This episode will explore the ways social protection has evolved in Pacific Island countries, starting with provident funds to the slow growth of lifecycle schemes for the elderly and people with disabilities. It will then look at how the COVID-19 crisis and the impacts of disasters and climate change have changed the way Pacific nations are thinking about social protection.  This episode will ask, how do governments see the social protection landscape evolving in the future? Will countries...

In today's episode, we delve into a pressing topic: the evolving landscape of social protection systems and their critical role in addressing the unique needs of women and girls throughout their lives. There's a growing recognition of the importance of tailoring social programmes to meet these specific needs, but we're also becoming more aware of how these programmes may inadvertently perpetuate gender norms, assuming women's roles in work and caregiving. Can social protection systems be a...

Among the decisions made at the last Conference of Parties (COP28), was the establishment of the new Loss and Damage Fund, designed to assist countries most vulnerable to climate change.  We talked to our guests about the structure of this new fund and the possibilities for countries to draw on such climate financing mechanisms to build and enhance their social protection systems. In this episode, we delved into the role of social protection in supporting major transitions in energy, industry...

Join us for our special End-of-Year episode, where we unravel the tapestry of 2023, exploring the critical discussions and ground-breaking studies that shaped the landscape of social protection. From adaptive social protection initiatives to food security policies, we delve into the hot topics that ignited debates across the globe. Discover the key takeaways from eye-opening studies that explored climate adaptation, social protection impact, and migration. As we bid farewell to 2023, we...

In this episode, we’re talking about the G20 – an annual gathering of the world’s largest economies and a major global forum for discussing a wide range of economic issues. In recent years, that has included social protection, a set of policies used by many countries to stabilise economies in the face of successive crises. Brazil takes over the G20 presidency from India on 1 December 2023. At this crucial moment of handover, we have invited researchers from both countries to talk about how...

In this episode, we discuss how some countries are taking steps towards extending social protection to displaced children and their families, while slowly building systems for host populations.

In this engaging episode, we delve into the vital concept of accountability within social protection programmes and humanitarian initiatives. Our host, Jo Sharpe, joins experts Suchi Pande and Louisa Feres for a deep dive into why accountability is the lynchpin of programme effectiveness. Our guests shed light on the fundamental elements of accountability, including communication strategies, outreach efforts, grievance redressal mechanisms, and the crucial role of audits. Louisa provides...

This episode features a wide-ranging discussion on this theme, what we know about what social protection can do and how that evidence has influenced policy, practice and the global spread of ideas to shape the sector into what it is today.

In this episode, we discuss how school feeding programmes impact vulnerable households and smallholder farmers.

The value of unpaid care and domestic work has been estimated at around 11 trillion US dollars—roughly 9 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP)—while low-paid domestic workers make up more than 20 per cent of the global care workforce. Social protection mechanisms can play a major role in achieving a balance between increasing access to high-quality care and reducing gender inequalities resulting from unpaid care work. This episode focuses on how social protection mechanisms,...

Adaptive Social Protection is an area of social protection that aims to build resilience of poor and vulnerable households by developing their capacity to prepare for, cope with, and adapt to shocks. In this episode, we are looking at adaptive and shock-responsive social protection in action in some of the most disaster-affected parts of the world. We talk about how ASP can help build the resilience of households and enable people to take anticipatory actions before the onset of a shock. We...

In this episode, our guests focus on the role of active labour market policies (ALMPs) in guaranteeing, supporting or even creating income-generation activities. Among other topics, we discuss the possible role of ALMPs in reducing informality in developing countries, and how well-integrated they are with other social protection mechanisms such as social insurance and social security.  Guests for this episode include:  Veronica Escudero, Senior Economist, ILO  Denni Pusba Purbasari, Executive...

In this episode of the "Social Protection for Prevention of and Response to Gender-based Violence" series, our guests talk about how social protection schemes can provide assistance to people fleeing gender-based violence. These people are vulnerable and may need many kinds of support. We look at examples of programmes providing cash support for survivors of domestic violence, as well as those that facilitate access to other services, such as referral pathways, healthcare, housing,...

In this episode of the "Social Protection for Prevention of and Response to Gender-Based Violence" series, our guests discuss how economic factors can drive gender-based violence at the community level, and why this is important for social protection programming. The focus is on designing social protection programmes that can prevent gender-based violence against women and people with diverse gender identities, expressions, and sexual orientations (SOGIESC). The guests draw on available...

Kicking off the three-part series ‘’Social Protection for Prevention of and Response to Gender-Based Violence’’, this episode presents a deep dive into what we know about the impacts of social protection on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and some of the remaining knowledge gaps. We look at economic empowerment programmes and how they can help reduce economic stress and challenge gender norms that often drive violence in community settings.  Drawing from the available evidence, our guests were...

The COVID-19 crisis has led to an acceleration in electronic payments of social protection benefits through individual bank accounts or mobile money. According to one global estimate, 80 million women opened accounts for the first time during the pandemic to receive government payments. Digital payments have long been seen as the first step towards improving people's financial inclusion and, by extension, their financial health.   In this episode, we discuss the idea of unbanked individuals...

After 2 years of COVID-19-dominated headlines, record inflation rates, and climate events taking centre stage in the global debate, it comes as no surprise that social protection might be called on to respond to these multifaceted crises. But can we forecast what the future of social protection might hold based on its latest developments?  For the final episode of the year, we invited Ugo Gentilini, Global Lead for Social Assistance at the World Bank, for a wide-ranging interview looking back...

In the aftermath of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 27) and the important debates that followed, this episode discusses the relevance of social protection as an actionable strategy for climate action.   This year was marked by severe climate events and risks, with a rise in heatwaves, floods, droughts, and wildfires, leading to significant effects on those most vulnerable to environmental hazards. Many no longer perceive climate change as a future threat, but rather...

Social protection can play an important role in ensuring that poor and vulnerable people meet their nutritional needs. What are the factors at play? This episode helps explain how social protection can contribute to improving food security and reducing the nutrition gap. While the adequacy of social protection interventions seems to be at the forefront of the discussion, the state of food systems and prices must also be considered. On average, social protection covers only 5-10 per cent of...

The UN General Assembly has declared 2022 as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022) to enhance global awareness and promote collaboration around the theme. To provide guidance for related initiatives, the IYAFA Action Plan was structured around seven pillars, including social and environmental sustainability. Social protection can provide valuable contributions to all of them.  In this episode, our guests were invited to reflect on the role of social...

In this episode, we are talking about social protection and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent triple crisis of food, energy and finance have set back progress towards the SDGs. Social protection is seen as an SDG accelerator that can contribute to many, even most of the SDG targets from ending poverty and hunger to improving gender equality and access to health and education, and even tackling inequality and climate change. But can we make...

Targeting is one of the most widely debated topics in social protection. Who should receive support from social protection systems? How do we identify the ‘right’ people, and reach them? The way countries choose to target programmes involves weighing up a complex set of issues, including cost and coverage, the likely degree of ‘error’ over who is excluded and included, the need to respond dynamically to changing circumstances and shocks, and the need to build political support for...

What do social protection systems need to look like to promote inclusion, autonomy and participation for people with disabilities? Cash transfers are certainly important to meet basic living costs, as well the ‘extra’ costs that people with disabilities often need to pay just to access essential services. However, people with disabilities also have high needs for healthcare, assistive devices, and extra support to go to school or be employed. Traditional models of social protection that...

In this episode, we will tackle the elephant in the room when it comes to discussions around universal approaches to social protection: financing. While high- and middle-income countries are in a better position to increase the share of domestic resources allocated to social protection, either through taxation, social contributions, etc., a considerable number of countries lack the means for domestic financing. This is why international financing mechanisms are increasingly being called for,...