Background
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MAST) of Haiti has been committed to social protection for more than two decades. In 2013, it created the Information System of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (SIMAST), whose primary function was initially to develop a list of the most vulnerable households eligible for the Kore Lavi program (a social safety net program co-financed by international agencies).
The most recent advancements in social protection, particularly since 2020 with the establishment of the National Social Protection and Promotion Policy (PNPPS), along with various ongoing interventions and programs, require giving SIMAST a central role. This involves expanding its coverage to include the various programs anchored in the PNPPS and strengthening its institutional and technical capacities. In this context, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the World Food Program (WFP) have been committed in recent years to supporting MAST in institutionalizing the PNPPS and SIMAST.
The PNPPS defines the strategic framework for interventions necessary to sustainably address national structural issues such as poverty eradication, inequality reduction, and the promotion of autonomy and rights for Haitian citizens. In this sense, SIMAST plays a crucial role in implementing the PNPPS and overall social protection interventions, as it provides essential information to identify and target households and individuals based on their characteristics and needs, as well as eligibility criteria for social programs. To consolidate this information system in the service of the National Policy and ensure the efficient and effective fulfillment of its functions, a Strategic Institutional Plan (PSI) for SIMAST was developed in 2023. The PSI's strategic pillars include institutional anchoring, expanded coverage, data reliability and relevance, and data transparency, accessibility, and protection.
Seminar Objectives
Within the framework of cooperation activities between Haiti's MAST, WFP, ECLAC, the World Bank, and the IDB, focused on the implementation and institutionalization of the PNPPS and its components, a key aspect to develop is strengthening the technical capacities of SIMAST. This will be based on the strategic pillars of the PSI, particularly institutional anchoring, and the capacities of MAST staff involved in designing and implementing social programs through information and management systems.
The seminar aims to contribute to this capacity-building by offering a space for exchange, learning, and technical capacity enhancement for MAST officials, its autonomous bodies, and state institutions involved in implementing the PNPPS. This will be done within a framework of South-South cooperation by sharing tools, knowledge, and best practices with Latin American and Caribbean countries, considering their diverse experiences with social registries, social information systems, and the various payment methods adopted in their social protection programs.
