also successfully renewed the ISSA Guidelines Recognition Programme on Good Governance”. He continued in kind words to the Director General: “I would like to thank you very much for your participation in the Recognition Programme and congratulate you for your success”.

Good Governance Certification renewed

As a reminder, the ISSA Certificate of Excellence is awarded to the Fund whose implementation programme most closely matches the ISSA's international standards and guidelines. The Certificate of Excellence is valid for a period of three years and must be renewed after an expert evaluation.

In addition to the previous certifications, the NSIF of Cameroon remains one of the leading social security institutions in Africa. This is therefore an outstanding achievement for all the efforts and sacrifices made, not only by the Top Management but also by the NSIF staff, here honoured.

In a conclave from the 23^rd to the 24^th of May 2022 in Kinshasa, the Social Security Institutions of Central Africa formulated a set of recommendations aimed at engaging in the process of extending social coverage.

 The ISSA Liaison Office for Central Africa (BLAISAC) has, in accordance with its terms of reference, resumed its face-to-face activities after two years of interruption due to restrictions following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Held in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, within the framework of the 2020-2022 triennium, the 2^nd technical seminar of the International Social Security Association (ISSA) for the sub-region had as its theme: “Extending social security coverage to populations not yet covered in Central Africa”.

 Several Social Security Institutions from Central African countries that are members of BLAISAC participated, such as the National Social Insurance Fund of Cameroon, represented by Brenda Malemba Formanji, Chief of the Social Insurance Centre for the Informal Sector in Douala; Annie-Bella Minkoulou epse Mbele, Research Officer at the Technical Directorate and Jean Faustin Betayene, Deputy Chief of the Cooperation Unit.

 The participants discussed the problems related to the aforementioned theme. From the feedback gathered from the Social Security Funds on the reference theme, it seems imperative to fully engage in the extension process, especially since 80% of the active population work in the informal sector. It is therefore necessary to find ways of making the policies in place attractive, as the target population does not find the present ones interesting.

Workers in the informal sector also need short-term benefits such as family allowances, coverage of occupational diseases and accidents, and even health coverage. In order to provide a solution to these legitimate concerns of the target population, the NSIF of Cameroon signed a partnership agreement with Atlantique Assurances Cameroun IARDT in 2021, which aims at facilitating access to quality health care for voluntarily insured persons, in addition to the pension benefits to which they are entitled.  

 At the end of this seminar, a number of resolutions were taken with regards to the importance of the extension of social coverage, such as the need for a clearly expressed political will to integrate the issue of extending social coverage to groups that are difficult to cover into the design of social policies; financing through taxes and other levies to strengthen strategies and policies aimed at extending social coverage; as well as the implementation of innovative strategies for identifying populations not yet covered.

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