The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training’s National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has been recognised and awarded by the ASEAN Social Security Association (ASSA).

The fund’s expansion of services to self-employed persons through voluntary contributions was recognised as some of the region’s best social security coverage.

The award was presented to Meng Hong, acting NSSF director-general, on November 21 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, by the ASSA rotating chair.

Heng Sophannarith, NSSF deputy director-general, addressed a November function to celebrate an ongoing 30-day public awareness campaign about the fund’s expanded services.

He said that as of November 21, NSSF working groups had registered a total of 75,770 new members, almost all of whom were self-employed.

“As of the same day, our voluntary members have accessed healthcare services on 7,701 occasions, at a cost of 330 million riel,” he added.

He also explained that the ASSA award was the eighth the fund has been awarded.

Hong also attended an international workshop titled “Accepting Diversity to Build a Common Future”, and attended the 40th ASSA board meeting, which brought together 20 institutions from 10 countries. 

During the meeting, the attendees reviewed and discussed the progress of the ASSA action plan 2022-2023 and set their work direction for 2023-2024, said a labour ministry announcement.