What's next for social protection in light of COVID-19: challenges ahead - IPC-IG
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A publication of
The International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth
Volume 19, Issue No. 2 • June 2021
What's next for
social protection in light of
COVID-19: challenges ahead
Policy in Focus is a regular publication of the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG).
Published by the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) Art and Desktop Publishing: Flávia Amaral and Priscilla Minari
Policy in Focus, Volume No. 19, Issue No. 2, june 2021 The IPC-IG disseminates the findings of its work in progress to encourage
What's next for social protection in light of COVID-19: the exchange of ideas about development issues. The papers are signed by
challenges ahead the authors and should be cited accordingly. The findings, interpretations,
and conclusions that they express are those of the authors and not
Copyright© 2021 International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth necessarily those of the United Nations Development Programme or the
Government of Brazil. This publication is available online at www.ipcig.org.
The IPC-IG is a partnership between the United Nations and the
Government of Brazil to promote learning on social policies. The Centre For further information on IPC-IG publications, please feel free to contact
specialises in research-based policy recommendations to foster the publications@ipcig.org.
reduction of poverty and inequality as well as promote inclusive growth.
The IPC-IG is linked to the United Nations Development Programme Cover photo: UNICEF Ethiopia .
(UNDP) in Brazil, the Ministry of Economy (ME) and the Institute for Applied Some of the photographs used in this publication are licensed under
Economic Research (Ipea) of the Government of Brazil. The Creative Commons license; full attribution and links to the individual
licenses are provided for each.
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IPC-IG Research Coordinators: Alexandre Cunha, Fábio Veras Soares,
Reproductions for commercial purposes are forbidden.
Mariana Balboni and Rafael Guerreiro Osorio
Specialist Guest Editors: Aline Peres, Roberta Brito, Acknowledgements: The Editors would like to thank the whole
Charlotte Bilo and Mariana Balboni (IPC-IG) socialprotection.org team and all partners who made the e-conference
‘Turning the Covid-19 crisis into an opportunity: What’s next for social
In-house Editor: Manoel Salles protection’ (5-8 October 2020) possible. This issue is a direct result
of the conference.
Publications Manager: Roberto Astorino
Copy Editor: Jon Stacey, The Write Effect Ltd. ISSN: 2318-8995
Summary
7 Universal child benefits: The pathway to universality in COVID-19 times
David Stewart, Atif Khurshid, and Aristide Kielem
10 Gender-responsive social protection in times of COVID-19
Clare McCrum
13 Bridging the disability inequality gap: Changes needed for an inclusive
COVID-19 response and recovery
Alexandre Cote
16 Older people’s income security and access to social protection during COVID-19 and beyond
Florian Juergens, Usa Khiewrord and Aura Sevilla
19 Extending unemployment protection as a response to the COVID-19 crisis
and as part of efforts to build back better
Céline Peyron Bista, Quynh Anh Nguyen and Maya Stern-Plaza
22 Health protection and sickness benefits to face the COVID 19 pandemic in Asia
Maya Stern-Plaza, Lou Tessier, Luis Frota, and Knut Lönnroth
25 Migrant-responsive social protection: Lessons from COVID-19
Gift Dafuleya, Marius Olivier, Jason Theede, Giulia Baldi and Teona Aslanishvili
28 Transitioning from emergency transfers: What is the future of universal basic income?
Louise Haagh, Mansour Ndiaye and Claudia Vinay
30 Placing food security and nutrition at the heart of social protection policy
and programming now and in the future
Juan Gonzalo Jaramillo Mejia
33 Microsimulation analysis: A useful tool for the development of social policy
in times of uncertainty
Gerardo Escaroz and José Espinoza-Delgado
36 Financing universal social protection during COVID-19 and beyond:
Investing more and better
Mira Bierbaum, Markus Kaltenborn, Valérie Schmitt and Nicola Wiebe
39 Opportunities for strengthening the links between humanitarian cash transfers
and social protection: Lessons from COVID-19 responses
Roberta Brito, Patricia Velloso Cavallari and Lois Austin
Editorial
In 2020, the extensive consequences of the COVID-19 Day 3 was reserved for side events organised by some
crisis placed social protection even more squarely at of our partners. Finally, on the fourth and final day of the
the centre of attention. As the health, economic and event, special guests reflected on the discussions, lessons
social impacts of COVID-19 echoed all over the world, learned and conclusions of the previous days.
social protection programmes were urgently developed,
As a collaborative platform, socialprotection.org aimed
adapted, or extended to support those most affected.
at providing an extensive range of methodologies during
From cash transfers to subsidies, many programmes
the conference, with a focus on giving each attendee
and strategies have been implemented worldwide. The
the opportunity to make their own personal learning
importance of strengthening national systems to provide
journey, develop practical take-aways and action points
comprehensive and adequate social protection to all has
from the conference, and share results during the event
become more evident than ever. However, countries with
and beyond. Adapting face-to-face engagement to
more solid social protection foundations have been able
online formats, with participants from different countries
to respond more rapidly and efficiently.
and institutions, was a learning experience itself and
In this context, in celebration of socialprotection.org’s demanded meticulous planning and creativity from
5-year anniversary, a global online event took place our team members and partners, who worked around
focusing on the global health crisis. The e-Conference the clock to make this conference as participatory and
“Turning the COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity: inclusive as possible.
What’s next for social protection?”, from 5 to 8
To further disseminate the e-conference’s key discussions,
October 2020, gathered the global social protection
the socialprotection.org platform and the International
community to provide a unique opportunity for
Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) have
learning and collaboration.
developed two special Policy in Focus issues. The first
The conference functioned as a virtual live learning issue, What’s next for social protection in light of COVID-19:
space to share innovative ideas and practical insights, country responses, was released in March 2021. It focused
and brainstorm about the future of social protection in a on experiences from countries in Asia, the Middle East
post-pandemic world. To ensure the active participation and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin America
of a broad and diverse audience, a total of 72 sessions and the Caribbean, as well as the overall lessons for the
across three different time zones were organised, future, including shock-responsive and universal social
with inputs from partners and collaborators across protection. This second issue provides a thematic focus,
55 different organisations. Some sessions were held delving in more depth into the main topics discussed
in English, French and Spanish, with simultaneous during the round tables, such as financing, universal
translation. This effort guaranteed the involvement of basic income, linkages to food security and employment,
more than 2,100 participants among social protection as well as gender-, child-, and disability-sensitive
practitioners, policymakers, academics, and enthusiasts programmes, among others. All articles were written
from all over the world. by panellists and/or organisers of the conference.
On the first day of the conference, unique sessions We hope that the following set of articles contributes
focused on various social protection responses across to the debate by communicating the urgency and
three different regions: Asia-Pacific, Middle East and importance of providing comprehensive and adequate
North Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. social protection to all—especially in times of crisis.
Day 2 applied a thematic approach to address specific
questions related to COVID-19 and beyond through
round tables, expert clinics, and virtual booth talks. Aline Peres, Roberta Brito, Charlotte Bilo and Mariana Balboni
6
Universal child benefits: The pathway
to universality in COVID-19 times1
David Stewart, Atif Khurshid, from multiple studies, including Moodley in addition to the potential benefits
and Aristide Kielem 2 et al. (2018), shows that child benefits of UCBs, is at what stage in the process of
have a positive impact on spending on development should countries move
Investing in children first and foremost fulfils children’s health, education, nutrition and towards universal programmes, and
their rights and is fundamental to long- protection. But with only one in three what are the first steps?
term development. However, the onset of children having access to child or family
the COVID-19 crisis has jeopardised recent benefits, children are under-represented First, simulations in middle-income
progress that has been made in improving in terms of social protection, especially in countries show that child benefit
the situation of the world’s children and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) programmes cost about 1 per cent of a
achieving the Sustainable Development (ILO 2017). country’s gross domestic product (GDP)
Goals (SDGs). A recent technical note and have the potential to reduce child
by UNICEF and Save the Children (2020) A report by ODI and UNICEF (2020) poverty by as much as 20 per cent (ODI
has shown the tremendous impact that analyses the policy issues and options and UNICEF 2020), with the potential to
COVID-19 is having on child poverty. While for universal child benefits (UCBs), revert the adverse effects of COVID-19 on
586 million children were living in poverty 3 highlighting the potential of providing child poverty. It should be remembered
before the COVID-19 crisis, an additional child benefits irrespective of the that UCBs reduce administrative costs and
142 million children were at risk of living household’s welfare. This article presents avoid exclusion errors.
in monetary-poor households (based on the reasons for the need to consider UCBs
national poverty lines) by the end of 2020 in the context of the COVID-19 crisis and Second, UCBs have the potential to bind
(see also Figure 1). Children are not only the building blocks for achieving such an societies with shared responsibility for
more likely to live in poverty, but poverty important milestone for our future. supporting children and raising the next
has particularly severe impacts on them. generation. In Finland, for example, UCBs
Rarely do children get a second chance Arguments for universality and other universal programmes were
at nutrition, health care, education and A significant number of countries have foundational in bringing the country
protection. The effects can be immediate moved towards child benefits on top of together after the civil war in 1918 and in
and life-long, and, of course, what affects traditional social services access initiatives. greatly reducing infant mortality, making
children now will be felt fully by societies ODI and UNICEF (2020) found that, as of it one of the lowest in the world. This
and economies as they become the next 2019, 108 out of 180 countries analysed shared purpose, along with benefits for
generation of adults. have a periodic child or family allowance. children across the income spectrum,
However, only 23 countries, mainly in can lead to greater political support for
A proven powerful tool to address child Europe, provide a UCB in the form of a universal benefits, leaving them more
poverty and the impact of COVID-19 is non-contributory universal child or family resilient to political change.
the provision of child benefits. Evidence cash allowance. The crucial question,
Third, Finland’s experience teaches us
how universality can provide dignity
to people living in poverty by avoiding
FIGURE 1: Prevalence of children living in monetary-poor households, stigmatisation of targeted programmes.
2019–2021 (projected) Awareness is growing over the long-term
adverse impacts of the stigma of living in
poverty (including on dignity and inclusion
40 in social life), which can be exacerbated by
38.40%
Children living in monetary-poor
39 programmes that target and tag recipients
38 37.00% as being in need. For children, this can
37
households (%)
be particularly pernicious, as aspirations
36
35
and expectations for the future are set in
34 childhood. Universal programmes, by not
33 32.20%
singling out children and families, can avoid
32 these negative impacts.
31
30 Finally, with higher rates of coverage,
2019 (pre-COVID) 2020 2021 UCBs are more in line with principles of
equality and non-discrimination and are
Source: UNICEF and Save the Children (2020). also in line with human rights principles.
The International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth | Policy in Focus 7
“A significant number
of countries have moved
towards child benefits on
top of traditional social
services access initiatives.
Photo: Acacio Pinheiro/Agência Brasilia. Child during the COVID-19 pandemic, Brasília, Brazil, 2020 .
However, while UCBs can be considered a same or a higher level of wealth than that of GDP per capita were given to each child
cornerstone of social policies, there are some of countries with UCBs, such as Ireland at under 5, a UCB could cost, after 15 years,
important considerations to keep in mind: the time it introduced its programme. less than 1 per cent of GDP in South Asian
This means that most LMICS can and countries, and reach much higher coverage
y For children, quality social services are should introduce UCBs now. within all welfare deciles than targeted
essential. Increasing resources in the cash transfer programmes.
home can make a huge difference, However, given the financing constraints
but if quality social services are not to establish strong UCB systems, a gradual The COVID-19 response:
available where and when needed, implementation can be a great pathway Risks and opportunities
children’s rights will not be fulfilled. to universality. It is important for some For low-income countries, development
countries to start with smaller programmes assistance, including increased social
y Universal benefits must be part of and build towards universality, as was protection-focused budget support
comprehensive social protection the case for most countries ranging from and debt relief, will play a crucial role in
systems. Social protection systems Sweden to South Africa. Nepal, a relatively the realisation of UCBs. This becomes
must protect against risks across the poor country, has managed to commence indispensable with the impact of the
life cycle—including working-age child benefits. COVID-19 crisis on countries’ fiscal
benefits such as insurance against situation. Data from the International
unemployment, ill health and old Countries will need to increase available Monetary Fund (IMF 2020) show that while
age—and may include elements of financing through domestic resource external debt is expected to continue
selectivity, with special consideration mobilisation, transparency and efficiency. to rise in sub-Saharan African countries,
for groups with particular needs, such How child benefits and social protection government revenue and GDP will
as women, and people with disabilities. systems are financed makes a difference experience a historic low, with the first
in the effectiveness of the social tissue. economic recession in the region since
Momentum and financing It is important to ensure progressivity of the 1990s.
pathways to universality taxation and transfers. In countries such
The main challenge for UCBs is, of course, as Mongolia and Zambia, taxation of In recent months we have seen
financing. Current evidence shows that natural resources has played a crucial role. unprecedented social protection
the cost of UCBs for a country varies In Thailand and Costa Rica, child benefits responses, highlighting both the urgent
depending on the size of the child have been supported by internal resource need for expanded approaches to social
population, the benefit level and the size reallocation, including from the military. protection, but also that rapid and
of the economy. Obviously, it could cost significant change is possible. It also
a significant share of the national income Nonetheless, the cost of a UCB for children demonstrates the need to relieve the
to implement UCBs with transfer amounts aged 0–4 years—a crucial development debt of low-income countries to allow
significant enough to make a difference, window—would cost 0.9 per cent of GDP financing of responses.
especially in LMICs. in low-income countries, and 1.1 per cent
in middle-income countries for a more Countries with strong programmes,
Available evidence shows that universal generous transfer for children aged 0–14 including universal or quasi-universal child
programmes are not out of reach (UNICEF, years. A costing case study by UNICEF benefits, provide better initial protection
forthcoming), with many LMICs having the (forthcoming) shows that if 3.5 per cent for children from shocks and are easily able
8
to scale up their programmes to protect ILO. 2017. World Social Protection Report
2017–19: Universal social protection to
them during response and recovery.
achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
In Mongolia, for example, the government Geneva: International Labour Office.
increased the monthly benefit of the Child .
Money Programme by five times from Accessed 18 November 2020.
MNT20,000 to MNT100,000 per month for IMF. 2020. “World economic outlook.”
6 months. South Africa’s Child Support International Monetary Fund website.
Grant, which reaches 12.8 million children, .
Accessed 18 November 2020.
is providing additional top-ups to respond
to COVID-19, and in Germany, payment ODI and UNICEF. 2020. Universal child benefits:
amounts of the Kindergeld programme policy issues and options. London: Overseas
Development Institute, and New York:
have been temporarily increased, and United Nations Children’s Fund. . Accessed 18 November 2020.
Moodley, Jacqueline, Jenita Chiba, and Leila
Conclusion Patel. 2018. “The Influence of the Child Support
UCBs are gaining importance in the social Grant on Education and Health Capabilities
policy discussion, especially in the context of Children.” Southern African Journal of Social
Work and Social Development 29(2): 18. doi:
of the short- to long-term impacts of 10.25159/2415-5829/2389.
COVID-19. Despite political economy issues
related to coverage and financing being of UNICEF. Forthcoming. “Universal Child Benefits:
a proposal to transform the lives of children
utmost importance, UCBs are more feasible across South Asia.” Working Paper. Kathmandu:
and affordable than they appear, especially United Nations Children’s Fund Regional Office
when progressive realisation is considered. for South Asia.
UNICEF and Save the Children. 2020. “Children
However, the argument for UCBs is not in monetary poor households and COVID-19:
that they are inexpensive, but that they are Technical Note.” UNICEF website. . Accessed 30 November 2020.
effective and can be the cornerstone of a
child-sensitive social protection system.
No child should see their potential
1. This article builds on the round table
unfulfilled due to the lack of a small amount ‘Universal child benefits: Pathways to
of financial resources in the household, yet universality’ held on 6 October 2020.
this is the case for hundreds of millions, For the recordings and more information, see:
.
societies are hard to contemplate. UCBs are 2. Child Poverty and Social Protection,
not a silver bullet, and the path to providing United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
them will not be easy, but if ever there were 3. There were 586 million children in households
living under nationally defined poverty lines (the
a time to take the steps to reimagine social minimum level of welfare deemed necessary to
policy for children, that time is now. afford basic needs in a specific country).
“ No child should see
their potential unfulfilled
due to the lack
of a small amount of
financial resources
in the household.
Photo: AmslerPIX. Family receives food supplies, Guatemala, 2020 .
The International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth | Policy in Focus 9
Gender-responsive social protection
in times of COVID-191
Clare McCrum 2 be relevant for future health, climate and COVID-19 has shone a spotlight on the
economic shocks. When scale and speed importance of social protection as a key
COVID-19 has not been the great are the only two dominant policy objectives, policy instrument to respond to crisis and
equaliser: while men have suffered everything else takes a backseat. increase resilience. It has also highlighted
higher mortality, women and girls have low levels of existing coverage, particularly
been disproportionately affected by the When a social protection response is in low-income countries and among some
socio-economic impacts of the pandemic delivered quickly, at scale, but does not of the most vulnerable groups (ILO 2020;
(UN Women 2020a). From staggering meet the needs of half of the population, Alfers, Ismail, and Valdivia 2020). We must
increases in unpaid care responsibilities this means the sector is failing to meet use this moment to make real, sustained
to the shadow pandemic of gender-based its core objective. Social protection progress on gender-responsive social
violence (UN Women 2020b), women systems must support women and men protection. If we do not enact the necessary
have been on the front line, providing in times of crisis, enable them to stay reforms, this crisis will happen again, and
health and care services—both paid and in work or protect them when they again women and girls will lose income
unpaid—and were often among the first cannot. They must be able to prevent and education, as they are financially
to suffer from lockdowns that brought the negative coping strategies for all, and this unprotected while continuing to bear the
most vulnerable sectors of the informal includes preventing negative gendered disproportionate burden of care work that
economy to a standstill. coping strategies such as child marriage, is essential to keeping our households,
transactional sex and permanent communities and economies going.
The speed and scale of the response, education losses. These are not optional
while not perfect, nor sufficient to meet extras, but central to the objectives of If we do not know who and
growing needs, has nevertheless outdone social protection. where people are, we cannot
any previous crisis response. A total of respond to them in a crisis
1,414 social protection interventions in However, our social protection systems Data both enable and constrain decision-
215 countries (World Bank 2020) have are not yet delivering for some of making—identifying who is most in need
been designed to respond to growing the most vulnerable women and girls. now, who will be most in need in various
unemployment, and restrictions on Our systems are too often failing to address future scenarios, where they are, and how
mobility and economic activity. The crisis gendered poverty, risks and vulnerabilities they can best access services. These data
has resulted in technical innovation and and are failing to maximise the potential are not neutral, and failing to understand
unprecedented levels of financial and of social protection to support gender gendered poverty, vulnerability and access
political support for social protection transformation, including preventing to protective assets and other resources
(Gentilini 2021). violence against women and girls, inhibits the ability of governments and the
and supporting women’s economic international community to respond to
Yet, despite the evidence of the socio- and social empowerment. different needs.
economic impact and burden of unpaid
care on women, only 18 percent of social To ensure that crisis responses address Even before a shock, many data systems
protection responses were gender- gendered vulnerabilities and needs, are not set up to accurately inform
sensitive—addressing women’s economic and support women’s agency and policymakers of the gendered coverage or
security or increased burden of care empowerment, social protection systems impact of social protection interventions.
(UN Women and UNDP 2020). This raises must be designed to address these Despite the strength of evidence on
the question, why did policy responses concerns in times of stability. Gender social protection as an effective poverty
not adequately respond to the gendered matters in every element of social reduction instrument, there is still limited
impact of the crisis? What enables protection design: which instruments are evidence on what types of instruments
and blocks gender-responsive social prioritised, who qualifies for support, how deliver what types of results for different
protection, and what do we need to programmes are funded, how they are groups (ODI 2017). Data are even more
do to prepare for the next crisis? delivered, and who is consulted on these limited on how women and men respond
decisions. If we have programmes that differently to shocks, what gendered
We expand what we have—if systems target women,3 address gendered life- information should be collected for
do not address gender now, they cycle events and vulnerabilities, recognise early warning purposes, and how social
will not address gender in a crisis flexibility in employment patterns and protection information systems can
In a crisis, scale and speed are the most provide links to quality services, and we generate information to inform inclusive
important elements of public policy build these so that they can be scaled up, decision making (SPACE 2021). Reliable
responses. They were important for a crisis response is much more likely to be data on gendered coverage and adequacy
COVID-19 responses and are likely to gender-responsive. of different types of social protection are
10Globally, and without exception, most care
work is done by women (ODI 2020; ILO
2018). Much of it is unpaid, and when it is
paid there is often a low value assigned
to it. This is in part because it is seen as
‘women’s work’, expected to be done for
free, and largely driven by gendered norms
around what is valuable to economies.
Women’s unpaid care burden reduces
their capacity to participate in other
economic activity and is a major barrier
to their economic empowerment (UNHLP
2017). Women’s overrepresentation in
the provision of poorly paid care services
also undervalues their work and leads to
lower levels of employment-related social
Photo: UNICEFEthiopi/2020/NahomTesfaye. Woman carries her child, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 2020 . protection coverage.
Social protection policy can play a larger
not widely available, and there is very protection. Organisations with reach, role in addressing the gendered burden of
limited ex ante, or ex post, analysis of credibility and trust have brokered care, but this requires more commitment,
gendered impacts of different forms relationships to facilitate this expansion. shared learning and common advocacy.
of social protection expansion in This may include recognising care as an
response to different types of shock. This raises long-term questions: how will essential service alongside health and
governments, civil society and the private education and providing social protection
COVID-19 has demonstrated the potential sector sustain dialogue and continue this coverage for people currently providing
of data to enable rapid expansion of partnership to ensure adequate coverage unpaid care, recognising it as an activity
social protection, but these data must of social protection for all? How do we with social and economic value.
enable policymakers to understand and value and sustain women’s leadership in
disaggregate the impacts of shocks by driving social policy innovation to ensure Innovations in social protection design
gender. This means that social protection women leaders are central to decisions on and delivery could help to shift gender
systems and early warning systems must recovery policy? norms related to caregiving—incentivising
collect gender-disaggregated data as shared family responsibility, adapting
standard to enable disaster response It is essential that we build alliances, social insurance mechanisms to recognise
plans to reflect the gendered impact of including a more genuine partnership gendered employment trajectories,
different policy choices, and we must with women’s rights organisations, providing care credits, designing social
monitor and evaluate the gendered organisations of people with disabilities, insurance to allow for multiple employers
impact of these responses. faith groups and workers’ collaboratives. and reducing minimum employment
Sustained partnership will enable a deeper thresholds (ODI 2020), and linking cash to
We can only close the gender coverage understanding of who is currently excluded, care services and gender-transformative
gaps when we act in partnership expanding coverage and trust with these interventions. There is an urgent need
In many countries there has been an groups, and improving accountability for to generate more evidence on the role
unprecedented local-level response to the delivery of social protection. of contributory and non-contributory
COVID, with local leadership, often led social protection in recognising, reducing,
by women front-line workers, forming We have a care crisis, and social revaluing and redistributing care work,
the backbone of the response. Female- protection must play a greater and this should be prioritised by social
dominated sectors, including health care, role in addressing the uneven protection researchers and policymakers.
education and childcare, have not only distribution of care
continued to provide critical care but Care work is work that includes caring At a minimum, we must commit to stop
also the infrastructure to link vulnerable for other people (children, elderly people, inadvertently reinforcing harmful gender
communities to services and social those with additional care needs), norms related to caregiving by, for example,
protection programmes. cleaning, cooking, and fetching water emphasising women’s need to meet certain
and firewood. This is all essential work that conditions associated with some social
Community mobilisation and partnerships enables households, communities and assistance that add to their time burden.
between government, civil society, businesses to function. As COVID-19 has
informal workers, cooperatives and the demonstrated, when some elements of this What does this mean for the future?
private sector have achieved incredible care are withdrawn, entire economies can The global social protection response
adaptations in the provision of social grind to a halt. to COVID-19 has demonstrated that
The International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth | Policy in Focus 11“
technical problems can be overcome. ILO. 2020. Social protection responses to the
Rapid expansion is possible; social COVID-19 pandemic in developing countries:
Social protection protection systems can benefit from
Strengthening resilience by building universal
social protection. Geneva: International Labour
policy can play a larger and be a stimulus for digital payment and Organization. .
Accessed 16 March 2021.
gendered burden of care. uncovered populations.
ODI. 2017. The impact of cash transfers on women
and girls. London: Overseas Development
We are now at a crossroads—where Institute. . Accessed 16 March 2021.
is set to contract, where deficit financing
ODI. 2020. Social protection and the future of
reaches its limits, and difficult decisions work: a gender analysis. London: Overseas
on prioritisation of limited resources Development Institute. .
Accessed 16 March 2021.
We are posed with a political economy
SPACE. 2021. Inclusive Information Systems
problem rather than a technical challenge:
for Social Protection: Intentionally Integrating
what societies do we want to have, and Gender and Disability.
how do we want to recover? If we are
UNHLP. 2017. Leaving no one behind: Taking
to learn the lessons of this crisis, and Action for transformational change on women’s
prepare to respond more robustly to the economic empowerment. New York: United
next, we must place the needs of women Nations Secretary-General’s High-Level
Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment.
and girls central to social protection .
Accessed 16 March 2021.
protection design and implementation,
collecting data that enable policymakers UN Women. 2020a. Policy Brief: The Impact of
to understand and respond to different COVID-19 on Women. New York: UN Women.
. .
Accessed 16 March 2021.
the crisis of care that so often prevents
women from participating on an equal UN Women. 2020b. “COVID-19 and Violence
basis in ‘productive’, protected work. against Women and Girls: Addressing the
Shadow Pandemic.” Policy Brief, No. 17. New York:
UN Women. . Accessed 16 March 2021.
will make a difference when we inevitably
need to respond to the next crisis. UN Women and UNDP. 2020. COVID-19 Global
Gender Response Tracker Fact Sheet, Version 1,
28 September. New York: UN Women and United
Nations Development Programme. . Accessed 16 March 2021.
2020. “Informal Workers and Social Protection
Response to COVID-19: Who got relief? How? World Bank. 2020. Social Protection and
And did it make a difference?” Policy Insights, Jobs Responses to COVID-19: A Real-Time
No. 2. Manchester, UK: WIEGO. . Accessed 16 March 2021. Accessed 16 March 2021.
Gentilini, U. 2021. “A game changer for social
protection? Six reflections on COVID-19 and
the future of cash transfers.” World Bank blog. 1. This article builds on the round table ‘Gender-
Washington, DC: World Bank. . Accessed 16
2. Social Protection Team, Foreign,
March 2021.
Commonwealth and Development Office of the
ILO. 2018. Care work and care jobs for the future United Kingdom (FCDO), and Chair of the Social
of decent work. Geneva: International Labour Protection Interagency Cooperation Board
Organization. . gender-sensitive; design and implementation
Accessed 16 March 2021. choices matter.
12Bridging the disability inequality gap:
Changes needed for an inclusive COVID-19
response and recovery1
Alexandre Cote 2 to the crisis—had mentioned specific 1 per cent to 20 per cent (UNESCAP 2012),
interventions for persons with disabilities mostly due to different measurement
Before the COVID-19 crisis, persons with and their families (up from 33 per cent methods. In recent years, there has been
disabilities across regions and countries in May 2020) (UNPRPD 2021). Often significant progress in disability data
were already struggling with multiple using pre-existing programmes, the collection and analysis, allowing greater
barriers, leading to significant inequalities most common measures include top-up comparability between countries and more
in terms of poverty, education, health, payments to existing cash transfers and consistency across national data systems.
work and social participation (UNDESA in-kind support. However, it appears
2018). To overcome challenges and to that the lack of a national disability registry, As experiences of disability are on a
address their support needs, they face the low coverage of existing schemes continuum, ranging from very mild
significant disability-related costs which and the absence of publicly funded restrictions and support needs to very
few can afford, increasing their economic support services have severely limited high ones, it is important to understand
insecurity and vulnerability to shocks the capacity of most LMICs to provide the policy implications of estimates related
(UNPRPD 2020). Children and women an inclusive response. to different methods and thresholds used
with disabilities experience even in surveys. If in most countries, at least 15
greater inequalities. Those limitations often stem from a narrow per cent of the population would benefit
perspective among stakeholders on the from accessibility, non-discrimination,
While removing barriers is an essential but role of social protection for persons with disability awareness and assistive
long-term endeavour, social protection is disabilities, which often focuses on their technology, it does not imply that they
critical to rapidly reduce the vulnerability incapacity to work, rather than support would all require disability cash transfers
of persons with disabilities and their for their inclusion. or personal assistance. For instance, among
families, and to support their economic European Union countries, in 2016, the
empowerment, inclusion and sustainable An inclusive recovery will require social prevalence of disablity among people
escape from poverty (ILO 2017; 2019a). protection systems to progressively aged 16–64 (17.0 per cent) was much
However, while social protection systems provide an adequate combination of cash higher than the proportion of persons who
in many high-income countries provide transfers and in-kind benefits, including received a disability benefit (4.8 per cent),
quasi-universal coverage, less than 20 per universal disability allowance and support which often target persons with higher
cent of persons with significant disabilities services. Beyond making existing schemes level of support needs (Grammenos 2018).
have access to disability-related benefits accessible (ILO 2020a), this will require
in low- and middle-income countries better data, an understanding of disability- Higher costs of living and lower
(LMICs) (ILO 2019b). Existing schemes are related costs and how to address them income: The vicious circle of
often severely inadequate, and delivery (ILO 2020b), an inclusive information disability-related costs
mechanisms inaccessible (Kidd et al. 2019). system based on accessible disability Persons with disabilities along the life cycle
assessment, as well as meaningful spend more to achieve the same standards
The COVID-19 crisis has magnified those consultation with organisations of of living and level of socio-economic
obstacles and inequalities, as persons with people with disabilities (OPDs). participation as those without disabilities
disabilities are particularly vulnerable to (UNPRPD and Leonard Cheshire 2020).
the pandemic due to a combination of Making sense of data They may have additional expenditures on
higher health-related risks, loss of income, The ‘World Disability Report’ (WHO and both disability-specific items (wheelchairs
and disruption of formal and informal World Bank 2011) estimated that 15 per or sign language interpreters) and
support systems (UNPRPD 2020). Lessons cent of the world’s population live with common services such as taxis,
from the 2008 financial crisis also show some form of disability, with higher as public transport is not accessible.
that persons with disabilities are more prevalence among older persons, while
likely to lose their job and to struggle 2–4 per cent experience significant Recent studies on the impact of disability-
in the recovery (Garrido-Cumbrera and difficulties, face greater barriers and related expenditures on standards of
Chacón-Garcia 2008). have higher support needs. living yielded estimates varying from
10 per cent to 40 per cent of average
By December 2020, 86 countries—or 40 However, official national prevalence household income (Mitra et al. 2017).
per cent of those that have announced data tend to vary widely between and When considering those expenses,
social protection measures in response sometimes within countries, ranging from poverty estimates of persons with
The International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth | Policy in Focus 13disabilities and their household increase In recent decades there have been reforms Beneficiaries (SIUBEN) in 2018 has allowed
significantly (ILO 2017). However, those in high-income countries articulating basic the government, together with the
estimates do not capture all the costs income security schemes for those out United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF),
that people would face to achieve basic of work and schemes covering disability- to quickly identify many families with
participation but cannot afford. related costs, including for those working. children with disabilities during the crisis
This is often done through a combination and to provide them with cash transfers.
In addition, incomes of persons with of cash transfers (contributory and The government of the state of Tamil Nadu
disabilities and their household tend to tax-financed), concessions (tax credit, in southern India has been able to roll out
be lower than average, as they face discounts, free public transport etc.) and ad hoc schemes for holders of a disability
significant barriers in education and services (personal assistance, assistive card who were not previously eligible for a
employment and because family members technology etc.). Such an approach has cash transfer.
must often reduce or stop work to provide increased coverage and provided greater
support. This is particularly true for flexibility in support to inclusion. Improving the rapid identification of
children with disabilities and people households with persons with disabilities,
with high support needs (Hanass-Hancock If very few LMICs have such a dual by including disability-related questions
and McKenzie 2017). approach to cash transfers, many have in the social registry’s registration form,
adopted concessions and provide at least is quite straightforward and should be
Direct and indirect disability-related costs some assistive devices free of charge generalised. However, this does not
also prevent persons with disabilities from (UNPRPD 2021b). provide enough comprehensive and
seizing emerging economic opportunities, reliable information to develop and grant
and thus widen the disability inequality Several countries, such as Fiji, Georgia, an adequate set of disability benefits.
gap (Groce and Kett 2013). However, they Namibia, Nepal and Thailand, have also This requires individual disability
are rarely considered in the design of social adopted hybrid universal disability assessment and determination
protection systems. allowance schemes, compatible with work mechanisms, which have been a challenge
and sometimes with other income support for policymakers, who struggle with
Towards social protection schemes. Those schemes’ functions vary complexity and fear of fraud, as well as
systems supporting socio- depending on individual circumstances: for persons with disabilities, who face
economic participation basic income security for those who complicated, time-consuming and,
Historically, the main rationale for cannot find work, and coverage of basic at times, undignified processes.
disability-related social protection schemes disability costs for those who work. While
has been compensation for loss or lack not as comprehensive as two different cash Overreliance on medical assessment of
of income-earning capacity. While there transfers, they are an alternative first step impairment in many LMICs severely limits
is undeniably a need for basic income towards flexible support for inclusion. access to the mechanisms for people
security, as many persons with disabilities away from major urban centres and
face significant barriers in accessing work, Fewer countries, such as Mauritius and does not provide enough information
this sole focus on incapacity to work has South Africa, provide additional benefits on support required by people.
created a divide between those who can to partially cover third-person support, To tackle this, several countries, such
and those who cannot work, and has including for recipients of an old-age as Fiji and Viet Nam, or Cambodia have
perpetuated prejudice. pension or child benefit in need of such adopted mechanisms which rely on basic
support. Thailand and Tunisia have assessment of functional limitations and
Social protection systems with disability initiated personal assistance schemes. needs for assistance which are carried out
schemes that only target poverty and by community-level workers, making the
have incapacity to work as the eligibility Beyond the issue of programme design, process much more accessible. A medical
criterion create a challenging dilemma governments also face critical challenges certificate may be required in some cases,
for persons with disabilities: any attempt in identifying persons with disabilities and but support is offered to obtain it.
to engage in economic activities, which assessing their needs to plan and allocate
is always risky, may result in the loss of resources effectively. With the progress of digitalisation, such
the household’s only stable source of assessment can be carried out with greater
income. Those schemes tend to also have Beyond disability determination, reliability at community level and can
low coverage, leaving most people with the need for a national disability feed automatically into registries that
disabilities without any support and overly management information system could be used for case management
dependent on their family members. The COVID-19 crisis has shown the as well as policy planning (a disability
In times of crisis, they cannot be leveraged importance of a disability-inclusive assessment app in Cambodia, or the plan
to provide instant support to vast numbers information system, ideally combining for a national disability information system
and may require ad hoc additional single registries and disability registries. of the National Council for Persons with
schemes, such as in Kenya during the Disabilities in Rwanda).
COVID-19 crisis (National Council for For instance, in Dominican Republic,
Persons with Disabilities 2020). inclusion of questions on disability in In the absence of such a registry, OPDs
the survey for the Unique System of have been a key vector of outreach
14since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis. Grammenos, S. 2018. “European comparative with a disability: A review and agenda
In Kenya, the government partnered with data on Europe 2020 & people with disabilities.” for research.” Disability and Health Journal
Academic Network of European Disability 10(4): 475–484.
OPDs to quickly identify beneficiaries Experts website. . National Council for Persons with Disabilities.
Many countries have resorted in part Accessed 22 March 2021. 2020. Messaging on COVID-19 Cash Transfer
for Persons with Disabilities. Nairobi: National
to membership lists of organisations Groce, N., and M. Kett. 2013. “The Disability and Council for Persons with Disabilities.
to identify persons in need of support. Development Gap.” Working Paper Series, No.
21. London: Leonard Cheshire Disability and South African Department of Social
Inclusive Development Centre. Development. 2016. Elements of the
Nothing about us without us financial and economic costs of disability
Beyond outreach, OPDs provide a Hanass-Hancock, J., and T.C. McKenzie. 2017. to households in South Africa, Results from
unique perspective on existing barriers “People with disabilities and income-related a pilot study. Johannesburg: Department of
social protection measures in South Africa: Where Social Development.
and lived experience on what support is the gap?” African Journal of Disability 6: 1–11.
would be most needed and valued. UNDESA. 2018. UN Flagship Report on Disability
ILO. 2017. World Social Protection Report and Development 2018—Realizing the SDGs by,
They can help make the most of data
2017–19: Universal social protection to achieve for and with persons with disabilities. New York:
and provide insights into challenges faced the Sustainable Development Goals. Geneva: United Nations Department of Economic and
by most marginalised groups, which are International Labour Office, 66–73. Social Affairs.
sometimes still invisible. UNESCAP. 2012. Disability at a Glance 2012:
ILO. 2019a. Joint statement: Towards inclusive
social protection system supporting full and Strengthening the Evidence Base in Asia and the
The recovery from COVID-19 will also be effective participation of persons with disabilities. Pacific. Bangkok: United Nations Economic and
Geneva: International Labour Office. Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
characterised by fiscal consolidation in
many countries, and in such contexts it is ILO. 2019b. Measuring financing gaps in social UNPRPD. 2020. Initial overview of social
critical for OPDs to contribute to decisions protection for achieving SDG target 1.3 global protection measures for persons with disabilities in
estimates and strategies for developing countries. response to the COVID-19 crisis. New York: United
about how to prioritise Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons
Geneva: International Labour Office.
available resources. with Disabilities.
ILO 2020a. “Video: Making Social Protection
Delivery Mechanisms Accessible.” .
an obligation under the United Nations Accessed 1 April 2021. disabilities in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
Convention on the Rights of Persons New York: United Nations Partnership on the
ILO 2020b. “Video: Addressing Disability Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
with Disabilities but is also a condition
Extra Costs.”
for stronger ownership and sustained UNPRPD. 2021b (forthcoming). Universal
advocacy to mobilise the resources Kaye, H. Stephen. 2010. “The impact of the Health Coverage, Social Protection and Disability:
2007–09 recession on workers with disabilities.” a review. New York: United Nations Partnership
required to build truly inclusive social on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Monthly Labor Review 133(10): 19–30.
protection systems.
Kidd, S., L. Wapling, R. Schjoedt, B. Gelders, UNPRPD and Leonard Cheshire. 2020.
D.B. Athias, and A. Tran. 2019. Leave no one Considering the Disability-related Extra Costs
behind: building inclusive social protection in Social Protection. New York: United Nations
Garrido-Cumbrera, M., and J. Chacón-García. systems for persons with disabilities. Bristol, UK: Partnership on the Rights of Persons with
2018. “Assessing the Impact of the 2008 Financial Development Pathways. Disabilities, and London: Leonard Cheshire
Crisis on the Labor Force, Employment, and Disability and Inclusive Development Centre.
Wages of Persons with Disabilities in Spain.” Mitra, S., M. Palmer, H. Kim, D. Mont, .
Accessed 22 March 2021.
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and Washington, DC: World Bank.
1. This article builds on the round table
‘Bridging the disability inequality gap: Changes
needed for an inclusive COVID-19 response
and recovery’ held on 6 October 2020. For
the recordings and more information, see:
. It also draws on
the work of the ILO–UNICEF–UNPRPD inclusive
social protection project and the UNPRPD
joint COVID-19 response, as well as on the
forthcoming article: Cote, A. “Disability, Inclusion
and social protection.” In The Handbook of
Social Protection Systems, edited by E. Schuring
and M. Loewe. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar
Publishing. Its content is the sole responsibility
of its author.
2. UNPRPD–ILO–UNICEF Inclusive Social
Photo: ILO/F. Latief. Person with disability during the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia, 2020 . Protection Project.
The International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth | Policy in Focus 15Older people’s income security and
access to social protection during COVID-19
and beyond1
Florian Juergens,2 Usa Khiewrord 3 people above the retirement age receive a limited, as high levels of poverty faced by
and Aura Sevilla 4 pension, and large coverage gaps remain the population means that many families
in Southern Asia (23 per cent coverage) have limited resources to share.
Socio-economic impacts and the Arab States (27 per cent) (ILO
of COVID-19 on older people 2018a). Where data are available, women Where older people are included in
COVID-19 is most dangerous for older are less likely than men to receive a nationally representative surveys, they
people, as the risk of serious illness and pension, and if they do, they have reveal widespread anxiety about household
death increases with age. COVID-19 lower benefit levels. finances and significant reductions in
disproportionally affects poor and income from work for themselves and their
marginalised populations who are Most economically active older people families. In Pakistan, about 30 per cent of
more exposed to the virus and have work in the informal economy and are older people (aged 50+) in a representative
fewer resources to protect themselves. highly exposed to the economic crisis. survey conducted in April 2020 reported
Multidimensional poverty greatly Close to 80 per cent of the 40 per cent of needing to borrow food, seeking support
increases the risk of becoming seriously men and 15 percent of women aged 65 from friends or relatives, or relying on their
ill from COVID-19 (Alkire et al. 2020). and older who participate in the labour savings to meet their basic needs. This
Poverty can limit access to preventative force in low- and middle-income countries was a higher percentage than reported by
measures such as handwashing and work in the informal sector (ILO 2018b). younger people (Gallup Pakistan 2020). A
protective equipment, as well as timely The informal sector tends to provide lower survey conducted by HelpAge India in June
health care on becoming ill. Furthermore, and more volatile incomes and no social 2020 found that the crisis has negatively
those with low and insecure incomes protection benefits. While workers in the impacted the livelihoods of 65 per cent of
are often working in the informal informal economy are already likely to India’s older people (HelpAge India 2020).
economy; therefore, they lack access to be poorer than their formally employed Forthcoming age-disaggregated analysis by
social protection and are unable to work counterparts, they are also more likely to HelpAge of World Bank telephone surveys
remotely or adopt safer working practices. work in sectors heavily affected by the in Africa conveys a similar picture. In Malawi,
In most low- and middle-income pandemic, such as hospitality and tourism, 96 per cent of older respondents reported
countries, poverty increases in older and are likely to be excluded from crisis- being worried about their household
age (Munoz Boudet et al. 2018), leaving related financial assistance for businesses or finances, and 83 per cent of households
older people not just vulnerable to the individuals. Evidence from past economic with older people had experienced a
virus but also with few resources to crises suggests that older people can find decline in income since the start of the
protect themselves. it difficult to re-enter the labour market pandemic. In Uganda, 86 per cent of older
after spells of unemployment and are more people reported being worried about their
In countries with limited pension likely to face declines in job quality after household income, and 36 per cent of those
coverage, COVID-19 will further re-employment, which are more persistent living in urban areas saw their income from
deteriorate older people’s already than for younger workers (Junankar 2011). (non-agricultural) businesses decline—a
fragile economic situation higher percentage than for younger people.
While 67 per cent of older people receive With few opportunities for work and In Nigeria, 89 per cent of older people
a pension globally, in most low-income limited pension coverage, most older were worried about the pandemic’s impact
countries fewer than 20 per cent do. In people rely on their families to survive. on household finances, and 26 per cent
sub-Saharan Africa, only 22 per cent of Yet the adequacy of family support is often reported having to stop their work in the
first quarter of 2020, while 79 per cent
of older business owners reported no or
lower revenues. Economic simulations in
BOX 1 Bangladesh suggest that older people’s
income deficit—consumption minus
income—has increased by 13 per cent
“Our income went down, since some of my sons who support the household financially as a result of the pandemic (HelpAge
lost their employment. Therefore, we only spend the little we get from other sources.”
International 2020a).
Older man, Vihiga, Kenya, January 2021
In-depth interviews with households in
Source: Chronic Poverty Advisory Network (2021). Kenya and Nepal, including those with older
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