MASS/ADDS: Solidarity at the heart of government action

Solidarity is a fundamental value in Djibouti, the foundation of cohesion and social inclusion which will be institutionalized within the framework of the national day of Solidarity for a week (from 08 to 08/15/2022) In a society, needs are unlimited but goods are scarce and the aim of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Solidarity is to assist those who are in need

However, what are the results of the social actions carried out by the government? "Do more, do better

the goal is not to keep these populations in welfare but rather to increase their resilience and offer them more opportunities so that they can once again become full and productive members of our society

Everything is done to move in this direction,” declared the Head of State, His Excellency Mr

Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, on the occasion of the National Solidarity Day of January 12, 2012 The general objective of the social projects of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Solidarity (MASS) is to offer the most underprivileged members of the population a public social protection mechanism

In accordance with Decree No 2019-116/PRE setting the attributions of the Ministries, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Solidarity (MASS) is responsible for the application of the policy to combat poverty, the development of plans and strategies to promote national solidarity

In collaboration with the other competent ministries, the MASS has the heavy task of taking charge of the management of the general organization and the conduct of solidarity actions in terms of humanitarian assistance and rehabilitation in the event of disasters, natural disasters and humanitarian crises It is also responsible for the promotion and social protection of the elderly, the disabled, the disadvantaged and all those in need

It also ensures the management of the National Solidarity Fund according to the statutes and the provisions laid down Since her appointment at the head of this institution last May, Minister Mrs

Ouloufa Abdo has constantly intervened in places where the need is felt to develop a system of assistantship to respond to social distress, these displacements being recorded largely in the most remote corners of our regions to coordinate the policy of the State against poverty and precariousness With the CPEC governed by Ms

Kadra Omar Kamil, the flagship project of this institution, the MASS devotes an important part to social development in the government's action program Initiated by His Excellency the President of the Republic Mr Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, the CPEC (Caisse Populaire d'Epargne et de Crédit) is a microfinance system which is part of the policy of combating poverty, improving living conditions lives of the most vulnerable populations from informal sectors excluded from the traditional banking system

Moreover, the CPEC project provides them not only with the possibility of accessing micro-credit financing but also of taking part in the affairs of the country and the community in a feeling of mutual aid and solidarity According to the declarations of the Minister of MASS Mrs

Ouloufa during her visit to Obock: “This project intervenes as a moral, social, economic and political solution to combat poverty, food insecurity and inequality We are certainly more present for our assistance in the regions of the country because the localities of the rural areas are the most affected, living permanently more in precariousness than the population of the urban centers

Moreover, it is the case of the women of Hayyu, a village near Obock who were able to carry out with the help of the CPEC of the ADDS their own income-generating activities The Ministry of Solidarity has set up this program for people in a situation of permanent precariousness, who are extremely poor and live on less than 500 fd per day

The typical profile of CPEC/ADDS beneficiaries is mostly vulnerable women, ready to learn to be autonomous, to enjoy their fundamental rights in order to feel recognized in society, which allows the government to benefit from the demographic dividend and to maintain the population social peace”

Alongside this there is so-called shock precariousness, which corresponds to fires, premature accidents and floods The ministry is responsible for intervening to provide assistance to the affected population

Main Projects and Solidarity Actions MASS/ADDS The ADDS (Djiboutian Agency for Social Development) ambitious project launched in 2007 by His Excellency the President of the Republic is the result of the merger of two key state agencies for development, including ADETIP and FSD An agency at the service of the poorest whose goal is to avoid the exclusion of disadvantaged people and to work for sensitive areas in both rural and urban areas by promoting increased income and improved living conditions

Indeed, MASS and its agency ADDS are the linchpin of the framework for dialogue between the Government and development partners, presenting several community actions to be carried out each year, thus covering all the key objectives of the SDGs The ADDS supports more than 225 families on a monthly basis to provide cash and living aid or medical assistance

Since its creation, the Social Development Agency of Djibouti has carried out several humanitarian and social programs, of which more than half of Djiboutians have benefited from these actions and projects, which are: – Urban poverty reduction project in Balbala (PREPUD) – Integrated urban development project (PDUI) in 2008 for the municipality of Balbala which covers more than half of the country with a large vulnerable population, program carried out in close collaboration with the action of the AFD (French Development Agency)

– Granting of CNSS social security to the poor who will benefit from primary health care throughout the territory – PROPEJA project initiated by ADDS, administered and financed by the World Bank This project consists in having young people adhere to the promotion of employment and crafts

– The PITCH (Integrated Project for Monetary Transfers and Strengthening of Human Capital) aimed at reducing the vulnerability of poor families in urban areas, in particular through the social safety nets put in place by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Solidarity – The DRDIP is a regional project for the social development of internally displaced migrants (Ali Addeh, Obock, Hayyu…) and in the Horn of Africa supervised by the AfDB (African Development Bank) – PGIRE Integrated Water Resources Management Project – Creation of a slaughterhouse and a civil protection branch in Tadjourah – Creation of a fire station in Dikhil – FORJE Youth Entrepreneurship Training Project -53 income-generating activities, 48 ​​of which are financed by the Islamic microfinance pilot unit of ADDS in April 2022 in Balbala in collaboration with the IOG foundation A program to economically empower the inhabitants of poor neighborhoods in the municipality of Balbala

– The Support Project for the construction of socio-economic infrastructure and the promotion of economic activities in the regions (PARISER) of the ADDS in close collaboration with the AfDB -For the community of Holl Holl, enormous efforts have been made by Minister Mrs

Ouloufa Abdo Ismael of MASS and her ADDS agency by offering them better access to social protection and basic social services, the transformation of the medical center in an equipped polyclinic and the connection of the village to the electrical network of the capital of the EDD In order to attenuate the inequalities of social development in the regions of the interior of the country, the minister also evokes the rehabilitation of about twenty agricultural perimeters, solar fields, the creation of drinking water wells reinforcing food security

ETC… For Minister Ouloufa Ismael Abdo, the solidarity of the State is well structured, essential for a cohesive society of mutual aid so that we can live in harmony SALEH IBRAHIM RAYALEH