In the presence of His Excellency Dr Mugheer Al Khaili, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Department of Community Development - Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi Social Support Authority (SSA) has hosted an event bringing together strategic partners from the private and public sectors, showcasing the authority’s key social support programmes, which have benefited more than 5,000 families annually.
Over the past five years, SSA has been dedicated to creating a positive impact through an integrated approach that focuses on providing a robust social safety net for beneficiary families across Abu Dhabi. By providing financial social support, encouraging positive engagement, and empowering and training individuals to tap into job market opportunities, the authority seeks to ensure a decent quality of life for beneficiaries, enabling them to achieve the anticipated financial Independence.
The authority’s notable achievements over the past five years include allocating more than AED2 billion to provide social financial support to eligible families in Abu Dhabi.
Empowerment and training programmes provided by SSA and its partners has enabled approximately 1,250 beneficiaries to secure employment. Additionally, 6,700 beneficiaries were registered on the Nafis platform, and 2,700 on the Mawaheb platform, ensuring their positive engagement and active pursuit of job opportunities. In collaboration with its partners, SSA also conducted financial literacy programmes for more than 1,100 beneficiaries, as well as social empowerment programmes and social workshops for nearly 682 beneficiaries.
Under the slogan Collaborate for Social Impact, SSA honoured its strategic partners for their contribution to enhancing its capacity to implement social support and empowerment programmes. This recognition was also extended to those who supported in designing and executing initiatives under the Abu Dhabi Social Support Program, participated in data sharing and matching for beneficiaries, implemented empowerment and training initiatives and supported the employment of eligible individuals from beneficiary families.
His Excellency Mugheer Al Khaili, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Department of Community Development - Abu Dhabi (DCD), said: “The visionary directives of our wise leadership, which emphasise the imperative of continuously enhancing the present and future prospect of our society, serve as the cornerstone of government strategies in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. As the regulatory body for the social sector, DCD is committed to supporting the partnerships led by SSA to serve its beneficiaries with limited income. Additionally, the department's efforts are focused on developing the skills and capabilities of these individuals, enabling them to attain financial independence for themselves and their families.
“Today, we celebrate everyone’s role in creating sustainable positive social impact in Abu Dhabi, led by SSA. We deeply value the role of our partners and their commitment to the community of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Their eagerness to invest directly and indirectly in enhancing the capabilities of our citizens, as well as their support for the authority in advancing its strategic directions and goals allow us to enhance social stability and foster financial independence for families in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.”
The authority also developed its own system for updates and electronic connectivity, streamlining the verification of customer and beneficiary data across 56 connection points in 27 federal and local government institutions. This has significantly reduced the average customer access time to social support services from 90 working days to only 7.
During the ceremony, a diverse array of institutions were honoured, representing both the government and private sectors, strategic partners, providers of various empowerment programs, and partners in the electronic connectivity system. These partnerships exemplified an effective model of cooperation in supporting the social priorities assigned to the authority’s mandate. These entities include the Ministry of Community Development, the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council NAFIS Program, the Department of Government Enablement, the Central Bank of the UAE, the Abu Dhabi Police General Headquarters, the Department of Education and Knowledge, Emirates School Establishment, the Family Development Foundation, the Abu Dhabi Housing Authority, the Zayed Higher Organization for People of Determination, the Authority of Social Contributions (Ma’an), the Family Care Authority, the Abu Dhabi Early Childhood Authority, Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi, Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, Integrated Transport Centre, the Social Solidarity Fund of Ministry of Interior Employees (Fazaa Programme), First Abu Dhabi Bank, the Barjeel Foundation, and Taeen.
His Excellency Abdulla Al Ameri, Director General of SSA, said: "Our strategic partnerships with the government and private sector institutions have significantly enhanced our ability to continue achieving our strategic objectives aimed at bolstering the social stability and financial independence of families in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. I extend my sincere gratitude to all our strategic partners for their unwavering support and steadfast belief in SSA’s exceptional role in serving the family, which forms the foundation of a resilient and productive society.
“At SSA, we are committed to creating a lasting social impact through cooperation, integration of roles, and collective responsibility. Operating as an integrated entity, SSA pursues opportunities to create sustainable social impact, and actively builds new partnerships to reinforce the authority's ongoing efforts in enhancing family stability and financial independence.”
In hosting this ceremony, SSA aimed to extend an open invitation to all government entities and companies, encouraging them to collaborate with the authority through their corporate social responsibility programmes. The authority looks forward to integrating efforts with all relevant institutions across the government, private and third sectors to collectively deliver a sustainable social impact.
