The Anguilla Social Security Board has received a Certificate of Merit with Special Mention from the International Social Security Association (ISSA), the principal international institution bringing together social security agencies and organizations. It promotes dynamic social security as the social dimension in a globalizing world by supporting excellence in social security administration.

Anguilla’s award was bestowed on the local Social Security organization for ‘Transparency and Accountability: Good Governance at the Anguilla Social Security Board’ among ISSA’s tri-annual awards for the Americas. It recognizes the Anguilla Social Security Board’s annual Public Accountability sessions. These open sessions utilize mass media to communicate with the widest possible audience among the Anguillian public. At the sessions, the Board presents its performance report, business plan and budget, and engages the public in discussion and allows them to offer their feedback. The Accountability Sessions are followed up with talk-shows to reinforce the desired message and counter rumour and misinformation. To date, there have been three such sessions, and the next is being scheduled for mid-April 2010.

ISSA’s international jury awarded two Good Practice Awards and a total of 24 Certificates of Merit, seven of which received a Special Mention, in the second of the regional Good Practice Award competitions organized by the ISSA. The Good Practice Award was granted to the National Institute of Social Security, Brazil, for its contribution to the development of a transnational data exchange system, and to the Mexican Social Security Institute for the introduction of a performance management system.
In addition to the award to the Anguilla Social Security System, the jury also gave Certificates of Merit with Special Mention to the Social Insurance Fund of Costa Rica; the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute; the Social Security Institute of Guatemala; Mexico’s State Employees’ Social Security and Social Services Institute; the St. Kitts and Nevis Social Security Board; and the Social Security Administration of the USA.

Certificates of Merit were also awarded to institutions from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

The ISSA Secretary General, Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, said: “The diverse submissions to the competition demonstrate the dynamic and innovative approaches of ISSA members in the Americas, which are of particular importance during this period of pressure on social security resulting from the financial and economic crisis.”
Director of Social Security, Mr. Timothy Hodge, expressed pleasure at the Anguilla Social Security System’s receipt of the ISSA Award, and was particularly pleased that the efforts of the System to practice its Core Values were being recognized. He had, however, expressed disappointment that, notwithstanding these efforts, in a small community where rumour and misinformation spreads so easily, many people do not take advantage of the opportunity to attend the “Public Accountability” sessions and receive accurate information and have their questions answered. He expressed a desire that the next Public Accountability session would be well attended, and that there would be healthy exchanges between the Board and the public.

The Good Practice Award programme was launched by the ISSA in 2008 to recognize good practices in the management of social security, and to raise the profile of improvements and innovation in the administration, operation and delivery of social security programmes. The Awards are presented on a regional basis in connection with the ISSA Regional Social Security Forums, over a three-year cycle, and will be featured at the World Social Security Forum in Cape Town, South Africa in 2010. The complete competition results, and access to a database of social security good practices from around the world, are available on the ISSA Web portal: www.issa.int/goodpracticeamericas.

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