The Director General of the National Social Security and Insurance Trust has said that as a result of the political will of His Excellency, President Brigadier General (Rtd) Julius Maada Bio’s government, the Trust is working assiduously to extend social protection coverage to the informal sector.
Mohamed Fuaad Daboh made these remarks on Tuesday, 24th June 2025, while addressing delegates at the 130th Meeting of the Bureau of the International Security Association (ISSA) in Geneva, saying that the informal sector is the largest contributor to the economy of Sierra Leone and should therefore have access to social protection.
“Social Security”, Mr Daboh noted, “is a fundamental human right and social security institutions have a responsibility to ensure that citizens have access to this right under the best possible conditions”.
The Director General told the gathering of social security experts that the Trust, which is a formal scheme, has done well in providing social protection to the vast majority of members in the formal sector. He, however, lamented that extending such protection to members in the informal economy has proven to be difficult, due to the long-term benefits the Trust is currently providing.
“As a result of this”, Mr. Daboh went on, “we have made enormous efforts to establish a scheme that speaks to the needs of the informal sector in Sierra Leone”.
Discussions around extending coverage to the informal sector started in 2007. However, it was in 2018 that those discussions gained momentum, and since then, deliberate efforts have been made to actualise this dream, one which was the engagement of development partners such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for technical support.
“As I speak to you, we have put together a policy design of the new scheme that has been validated not only by the ILO but also by the Minister of Employment, Labour and Social Security and the Steering Committee,” the NASSIT Strongman stated. He further highlighted the necessity of a robust awareness-raising stakeholder engagement, the validation of the National Informal Sector Policy framework, Cabinet endorsement, the legislative process and the operationalisation of the scheme.
Speaking about the strong collaboration between the ISSA and the ILO, from which Sierra Leone as a country has benefited, Mr Daboh disclosed that the new scheme would be launched at the end of 2025, and it would become operational by January 2026.
Meanwhile, the Director General held a strategic meeting with the Director of the Universal Social Protection Department at the ILO, Shahra Razavi, during which he updated her on the progress made so far in extending social protection coverage to the informal sector workers who make up the greater majority of Sierra Leone’s workforce. Mr. Daboh explored the possibility of the ILO’s intervention in the areas of a Resident Consultant with a hands-on experience to anchor the proposed scheme, capacity building and experience-sharing.
Responding, the ILO Director commended the Director General for the bold and ambitious desire to extend social security coverage to informal sector workers. While acknowledging the requests, she promised to have further discussions with the Regional Office in Abuja, Nigeria, and the Actuaries for the training components.
This year’s meeting of the ISSA Bureau took place in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 23rd and 24th of June 2025.
NASSIT, we care.
