#whatsnextforSP | Regional Discussion 1: insights from Asia Pacific

Regional Discussion 1: “Social Protection Responses to COVID-19 – insights from Asia Pacific”

The panel on Asia and the Pacific allowed social protection experts from the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) and government representatives to present and discuss social protection responses to COVID-19 in the region, with the moderation and comments from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

First, researchers from the IPC-IG team provided a regional overview of how social protection mechanisms were used by the countries in Asia and the Pacific region in the response to the crisis. The presentation was based on an analytical mapping which the IPC-IG research team has conducted since the outbreak of the pandemic, with support from UNDP and GIZ.

The regional overview was followed by more detailed presentations from country representatives from Indonesia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, who discussed the main actions, challenges and achievements of the social protection programmes implemented in their respective countries. This was followed by a Q&A session.

Moderator:
- Wendy Walker, Chief of the Social Development Thematic Group, from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Speakers:
- Fabio Veras Soares, Senior Research Coordinator at the IPC-IG and Researcher at the Institute for Applied Economic Research (IPEA);
- Bapak Maliki, Director for Poverty Alleviation and Social Welfare at the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas);
- Marina Andrade, Researcher at the IPC-IG;
- Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant of the Prime Minister of Pakistan; and
- H.E. Theng Pagnathun, Delegate of Royal Government of Cambodia in charge of Director General of Planning (Combodia).