Zimbabwe needs sustainable and inclusive financing models to protect vulnerable households from poverty, unemployment and climate-related shocks, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare Advocate Mercy Dinha has said.
Speaking at the Social Protection Conference in Bulawayo, Advocate Dinha called for a shift in how the country mobilises and allocates resources for social assistance, warning that growing needs and limited public finances were putting pressure on existing support systems.
She said social protection should be treated as an investment in national development rather than simply an expense incurred when people fall into hardship.
“Social protection is not merely an intervention for people experiencing poverty. It is an essential instrument of social justice, economic stability, human capital development and national transformation,” she said.
The conference, held under the theme “Reimagining Social Protection Financing: Emerging Challenges, Fiscal Constraints, Shifting Trends, and Strategic Opportunities,” brought together stakeholders to consider ways of making social protection systems more sustainable and responsive to changing needs.
Advocate Dinha said households across Southern Africa were facing economic uncertainty, persistent poverty, unemployment, inequality, food insecurity, rising living costs and climate-related disasters.
Children needed adequate nutrition and access to education, while young people required employment opportunities. Older persons, people with disabilities and vulnerable families also needed dependable support, she said.
However, she acknowledged that governments were operating under difficult fiscal conditions, with competing spending priorities, debt-servicing obligations, constrained domestic revenues and unpredictable development assistance limiting the resources available for social protection.
At the same time, climate emergencies, food insecurity and economic shocks were increasing demand for assistance.
“The answer cannot be to abandon our commitments to vulnerable populations. Nor can it be to expand programmes without due regard to the resources required to sustain them,” Advocate Dinha said.
She called for diversified, transparent and nationally owned financing arrangements, supported by partnerships with the private sector, development agencies, civil society, faith-based organisations and communities.
Such partnerships, she said, should be guided by clear national priorities, defined responsibilities and measurable outcomes.
Advocate Dinha also urged Zimbabwe to adopt a more integrated approach to social protection, linking cash assistance and social insurance with healthcare, education, employment services and other forms of social support.
She said assistance should respond to people’s needs at different stages of life, from pregnancy and early childhood to old age.
Young people, for example, could benefit from support linked to vocational training, entrepreneurship and employment opportunities, while older persons and people with profound disabilities might require long-term assistance.
She cautioned against assuming that everyone receiving social assistance could immediately become financially independent.
“For them, sustained social protection is not a failure of empowerment; it is a necessary expression of dignity and social justice,” she said.
The deputy minister also called for stronger systems to respond to climate-related emergencies, including droughts, floods and cyclones, which can destroy livelihoods and push vulnerable households deeper into poverty.
She said governments needed better early-warning systems, contingency financing and coordination between social protection agencies and disaster management institutions to ensure assistance reached affected communities quickly.
Advocate Dinha further stressed the need to improve access to support for people who are often excluded from conventional social protection programmes including informal economy workers, women with unpaid caregiving responsibilities and households whose circumstances deteriorate following illness, disability or the death of a breadwinner.
She said Zimbabwe’s social protection efforts should align with the country’s Vision 2030 development agenda and poverty reduction priorities.
At regional level, she called for greater cooperation among Southern African Development Community member states on sustainable financing models, digital service delivery, shock-responsive assistance and extending social security coverage to informal workers.
She urged delegates to produce practical recommendations backed by financing commitments, clear timelines and monitoring mechanisms.
“The true test of our work will not be the number of recommendations we adopt,” she said, but whether vulnerable people received the support needed to live with dignity and participate in society.
She said fiscal constraints should strengthen, rather than weaken, efforts to build sustainable systems that protect vulnerable populations and promote inclusive economic development.
