A three-day workshop to increase civil society contribution to attain the Millennium Development Goals opened in Douala December 13.

Representatives from several civil society organizations are building capacities that will enable them effectively contribute towards government’s attaining the Millennium Development Goals. Participants to the workshop are being trained on the Social Protection Floor Initiative (SPFI).

The objectives of the training is to increase civil society contribution to design and advocate for the implementation of social protection floor in Sub-Saharan countries through a new awareness and knowledge; influence policies on social protection to overcome poverty; facilitate dialogue between policy makers and the poor as well as the representatives of the poor. As a strategic way forward to the training, each national council is expected to develop an integral work plan on social protection in order to identify entry points to advocate for more social security protection measures in their respective countries.

Opened by Social and Cultural Affairs Adviser to the Littoral Governor, Joseph Nlongo Ateba, the training is a follow up of the Dakar workshop and brings together technical and financial partners, civil society organisations as well as key ministries like MINAS, MINTSS, MINPROFF, MINEDUB and MINSANTE responsible for social protection floor initiative in Cameroon. Organised by the Cameroon Women in Leadership and Development (CAWOLED) in collaboration with the International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW), Commonwealth Foundation, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the training runs from December 12 to 15.

Pascaline Nonyuy Tar, CAWOLED President who doubles as ICSW Vice President, explained: “We have all along worked with this in mind and with a vision to promote a just and equitable society with particular attention to women, young girls, the disabled, orphans and vulnerable children.” Christian Rollet, ICSW Global President from France made allusion to the civil society one which complements the ever-known State’s role of facilitator, promoter and provider. Participants came from a broad range of civil society organisations in the Gambia; Ghana; Liberia; Nigeria; Uganda; Sierra Leone and Cameroon.