In support of UNICEF, the government of Mauritania, and other development partners, SPRI Global carried out a social protection training course from the 3rd-7th of February 2020, in Mauritania’s capital city of Nouakchott. This training built upon SPRI Global’s work in developing and carrying out a social protection course package for the West and Central Africa Regional Office of UNICEF.
It further built on UNICEF Mauritania and the government of Mauritania’s efforts in developing a course package with specialized and context-relevant modules, emphasizing, among others, the need for shock-responsive social protection; gender and social protection; and the linkages between the demographic dividend and social protection financing.
Members of UNICEF Mauritania and around 60 officials of the Mauritanian government and other development partners participated in the course. The Mauritanian government has been active in the implementation of an array of social protection measures, with the support of various development partners, leading to a national social protection strategy formulated for the period of 2012-2015.
The current strategic framework for poverty reduction in Mauritania includes the following objectives:
- Contribute to the fight against food and nutritional insecurity;
- Reduce the barriers linked to access to health and education services;
- Strengthen social security and promote work and employment;
- Improve the living environment through equitable access to basic social infrastructure;
- Develop social assistance and promotion programs for vulnerable groups;
This training course is now part of a renewed commitment towards social protection as an instrument of public policy with high potential to bring about socio-economic changes. It is aimed at an audience of social protection professionals in Mauritania, creating new perspectives that will help initiate discussions necessary for the national social protection system to achieve its objectives. Combining theory and essential research tools with current innovations and insights, the training reflects on universal health coverage, social protection and emergencies, and social protection and gender, among others.
An innovative, interactive and applied approach is adopted in order to ensure that participants grasp complex concepts and are enabled to make use of analytical tools presented during the course. The teaching methods, such as lessons, practical exercises, discussions and debates, vary according to the nature of the module. The modules covered during this training relate to the following areas of research:
MODULE 1. Concepts and principles of social protection
MODULE 2. Social protection – guaranteed health risk coverage for all
MODULE 3. Cash transfers in an intersectoral paradigm: impacts and interconnections
MODULE 4. Planning, coordination, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) mechanisms
MODULE 5. Social protection in response to shocks
MODULE 6. Social protection and gender
MODULE 7. Interactions between the demographic dividend and the financing of social protection