Page 4 - Annual Review 2020-21-Eng_Neat

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

More than a year after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world still
faces its most serious health, social and economic crisis in decades. The ISSA

deeply deplores the loss of lives and the hardship inflicted on populations

around the world. It is evident, however, that without the responses by social
security institutions, the negative impact of COVID-19 would have been much
more devastating.

SOCIAL SECURITY INSTITUTIONS:

A PILLAR OF RESILIENCE

Social security has been at the centre of wide range of country responses and kept
government action to address the crisis, its members up-to-date on strategies and
by facilitating public health measures, approaches. As we are gradually starting to
protecting employment and preventing look beyond the crisis, the ISSA will further
poverty. The effectiveness of these responses enhance these activities to support social
was enabled by the capacity and agility of security institutions in contributing to an
social security institutions, which once again inclusive recovery.
emerged as essential pillars of national
resilience. In this context, providing relevant What strikes me is how social security
knowledge and exchange opportunities to institutions rose to the challenge. The
support its members in their adaptation to an pressure and the expectations have been
unprecedented crisis was not only a call, but enormous and unexpected. Still, social
also an obligation for the ISSA. security institutions have delivered, often
beyond their usual mandates. They have
Through the COVID-19 Monitor, the ISSA has implemented new programmes and
documented how social security is key to procedures, scaled up and reached
alleviating the social and economic crisis in out to cover new groups, and “My gratitude goes
countries all around the world. Through innovated and digitized service out to all social
around 80 webinars, ISSA members from delivery. All this while re-organizing security institutions
all regions have shared their challenges, their own ways of working, including and staff.”
good practices and innovations with their teleworking arrangements and
colleagues. Through more than 40 analytical digital cooperation.
articles, the ISSA provided structure to the

4 ISSA ANNUAL REVIEW 2020/21