reclaim same through Court actions before the Supreme Court. The elderly person is provided with free legal assistance in such cases. 145. The Senior Citizens Council organizes a host of activities during the year for all the elderly of the Republic of Mauritius and also provides a grant to Senior Citizens Associations in Mauritius and Rodrigues. There are 3 recreational centres and a 4th one is under construction at Riambel. 146. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act was proclaimed in July 2016, and provision was made therein for the evacuation of persons at risk. Priority for evacuation is usually given to elderly persons and persons with disabilities. 147. All charitable institutions and Homes have to submit mandatorily. their disaster management plan to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Committee. PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE GROUPS 148. The Social Integration and Empowerment Act was passed in 2016 to promote social integration and empowerment of persons living in absolute poverty within the philosophy of enhancing social justice and national unity. The Social Integration and Empowerment Act 2016 was to substantiate implementation of the measures of the MP. The Act enabled the setting up of empowerment programmes to combat poverty, providing pecuniary and non-pecuniary support to families eligible under the SRM to move out of poverty and to facilitate them to integrate mainstream society. 149. The policies and strategies of the Ministry of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment (MSIEE) towards poverty alleviation are primarily derived from the Marshall Plan against Poverty Report which has been developed with the assistance of UNDP. The Marshall Plan against Poverty was announced in the Budget Speech 2015-16 and the Marshall Plan Report (MP) was officially launched in the Budget Speech 2016-17. 150. MP adopts a holistic and integrated approach to end social exclusion, promote inclusion and provide opportunities to vulnerable people for their socio-economic development in an equitable and sustainable manner. The Marshall Plan has been designed with short, medium and long term measures to address the root causes of poverty, social exclusion and inequality in the Republic of Mauritius. It is articulated around 39 actionable proposals covering areas of social protection, employment, social housing, education, health, environment and equity in service delivery. MSIEE has the leading role in the implementation of the measures proposed in the MP in collaboration with Ministries concerned and other stakeholders from the public and private sectors. 44