UNISDR		Public Safety Canada

UNISDR The Americas

Shock-Responsive Social Protection in Latin America and the Caribbean

Source: OPM (2015), 'Shock-responsive social protection systems research. Working paper 1: Conceptualising shock-responsive social protection

By Ana Solórzano

MONTREAL, Canada, 7th March 2017 There is an increasing global recognition on the potential linkages between social protection in responding to and mitigating shocks. Social protection systems in LAC have evolved and expanded substantially in the last few decades, with an increasing percentage of GDP allocated to public social investment. In this light, fairly advanced social protection systems and large-scale safety nets seem to provide a unique opportunity to support shock response in LAC. However, social protection systems can involve conflicting objectives, target populations and operational processes when compared with humanitarian interventions, which can impede their ability to play a role in accommodating additional demand for assistance at the time of an emergency.

The objective of the Study on Shock-Responsive Social Protection in Latin America and the Caribbean commissioned by the World Food Programme (WFP) and undertaken by Oxford Policy Management (OPM) is to generate evidence and inform practice for improved emergency preparedness and response in LAC linked to more flexible national social protection systems. The main research question for the study is: ‘What factors enable social protection systems to be more responsive to shocks’? We will present the preliminary results of the study based on both the review of the literature that we conducted, as well as the case studies in Ecuador, Guatemala, and Haiti.

The “Study on Shock-Responsive Social Protection in Latin America and the Caribbean” will be presented:

On Wednesday, March 8, 2017 from 14:40 to 15:00 hrs.

In the space specially qualified for the IGNITE stage of the Palais des congrès de Montréal in Montreal, Canada, within the framework of the 5th Session of the Regional Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction of the Americas (PR17).