1. Mitigating vulnerabilities and promoting sustainable
Office of Legal and Procurement Support
growth: Sequencing, cost-efficiency and fiscal
UNDP, NY
sustainability of social protection.
Tunisia Case Study
M. Sadok Elamri
Program Specialist
Environment, Energy and Sustainable Development
UNDP Tunisia
Tel : (216) 71 903 586
Sadok.el-amri@undp.org
3. Introduction
Total population : 10.674 Millions (2011).
Population growth rate : 1.29% (NSI 2010)
Poverty rate (based on national poverty line):
Absolute poverty rate : 4.6 % ; Poverty rate : 15,3 %.
Unemployment :
National : 18,9 %; inter-regional range : 9-32 %.
Youth unemployment : 42 %
university graduates : 30.5%
GDP/Capita (PPP) : $ 8940 (WB, 2011)
HDI : 0.698 (2011); Ranked 94/187
Regional and social disparities : poverty, unemployment,
access to education and health services,…
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4. Introduction
No nationally agreed definition of social protection!
Concretely 2 main pillars :
- Contributory system: insurance / social security.
- Non contributory system : social assistance
Social Protection System
Contributory pillar Non contributory pillar
PNAFN - AMAL
General
Retirement Heath System Medical Assistanc Compen
Program
for
Other
social
System : CNAM (One assistance e to needy sation unemplo protectio
Common (1987)
Fund yment n
families (1970) (2011)
CNRPS CNSS System)
(1987)
programs
(for public (For private
sector) - sector) - 1960
1976
4
5. 1/ The contributory system :
Insurance / social security
1.1 The pension regime (Retirement system):
3 branches:
Elderly benefit
Disability benefit
Survivors’ benefit
2 pension funds:
•CNRPS : for public sector employees
•CNSS : for private sector employees
Based on different legislation between private and public
sector : retirment age, contributive rate.
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6. 1/ The contributory system :
Insurance / social security
1.1 The pension regime (Retirement system):
• Benefits for a long while from favorable demographic
evolution (notably due to the family planning program
introduced in early sixties).
• But ,Tunisia finished its demographic transition and is
actually facing demographic trends of an ageing
population : increase in life expectancy (70.3 in 1990; 74.7 in
2010), increase of the part of over 60 population, decreased
in fertility rate.
• Important impacts on the “PAY AS YOU GO” retirement
system (intergenerational transfers) and on elders related
health services expenditures (increase of incidence of chronic
diseases).
• Dependency ratio (number of contributors for one retiree) falls
from 16.6 in 1980 to 4.5 in 2010.
• Demographic change and high unemployment are
creating important financial deficit which will be completely
unsustainable if no reform in undertaken quickly.
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7. 1/ The contributory system :
Insurance / social security
1.1 The pension regime (Retirement system):
Different regimes managed by CNSS.
Progressevly integrated new categories of
beefeciairies. Recently new regime created for
domestic workers.
High global coverage (73.7%). Low caverage of
agricultural sector employees (12%)
But, 60 % of retires receive a pension amount
under the minimum wage. Only 35% of elderly
declare receiving pensions.
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8. 1/ The contributory system :
Insurance / social security
1.2 The health insurance system (CNAM):
Recently established (2007) unifying public and private
sector health insurance systems
No client satisfaction survey / cost effectiveness
evaluation yet
Weaknesses :
- long reimbursement delays,
- low annual maximum reimbursement amount (128$ vs
an average of 22$ per medical visit).
- Positive consolidated balance result of CNAM regime.
- But, health insurance regime continuously in deficit,
compensated by positive results of «the work accidents
and occupational diseases » regime.
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9. 2/ The non contributory :
social assistance system
Social transfers increasing in recent years (17.1
% of GDP in 2006; 18.4 % of GDP in 2010)-
Ministry of social affairs.
Tunisian authorities attempted to alleviate
poverty through 3 types of safety net programs:
i) Food subsidies (cereals, vegetal oil, fuel,…);
ii) direct transfer in kind and cash targeted to the
needy (elderly, handicapped, schoolchildren and
needy families);
iii) “active labor market” and “public works” programs
(short term jobs for unskilled workers, in both urban
and rural areas, wages below the minimum wage,
locating predominantly poor areas ). 9
10. 2/ The non contributory :
social assistance system
2.1 The program for Need families (PNAFN)
Created in 1986. To address negative effects of potential
economic chocks due to Structural Adjustment Program.
Most important “social transfer program”.
Targeted Group : Poor families, Poor aged people, Poor
handicapped persons.
Benefits : Fixed Cash transfer (monthly $ 61 + $6/ children) .
Demand for social assistance significally increased after
January 14th revolution : 185 000 families in 2010; 235 000 in
2012.
Recent assessment (WB):
- highly politicized quota based program.
- Covers only 17.3 % of poor's.
- Cost efficiency : each $ used reduces poverty by 0.12 to 0.23.
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11. 2/ The non contributory :
social assistance system
2.1 The program for Need families (PNAFN)
PNAFN beneficiaries benefit also from Free medical
assistance (AMG1 Card).
But required regional/local/decentralized health
infrastructure is insufficient. Sick people bear additional
costs of transportation and risk delayed to access to
emergency services.
50.7 % of women in rural areas declare having limited
access to health centers due to remoteness.
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12. 2/ The non contributory :
social assistance system
2.2 The General Compensation Fund (GCF)
Created in 1970
Benefits : Subsidies for selected products (cereals, sugar, vegetal oil,
fuel,.…).
Important and increasing pressure on state budget resources (1.4 %
of GDP in 2007; 1.87 % of GDP in 2011).
No targeted groups. Inefficient targeting needy families. Benefits more
for high and middle income households……
2.3 AMAL (hope in Arabic) program for the unemployed
Introduced in 2011. Covers 50000 young university graduates.
Benefits : Cash transfer ($ 123) + professional training to enhance
employability.
First descriptive report : only 3.6 % succeeded to find a job.;
Side effects : reluctance of some beneficiairies to accepts $180-250
paid job.
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13. 2/ The non contributory :
social assistance system
Other social and development programs, indirectly linked to social protection, focusing on
improving standard of living. Definition of social protection programs ??
Overlapping ? Cumulative benefits ?
Name Date of Targeted group Actions
creation
Assistance to unmarried 1993 Unmarried mother Cash transfer
mother with no resources
Public works programs 1995 Short term jobs for unskilled Cash for work
workers
Regional program for 1973 Groups with low revenue in rural Infrastructure improve and
development (Rural and urban and urban area job creation
1984
areas)
1992
National program for 1986 Low and Middle-income groups Create decent housing
eliminating rudimentary
Grant / loans
housing
National Solidarity Fund 1993 Groups with low revenue in rural Infrastructure improve and
and urban area job creation
…………………. 13
14. Challenges and recommandations
No reliable cost efficiency studies undertaken. Authotiritan
regime tried to control data and was reluctant to any
evaluation (social protection = cost of social peace !).
Social protection system challenged by demography,
poverty, unemployment , January 14th Social uprising,…
Strong institutional capacity and well developed basic
administrative tools.
But clear problems of technical design and
fragmentation.
Assistance and active labor market programs managed by
different ministries operating with little coordination.
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15. Challenges and recommandations
Necessity to move gradually to a :
• system view of social protection (definition, clear vision,…),
to exploit positive interactions, improve efficiency and
effectiveness, respond to different population groups..
• More harmonization/ integration of social assistance transfers
and more coordination/interaction with other relevant
programs (Service continuum ).
• Develop basic tools : beneficiaries identification systems and
registries, targeting schemes, M$E arrangements (entry point for
more systemic reform to improve program design and expand
coverage).
New initiative : creation of social protection programs
e-platform with great challenges : (social protection
definition? reluctance to share information,..)
Revolutionary process : opportunity and challenge.
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16. Thank you for your attention.
M. Sadok Elamri
Program Specialist
Environment, Energy and Sustainable Development
UNDP Tunisia
Tel : (216) 71 903 586
Sadok.el-amri@undp.org
Photo from manifestations for Tunisian revolution. 16
