The Social Development Sector Strategic Investment Plan (SDIP 2) 2011/12 – 2015/16.

This Social Development Sector Strategic Investment Plan (SDIP 2) emphasises the development priorities for the period 2011-2016. It focuses on promoting employment and the rights of vulnerable and marginalised groups for improved wellbeing and gender-responsive development. In executing its mandate, through the SDIP 2, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development employs the twin-track approach, providing direct services to specific vulnerable and marginalised groups and mainstreaming issues such as social rights, through influencing and supporting policy and programme development in other sectors.
The Social Development Sector (SDS) promotes community level action to reduce poverty and promote the rights of the poor, vulnerable and marginalized groups. The sector interventions are contained in this plan. The SDIP 2 restates government’s commitment to achieve growth with equity and sets out targets and strategic results in five thematic programme areas of community mobilization and empowerment, social protection for vulnerable groups, labour employment and productivity, gender equality and women’s empowerment and institutional capacity development. The Strategic Objectives of this policy are: promoting decent employment opportunities and labour productivity; enhancing participation of communities in the development process; improving the well-being of vulnerable and marginalized groups; promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in the development process; improving the performance of the Social development institutions in coordinating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating the SDIP 2 at all levels. Its related outcomes are: improved environment for increasing employment and productivity; empowered communities for increased involvement in the development process; vulnerable persons protected from deprivation and livelihood risks; gender equality enhanced; enhanced capacity of the SDS to coordinate, implement, monitor and evaluate the SDIP 2.
The SDIP 2 is aligned with the National Development Plan (2010/11-2014/15) objectives which focus on increasing household incomes and promoting equality, enhancing the availability and quality of gainful employment, increasing access to quality social services and enhancing human capital development. SDIP 2 focuses on a set of priorities based on the available resources. Table 5 shows the prioritised interventions by the SDS which will be handled between 2011-2016. SDIP 2 Priority Interventions are: Community Mobilisation; Home and Village Improvement; Improving the functionality of and accessibility to quality non-formal adult literacy services; Expansion of Library and Information services; Promoting Culture for Development; Strengthening Labour Market Information System and employment services; Externalization of Labour; Supporting the Informal and non-formal Sectors; Strengthening Occupation Safety and Health (OSH) in the Workplaces; Strengthening Social Dialogue, Tripartism and Social Justice; Improving Productivity; Development of Non Formal Employable Skills; Provision of social assistance for the chronically vulnerable; Empowerment of vulnerable groups for improved livelihoods; Provision of Care and Protection; Promotion and Protection of Rights; Strengthening systems and structures for social protection; Promoting gender mainstreaming in Sectors and Local Government; Promoting economic empowerment of women; Addressing gender-based violence and promoting of women’s rights; Mobilizing resource for the Social Development Sector; Strengthening Institutional Capacity for the Social Development Sector; Strengthening Sector coordination, delivery and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems.
The social vulnerabilities are generally associated with demographic characteristics such as age, sex, disability, unemployment, and other phenomena such as poverty and disasters. The sector targets vulnerable groups such as widows, widowers, youth, persons with disabilities, older persons, ethnic minorities and vulnerable children (orphans, street children, children heading households, children in conflict with the law, children neglected and abused, child labourers, children in hard to reach areas and children with severe disabilities). The sector is responsible for providing policy guidance, affirmative action and social economic interventions to protect and empower these categories of the population.