The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) has announced plans to collaborate with South Africa’s Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA) to strengthen social protection systems across Africa.
Managing Director and Chief Executive of NSITF, Oluwaseun Faleye, disclosed this on Tuesday while hosting a high-level delegation from RMA, led by its Group Chief Executive Officer, Bilal Adam, at the Fund’s headquarters in Abuja.
Faleye described the visit as the beginning of a strategic partnership between two of Africa’s leading social insurance institutions, aimed at enhancing workers’ compensation, occupational safety and health, and social security administration across the continent.
“Your visit marks the beginning of what we hope will evolve into a mutually beneficial and enduring relationship between our two organisations, and highlights our shared commitment to advancing workers’ compensation and social protection in Africa,” he said.
He noted that RMA, established in 1894, has evolved from a specialised compensation scheme for the mining sector into a modern social insurer with a strong focus on prevention, rehabilitation and value creation.
Faleye stressed that collaboration, innovation and knowledge sharing are critical to the future of social protection, adding that the partnership would provide opportunities to exchange experiences, identify areas of mutual interest and develop innovative solutions to emerging challenges in the world of work.
According to him, the engagement will explore cooperation in key areas such as digital transformation, claims administration, occupational health and safety, rehabilitation and return-to-work programmes, capacity building, research and policy development.
He emphasised that Nigeria and South Africa, as leading economies on the continent, have a responsibility to provide leadership and promote best practices that will strengthen social protection systems across Africa.
Faleye also reaffirmed NSITF’s commitment to enhancing the Employees’ Compensation Scheme (ECS), which provides compensation, medical care, rehabilitation and support to workers who suffer workplace injuries, occupational diseases, disabilities or death.
“The changing nature of work and emerging occupational risks require social insurance institutions to continuously improve their systems and adopt innovative approaches that place workers’ welfare at the centre of service delivery,” he said.
He added that the ECS remains a vital social security intervention in Nigeria, offering not only protection for workers and their dependants but also a structured framework for employers to manage workplace liabilities.
The NSITF boss further revealed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is expected to be drafted and ratified by the Fund’s management board during the visit, marking a new phase of collaboration between both organisations.
He expressed optimism that the partnership would lead to practical outcomes that enhance service delivery, strengthen institutional capacity and improve financial protection for workers across Africa.
“Together, let us continue to build stronger institutions, safer workplaces and a more inclusive and resilient social protection system for the benefit of workers across Africa,” Faleye said.
As part of the engagement, both organisations are expected to hold a series of sessions to share experiences and deepen collaboration in pursuit of their shared objectives.
