National Social Protection Policy proposed by the IPC-IG is presented to the Government of Burundi for validation

The final version of the new National Social Protection Policy for Burundi, proposed by the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) as the result of the project “Evaluation and Updating of Burundi's National Social Protection Policy and Strategy” was presented to the Steering Committee of the Government of Burundi. It was presented to the Committee by IPC-IG researcher João Pedro Dytz, and the project´s consultants Oswald Habonimana and Amadou Canar Diop 

Since February 2022, the project is being developed through a partnership between the IPC-IG and the government of Burundi, through the Permanent Executive Secretariat of the National Social Protection Commission of Burundi (SEP/CNPS), and funded by the Project Merankabandi. 

To develop this National Policy, IPC-IG researchers João Pedro Dytz and Anaïs Vibranovski went on a mission to Burundi in March, to interview the main social protection stakeholders in the country, gather the necessary information for the formulation of the Policy and conduct an evaluation of the previous National Policy and Strategy documents. 

On 27 April, the researchers presented a report to on the previous National Social Protection Policy and Strategy documents to the Steering Committee. It aimed to guide the updating process of the National Policy and its implementation strategy. 

The first version of the Policy was then presented to a Steering Committee Working Group on 09 May 2022 for the first inputs and suggestions, to be then presented to the entire Committee on 25 May 2022. IPC-IG researchers Anaïs Vibranovski, Fernando Marcial Ricci Araújo and João Pedro Dytz participated in this presentation, as well as consultants Oswald Habonimana, Amadou Kanar Diop, and Parfait Nkerabagenzi. 

On 14 and 15 June 2022, the main social protection stakeholders in the country gathered to discuss the documents of the National Social Protection Policy and of the Social Protection National Strategy and include additional comments. 

Next steps will include the validation of the National Social Protection Strategy, which will be focused on the implementation of the Policy over the next 5 years. 

About the Steering Committee and the IPC-IG’s partnership 

A ministerial decree released this year established a Steering Committee responsible for monitoring the process of updating the National Social Protection Policy in Burundi and its implementation strategy.  

This Committee brings together 20 representatives of the main national stakeholders in the field of social protection, with support from international organisations who were appointed as members of the Steering Committee by the Ministry of National Solidarity, Social Affairs, Human Rights and Gender of Burundi. The Committee is free to invite any person/institution as an external resource to assist with their expertise, and the IPC-IG was requested to contribute to this reformulation. 

The Steering Committee was then responsible for validating the proposed methodology and work schedule; guide the process of updating the National Social Protection Policy in Burundi and its national implementation strategy; provide necessary guidelines to achieve the expected results; facilitate the collection of data and information; validate progress reports and the final report; in addition to performing any task necessary for the good performance of the project. 

Project Merankabandi, a major cash transfer programme in Burundi, plays an important role in the mobilisation of funds and ensuring the development of the documents. Logistic support and technical reviews were provided by the Permanent Executive Secretariat of the National Commission for Social Protection of Burundi, which is a central coordination institution for social protection in the country.