Webinar: Disaster-Responsive Social Protection: Lessons from COVID-19

Effective social protection is critical to reduce vulnerability and support timely recovery. However, to date, national systems have been too underdeveloped or not flexible enough to allow them to expand before or during emergencies. Despite these shortcomings, many countries in Asia-Pacific are relying on social protection mechanisms to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 crisis, reaching millions of people with cash-based assistance and other forms of support.

This webinar explores how countries in the region are leveraging social protection systems in relation to the COVID pandemic, highlighting the challenges and successes to date. It will also draw lessons from the current crisis, including how to ensure social protection systems are in place before a shock occurs. It will explore financing options to expand social protection coverage, especially to help reduce disaster-related vulnerability.

This webinar is the eighth in a series of webinars on COVID-19 organized by UNDRR’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. As the first region to be impacted by COVID-19, Asia-Pacific has become the testing ground for innovations and solutions to tackle this global disaster.
 

We aim to use these webinars to distil in 60 minutes the most relevant information and actionable recommendations on priority topics to support countries in their prevention, response and recovery efforts. We will also share issue briefs on the webinar topics that capture emerging lessons and policy recommendations.