“The Sweeper” embarks on an analysis of the national social protection programs in Algeria – Al-Hiwar Al-Jazairiah

The National Economic, Social and Environmental Council, within the framework of its tasks related to the evaluation of public policies, and with the technical support of UNICEF, is conducting a study entitled “Analysis of national social protection programs in Algeria related to the realization of the rights of children and adolescents”. Given the comprehensiveness of this analysis, the National Economic, Social and Environmental Council established a joint ministerial technical committee, made up of representatives of sectors concerned with the implementation of various social protection programmes. This committee constitutes a space for dialogue and consultation on issues related to the study.

This study aims to identify the advantages, disadvantages and limitations of the national social protection system, in order to inform decision-makers and direct them towards proposing reforms or amendments to social protection programs to make them more adapted to the needs of children.

For this purpose, a field mission was organized with the support of the institutional sectors, including the Ministry of the Interior, Local Authorities and Urban Planning. Meetings and exchange of views were held at the central and local levels in the presence of experts, which enabled the collection of qualitative information in addition to that provided by administrative sources and national field investigations, allowing for a qualitative and quantitative presentation of social protection programmes.

With regard to the central level, discussions were held between January 15 and 19, 2023 with officials in charge of social protection programs at the levels of the Ministry of the Interior, Local Authorities and Urban Development, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of National Solidarity, Family and Women’s Issues, including: the Agency for Social Development and the Ministry of Labor Employment and social security, including the National Social Security Fund, the National Pension Fund, the National Social Security Fund for non-wage earners and the National Unemployment Insurance Fund, as well as the Ministry of Housing and the Ministry of Finance.

As for the meetings that took place at the local level, a delegation consisting of representatives of each of the National Economic, Social and Environmental Council, UNICEF and experts, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Interior, Local Communities and Urban Planning, the Ministry of National Solidarity, Family and Women’s Issues and the Agency for Social Development visited, between the 22nd and the 28th. January 2023, to four provinces: Annaba, M’sila, Laghouat and Oran. In this regard, interviews were conducted with three target groups: (1) local sector officials responsible for social protection programmes, (2) beneficiaries of social protection programmes, and (3) civil society actors working in the social field for children and adolescents.