About NSPS
The Gambia government recognizes and prioritizes social protection and a key outcome in the National Development Plan 2018-2021 is that ‘the Poor and most Vulnerable benefit from Social Safety Nets and Social Security as an integral part of a Sustainable, Affordable, and Effective Social and Child Protection Systems’. The long-term vision (2015-2025) for social protection in The Gambia as indicated in the National Social Protection Policy (NSPP) seeks to establish an inclusive integrated and comprehensive social protection system that will effectively provide preventive, promotive, protective and transformative measures to safeguard the lives of all poor and vulnerable groups and contribute to broader human development, greater economic productivity, and inclusive growth.
From 2012 to date, a lot of knowledge on social protection in The Gambia has been generated to guide the evolution of the social protection sector. In 2012 a National Social Protection Steering Committee was set up; 2012-13, a comprehensive diagnostics and mapping of the social protection system was done; 2013-14, the participatory formulation of its first-ever National Social Protection Policy (NSPP 2015-2025) and Implementation Plan (NSPIP) was drafted and approved by Cabinet in February 2016; The Gambia Social Safety Nets Diagnostic and the Fiscal Space Analysis for Social Protection in The Gambia were drafted in 2018; The Gambia Functional Review of Social Protection Coordination Mechanism was done in 2018 and finally, the National Social Protection Secretariat was established in 2019 under the Office of the Vice President to lead and coordinate the Social Protection Sector.
NSPS MANDATE
Service the Social Protection Steering Committee and any sub-committees and technical working groups
Support the joint review and coordination of social protection spending plans;
Support harmonisation and alignment in the design and delivery of social protection programmes, projects and services;
Issue information, publicity and communications and hold events to promote wider understanding of social protection;
Establish and maintain a Social Registry;
Establish a repository of information and knowledge relevant to SP in The Gambia and respond to requests for information.
Establish and maintain a national social protection M&E framework and system;
Support the review (and development if necessary) of social protection policy and legislation;