NASSIT Seeks Strategic Partnership with Egypt to Expand Social Security Coverage to Informal Sector Workers
The Director General of the National Social Security and Insurance Trust (NASSIT), Mohamed Fuaad Daboh, has called for stronger institutional collaboration between NASSIT and the Egyptian Embassy in Sierra Leone to support efforts aimed at extending social security protection to workers in the country’s vast informal sector.
The appeal was made during a meeting with the Egyptian Ambassador to Sierra Leone at the Egyptian Embassy in Freetown on Wednesday, 3rd June 2026, as NASSIT continues to advance a legislative framework designed to bring thousands of informal sector workers into the national social security system.
Speaking during the engagement, Daboh highlighted the urgent need to expand social protection coverage, noting that nearly 90 percent of Sierra Leone’s active labour force operates within the informal sector. According to him, this reality leaves millions of market traders, artisans, commercial drivers, farmers, and other self-employed workers without access to retirement, invalidity, and other social security benefits.
“Social security is a fundamental human right,” Daboh stated, emphasizing that the country’s long-term economic stability and social resilience depend significantly on ensuring that vulnerable workers are protected against future uncertainties.
He informed the Ambassador that Cabinet has already approved the Informal Sector Policy and that the draft legislation is currently before the Law Officers’ Department for review before its eventual submission to Parliament. He further disclosed that NASSIT has been actively engaging international partners to strengthen the implementation framework for the proposed scheme.
“With diplomatic support from the Egyptian Embassy, NASSIT hopes to adopt innovative and sustainable social protection strategies that can be tailored to Sierra Leone’s unique socio-economic realities,” he said.
The Director General stressed that expanding social security coverage to the informal sector represents a transformative step toward inclusive national development, poverty reduction, and economic empowerment.
Responding positively to the proposal, the Egyptian Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Her Excellency Rasha Soliman Mohi Eldin Soliman, reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation with Sierra Leone. She expressed her country’s readiness to support technical exchanges, institutional capacity building, and the development of comprehensive social protection systems that align with Sierra Leone’s development priorities.
Ambassador Soliman underscored Egypt’s demand-driven approach to development cooperation, assuring NASSIT of the Embassy’s willingness to share expertise and best practices gained through Egypt’s own social protection programmes.
“Egypt stands ready to support vocational collaboration, capacity development for social security professionals, and technical advisory services to ensure that Sierra Leone’s future informal sector pension scheme becomes a model for the region,” she stated.
The meeting reflects growing international support for Sierra Leone’s efforts to create a more inclusive social security system capable of protecting workers across all sectors of the economy.
The Director General was accompanied by the Deputy Director General in charge of Operations, who also serves as Chairman of the Informal Sector Technical Committee, as well as Victor Immanuel Samai, Executive Assistant to the Director General and member of the Informal Sector Secretariat.
As NASSIT advances reforms aimed at extending social protection to previously underserved populations, the institution remains committed to building strategic partnerships that will strengthen social security delivery and improve the lives of Sierra Leonean workers.
