The need to identify and expand effective ways to respond to disasters is as pressing as ever. There is growing global recognition of the promising linkages between social protection and disaster risk management (DRM). Social protection programmes that provide assistance to households, and the systems that underpin these programmes, may have a role to play in preparing for, responding to and mitigating the impacts of major shocks such as hurricanes, floods and droughts. We refer to this as ‘shock-responsive social protection’.

This case study examines these opportunities in Belize, where these questions are highly relevant for several reasons. Belize regularly faces tropical storms, flooding and (occasionally) earthquakes. Social protection programmes and systems are in place that could potentially be used or modified to support a disaster response. The Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation2 is responsible for the provision of disaster relief supplies within the broader DRM system – the National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO). The Ministry also organised a series of social protection conferences in 2018-19, with the May 2019 meeting focused on shock-responsive social protection. While the study was conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, at the time of publishing this research, Belize was one of several countries in the Caribbean expanding social protection to support impacted individuals and households.