Art Appraisal Blog

This paper produced by SPACE examines the social protection response to COVID-19 in the Pacific region, where such systems are emergent. It assesses how individual countries responded to the pandemic, and draws operational lessons. The Authors pay particular attention to Fiji’s experience, where the use of mobile money was prominent.

As countries have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital vouchers have been used in some contexts to distribute aid. This MicroSave blog post, the first of two, briefly discusses the benefits of e-vouchers, and their use by humanitarian agencies.

As countries have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital vouchers have been used in some contexts to distribute aid. This MicroSave blog post, the second of two, briefly discusses the introduction of e-vouchers in Kenya, and the challenges that have emerged.

The COVID-19 crisis revealed that income support systems in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region were both fundamental and insufficient. This paper by the Inter-American Development Bank presents novel estimates of the coverage and beneficiary distribution of all non-contributory cash transfers both before and during the COVID-19 crisis. It also discusses the tools and methods used by individual countries in their response, placing digital G2P initiatives within a larger...

This World Bank blog post outlines Paraguay’s Pytyvõ program, which reached a considerable number of the country’s households in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Paraguay achieved this despite lacking a comprehensive social registry at the onset of the crisis, and relied heavily on electronic wallets to distribute benefits.

This paper, developed with inputs from across the CALP Network, explores how cash and voucher assistance has been scaled up or adjusted in response to Covid-19, and how it is changing ways of working. It includes discussions of the increased digitization of humanitarian CVA, with particular focus on KYC and communications.

This report summarizes a 2021 workshop hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the African Union, and the World Bank on the experience of African countries in using digitized social protection in response to COVID-19. It includes discussions of using existing social protection information to expand coverage and the development of interoperable data systems. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for systems to be designed...

This report summarizes a 2021 workshop hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean on the experience of Latin American countries in using digitized social protection in response to COVID-19. It includes discussions of quickly updating existing records and developing interoperable data systems. The report concludes by emphasizing the need for having different channels for updating information...

This report summarizes a 2021 workshop hosted by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Asian Development Bank on the experience of Asian and Pacific countries in using digitized social protection in response to COVID-19. It includes discussions of mass digital registration, interoperable data systems, and the use of earth observation data in early warning. The report concludes by emphasizing the potential for enhancing the value...

This report summarizes an Oxford Policy Management evaluation of a digital cash transfer administered in Kenya under the Hunger Safety Net Program beginning in October of 2020. Using survey data, the study probed the effectiveness of remote targeting, text message communication, mobile payments through M-PESA, and complaint resolution. Their findings stress the need for prior preparation in using social protection to respond to shocks.