Why is social protection important?
Now we will look at the impacts of social protection and how it can help people throughout their life, including in times of disasters.
Social protection helps individuals and families to look after themselves and protect themselves from poverty. We all have times in our lives when it is harder to work and to have enough money.
Click the play button to watch the video to learn more about how social protection supports people at different stages of their lives.
Regular, predictable social protection helps us throughout our life.
Click on the images to learn how
Did you know?
Global evidence shows that good social protection programs can help improve social outcomes.
Click on the images to learn how.
Childrens' health, nutrution and growth
Childrens' education (including girls' education)
Gender equality
Social inclusion for other vulnerable populations
Disability inclusion
Read about how old age benefits can support older women in the Pacific5
Read more about how social protection impacts people with disability in the Pacific6
To learn more about the impacts of social protection, read this 2016 global evidence review, “Cash Transfers: what does the evidence say?”, written by the Overseas Development Institute.7
5. Satriana, S., & Attenborough, J. (2023, May 2). Old age pensions in the Pacific: benefits for women. Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre.
6. Partnerships for Social Protection. (2022, December 16). Disability-inclusive social protection. Partnerships for Social Protection.
7. Bastagli, F., Hagen-Zanker, J., & Sturge, G. (2016, July 16). Cash transfers: what does the evidence say? Overseas Development Institute.
Did you know?
Social protection helps people to recover from big shocks and disasters.
Click on the images to read the details.
Giving people money during a disaster means that:
People can keep buying food and things they need
People who work can still go to work
People are less likely to resort to negative strategies like selling assets to get money
Many countries have used social protection like cash transfers to respond to disasters such as COVID-19, tropical cyclones, and volcanic eruptions.
Learn about social protection responses to COVID-19 in the Pacific and Timor-Leste8
The Pacific faces ongoing shocks and disasters. Climate change is adding to the region’s risk level
Social protection can also help communities and boost local economies.
Click the play button to watch the video to learn about how social protection can help communities and make local economies grow.
Did you know?
In some countries, there is evidence that for every dollar invested in social protection, more than a dollar is made from local markets – this is what we call the ‘multiplier effect’.
Click the play button to watch this short video to learn about the ‘multiplier effect’.
Reflection
Reflecting on what you have read so far, how else might social protection support people to deal with climate change related shocks?
Mythbuster Activity
|
There are lots of myths and perceptions related to social protection that you may have heard before. Here is one example. You might hear people say that social protection will make people lazy. Do you think this is True or False? |
Select your answer by clicking the buttons below.
Reflection
Let's think about cash transfers. How do you think they support and promote resilience in the Pacific Islands and Timor-Leste?