An important global document with far reaching futuristic implications for social security initiatives in developing and developed countries includes contributions from the Emirates Identity Authority in the form of an article jointly written by Dr. Ali Al Khouri, the Director General of the Emirates Identity Authority and Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, Secretary-General, International Social Security Association and the Chairman of Global Agenda Council on Social Security Systems. The article provides a complete framework and action points for the role of ICT in social security programs, besides spelling out the various challenges and opportunities in the process of actualizing the role of ICT.
A Framework for Sustainable Social Security Systems 2014, a compendium of articles written by globally recognized experts and published by World Economic Forum – Global Agenda Council on Social Security Systems, addresses the various issues of social security in old age including financial security, health care and long term care, against the backdrop of changing demographic patters in the world.
The article co-authored by Dr. Ali Al Khouri and titled “The Role of Information and Communication Technologies” proposes a holistic framework for the effective utilization of ICT in devising and implementing wide ranging social security programs for the elderly. Arguing that the Key components of a solid technology support model for social security systems are trust, confidentiality, integrity, accessibility and ability, the authors caution against the reductionist view of seeing social security merely in the context of a retroactive or reactive provisioning of services.
They stress that social security should be viewed on a proactive mode in the sense of ensuring access to a whole range of social benefits in times of need for the individual and the society. “The application of ICT has enabled not only the automation of specific processes, but also the transformation of operations and services, resulting in improvements in the performance and service quality of social security organizations,” the article emphasizes.
The authors argue that besides the improvements in intra-institutional operations, ICT has enabled the implementation of inter-institutional social programs through the integration of diverse social protection instruments that are traditionally fragmented. “The implementation of such high-impact nation-wide programs, requiring an intensive usage of ICT, constitutes a turning point for social security http://www.businesstoday.me/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/sample10.jpgistrations, showing that institutions can play a unique and critical operational role in these strategic socio-economic programs beyond their traditional schemes of http://www.businesstoday.me/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/sample10.jpgistrative responsibilities,” they point out.
Stressing the role of individual identity management systems in streamlining social security programs, the authors say that social benefits could be managed, http://www.businesstoday.me/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/sample10.jpgistered and delivered using the digital identity credentials that are held by citizens and managed by governments.
The Global Agenda Council on Social Security Systems was constituted by the World Economic Forum with a view to comprehensively analyze the challenges facing social security systems for the aged and to explore possible solutions that are applicable to diverse and disparate situations in developing and developed countries. The 15-member elite group comprises top government, academic, private sector and civil society functionaries from around world, including Dr. Ali Al Khouri. The compendium was edited by the Stanford Centre for Longevity.
Source : WAM News Agency for United Arab Emirates
