Pakistan

Drawing on the background paper on interlinkages between social protection, services and infrastructure (Chopra 2018), this paper provides insights into the interlinkages that might be found, or sought, in contexts that are in the midst of or recovering from violent conflict or that have fragile governance systems that undermine capacity to deliver social protection, services and infrastructure effectively, particularly in support of gender equality, equity and empowerment.

Slide presentation of the webinar held on 24 September 2020.

Some core questions addressed in this webinar include:

Before elaborating a paper series on Covid-responsive Social Protection Landscapes in South Asia, the UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia and the IPC-IG have developed a paper series on Regular Social Protection Landscapes in the region.

New insights on poverty and vulnerability are triggering significant changes in government policy in South Asia. As a result, social protection interventions are emerging as a key policy element across the region. Social Protection in South Asia: A Review describes the most significant programmes in place in each of the eight South Asian countries. It maps out the social protection agenda, as well as programme aims, design, scale and coverage. It highlights some of the innovations, and summarises information from formal evaluations as available.

COVID-19 is posing an unprecedented challenge to countries' social protection systems. Informal workers are particularly at risk, as they often represent the 'missing middle', covered by neither social assistance nor social insurance. In a recent policy brief, the IPC-IG and UNICEF ROSA analyse the economic fallout from the crisis and the policy measures taken in eight South Asian countries, and advocate for the inclusion of the missing middle in mainstream social protection. This One Pager summarises the study's findings for Pakistan.

COVID-19 has decimated livelihoods worldwide, squeezing the middle class and pushing low-income households into abject poverty. Social-protection programs such as Pakistan's Ehsaas Emergency Cash offer not only a path forward during the pandemic, but also valuable lessons for the future.