The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting societies and economies at their core. In the Arab Region, the pandemic has exacerbated existing structural weaknesses in economies as well as unresolved social challenges, making the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) even more urgent. Governments in the region are facing two challenges: to effectively address the health crisis and to respond to the economic and social fallout from the crisis. Social protection plays an indispensable role in the policy response to the crisis, ensuring that the most vulnerable people can effectively access health care and supporting job, income and food security. Governments across the region have introduced a range of social protection measures to help mitigate the impacts of the crisis. This paper aims to review the key social protection measures implemented as a response to the crisis, identify gaps, and propose ways to establish more coherent and effective social protection systems.