The ILO’s strategy for the execution of the project is to assist the development of national policies on the extension of social security protection through technical cooperation.
A series of joint capacity building activities should help improve the efficiency and governance of the social security systems at the sub-regional level.
For the development of the national action plans for the extension of social security, the first step is a needs assessment survey. The survey should focus on people excluded from current systems (e.g. those who work for small employers, the informal economy and the home-based workers). All the data should be collected and analysed by sex, to identify gender-sensitive needs.
To formulate policy options for the extension of coverage, a study to review the existing programmes and identify the problems in the current systems is foreseen.
For the development of the national action plans, a National Steering Committee was established in each country. The committee is composed of representatives of tripartite constituents and social security organisations. Other relevant social partners (e.g. NGOs, civil society groups, women’s groups) should also be consulted. The national action plans will develop the policies for the priority areas and set out the strategy for step-by-step implementation in the mid- to long-term.
Specifically, the national action plans address the following issues:
This training course on 'Social Security in Pacific Island Countries' is part of the strategy of the project. The design and the delivery of the course is supported by the International Training Centre of the ILO. To optimise the impact in the sub-region, the training is extended to Marshall Islands, Papua New guinea and Tonga.