IPC-IG and UNICEF release final version of a series of studies on social protection responses to COVID-19 in South Asia

The IPC-IG and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Regional Office in South Asia (ROSA) have recently published a series of studies highlighting the findings of a broad assessment of social protection responses to COVID-19 in the eight countries of the region.
The partnership allowed for a timely effort of cataloguing government responses to the pandemic in the region, with a particular focus on social protection responses and the extent to which they managed to protect a group that is practically excluded from regular social protection systems by default—composed of workers who are covered neither by social assistance nor by social insurance—known as ‘the missing middle’.
This broad assessment, which features accurate results up to late July 2020, resulted in a Research Report titled “Socio-economic impacts of COVID-19, policy responses and the missing middle in South Asia”, discussing monetary and fiscal responses enacted by governments in the region and highlighting the challenges involved in reaching the ‘missing middle'. A related Executive Summary and a series of eight One Pagers, featuring each country in the region (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), are also available. See the list below:
One Pager 447 — COVID-19 and social protection in South Asia: Afghanistan
One Pager 448 — COVID-19 and social protection in South Asia: Bangladesh
One Pager 449 — COVID-19 and social protection in South Asia: Bhutan
One Pager 450 — COVID-19 and social protection in South Asia: India
One Pager 451 — COVID-19 and social protection in South Asia: Maldives
One Pager 452 — COVID-19 and social protection in South Asia: Nepal
One Pager 453 — COVID-19 and social protection in South Asia: Pakistan
One Pager 454 — COVID-19 and social protection in South Asia: Sri Lanka
For a broader understanding of the subject, we recommend watching the webinar series “Social Protection in South Asia—the landscape before COVID-19, a snapshot into responses to the crisis and the paths ahead”, as well as reading the summaries of the sessions, available here.
You can find the webinars' recordings here: Non-contributory Social Protection in South Asia from a child, equity and gender perspective - YouTube