The purpose of this report is to facilitate further debate on the adequacy of social protection–both formal and informal–in the Pacific. It provides a summary of some of the existing evidence on poverty, vulnerability and inequality and highlights the importance of understanding the nature of poverty in the Pacific and its implications for designing policy responses. The report examines some of the factors placing stress on Pacific social protection systems–such as weak economic growth and crises, urbanisation, natural disasters, demographic pressures and ethnic conflicts–and discusses whether or not informal social protection is likely to be able to contribute to an adequate response. It also summarises existing formal social protection systems and discusses some of the potential gaps.