Shock-responsive social protection: what is known about what works in fragile and conflict-affected situations?

This paper provides an overview of shock-responsive social protection (SRSP) in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCAS). It explores the challenges, opportunities, and knowledge gaps in implementing SRSP in these complex contexts. The document is intended for policymakers, practitioners, and researchers working in humanitarian assistance, social protection, and development. The practical value lies in identifying key considerations for designing and implementing SRSP interventions in FCAS.

Key Insights

SRSP operationalization in FCAS

SRSP has gained traction globally, but its implementation in FCAS remains limited, despite its potential for contributing to nexus approaches. This suggests a need for context-specific strategies and adaptation of existing SRSP models to suit the unique challenges of FCAS.

Alignment

Alignment is a prevalent approach, particularly when social protection systems are nascent or disrupted. This includes coordinating across geographic areas, delivering complementary assistance, or humanitarian actors assisting those outside government responses.

International Leadership

Many SRSP efforts in FCAS are led by international agencies, which can lead to the risk of outpacing government capacity and potentially undermining long-term national ownership of social protection systems. It’s essential to integrate and align with existing government structures where possible to avoid parallel systems.

Contextual Factors

Ethical, legal, and access considerations significantly influence the advisability of SRSP in FCAS. These factors necessitate careful assessment and adaptation of SRSP interventions to ensure they are appropriate and effective in the specific context.

Linking Assistance

Linking humanitarian assistance to social protection requires understanding differing approaches, political motivations, and incentives among actors. Coordination, financing, and ethical considerations must be carefully addressed to ensure effective and sustainable SRSP interventions.

Coordination Challenges

Effective coordination and collaboration are foundational for SRSP but face challenges due to differing governance and coordination mechanisms. A lack of clarity in institutional mandates and the potential for perverse incentives can hinder coordination efforts.

Local Actors

There is a need to integrate local actors into SRSP, since they are proximate to the communities they are meant to serve. However, their role is traditionally overlooked and under-supported.

Key Statistics & Data

• Humanitarian appeals increased 135% between 2010 and 2019, from US$12.9bntoUS$30.4bn.
• Conflicts drive 80% of all humanitarian needs (World Bank 2020a).
• In 2016, 24.2 million people in 118 countries were newly displaced due to fast-onset natural hazards (IDMC 2019).
• More than two-thirds (68 per cent) of the 26 million refugees worldwide come from just five countries (UNHCR 2020).

Methodology

This report is based on a literature review drawn from two sources: (1) the personal libraries of the authors and (2) a set of literature searches using SCOPUS, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Key words used in the literature searches include: “shock responsive social protection” (OR “shock response*” AND “cash transfer”), WITH “conflict”, “fragile”, “humanitarian”, and “emergency”.

Implications and Conclusions

The paper concludes that SRSP in FCAS is a continuation of the broader adaptive and shock-responsive agendas. However, learning on SRSP in FCAS remains nascent, with key knowledge gaps and specific challenges to address. Important questions about when and whether to link humanitarian assistance to social protection systems and programmes in FCAS have yet to be properly explored. Specifically, the report emphasizes the need for further research on operationalizing SRSP, deciding when not to implement SRSP, understanding the political economy of SRSP, learning lessons from Covid-19 for SRSP, integrating information systems and SRSP, displacement and SRSP, the role of non-state and non-aligned (armed) groups, partnering differently and financing for SRSP in FCAS.