Resilience in Crisis: Adaptive Social Protection – A National Priority for Pakistan
- Economic and environmental issues are the biggest threat to the resilience of middle-income households in Pakistan. Safety nets are necessary, and a holistic Social Protection System is a need of the hour. Furthermore, work-based social protection programmes should be promoted by the government.
- Social protection programmes have proven effective in protecting societies against compounding crises. Social protection must go hand-in-hand with climate change mitigation measures.
- Poverty alleviation and social safety is moving towards dynamic data registry as a static registry could not handle continuous change in the social status of people due to shocks. Efforts are being made by the Government of Pakistan to make Adaptive Social Protection Programmes financially resilient, digitally integrated through an open loop payment method, and shock responsiveness. Such efforts should be accelerated.
- The role of digital integration is paramount in enhancing the effectiveness of Social Protection Programmes as it ensures accountability and transparency.
- Resilience, social insurance mechanisms, saving-based interventions for vulnerable households, and data centralisation need to be integrated whilst discouraging unconditional cash transfers to strengthen Social Protection Programmes.
- NSER data should be made mandatory for selecting beneficiaries for NGOs to improve the impact of Social Protection Programmes.
