Tanzania is set to host a groundbreaking Pan-African Social Security Summit in Arusha on July 10, 2025, bringing together key stakeholders from across the continent to chart a path for integrating social security into national development agendas.
Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Ridhiwani Kikwete, confirmed the summit during a press briefing in Dodoma, highlighting the event as a critical step in leveraging social protection frameworks for socioeconomic transformation.
Delegations from 15 African countries—including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe—are expected to attend.
“This convening examines how social security institutions can accelerate socioeconomic transformation,” Kikwete stated.
He emphasized that the summit’s objective is to align social security systems with broader infrastructure and development strategies across Africa.
The high-level discussions will be preceded by a preparatory forum on July 9, which will gather policymakers, institutional leaders, and social security regulators to deliberate on structural challenges affecting the sector.
The forum will serve as a platform to propose reforms, share best practices, and strengthen continental collaboration in social protection.
Kikwete noted the summit will include participation from heads of social security institutions, regulatory authorities, and labour ministry officials from the invited nations.
“We expect this engagement to foster collaborative policy development and deepen regional integration in social protection delivery,” he added.
The event is being coordinated by Tanzania’s Prime Minister’s Office (Labour, Youth, and Disabilities), and marks the first specialized Pan-African gathering focused exclusively on social security coordination since 2022.
As social security becomes an increasingly vital pillar in national resilience strategies, the Arusha summit signals a renewed continental push to modernize and harmonize African welfare systems to meet evolving demographic and economic demands.
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