Social protection - an established but under-leveraged COVID response?

Bhoopathy P and Shiv Kumar

Over the past two decades, policymakers have recognised social protection as a core strategy for tackling poverty and vulnerability while strengthening inclusive social development and equitable economic growth.?

This recognition is just the first step, it is from here that we begin to realise that complexity arises when the nature of poverty and vulnerability interact with politics and its ideologies, shaped by the views and decisions of society. This, in addition to the flaws and loopholes in the implementation of the schemes, has resulted in a vast majority of the poor not being able to reap its benefits entirely.?

I believe that the problems are the same for both the citizens and the government - it is only the dimension that varies. Something I like to call the “3 As” - Awareness, Availability and Ability.?

Awareness: Citizens are often not aware of what schemes exist that are applicable for them, while the government has limited knowledge of who needs them or even how to reach them

Availability: Citizens from low-income groups find it difficult to invest time, effort and resources to procure the necessary documents; at the same time, government scheme sections are understaffed, have little to no cash flow or documentation support

Ability: Citizens sometimes lack the ability to negotiate their rights and to fight systemic corruption and the government does not always have the ability to empathise with the poor and vulnerable

Calling this a conundrum would be an understatement, and it has taken me (and many others like me) over 15 years to try and identify a mechanism to overcome these difficulties.? We have learnt in particular from Labournet’s work in this area and developed it further with the help of UNDP, India and other partners like the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in trying out a variety of models for delivering Social Protection in partnership with Communities and the Government.?

A dedicated help desk that provides highly personalized and effective support to communities, while leveraging technology and relationships to solve pressing economic challenges is the key. The help desk aims to -?

• Bridge the gap between demand and supply of services
• Increase awareness about schemes and programmes
• Serve as a hub for referral linkages with other public and private service providers
• Use a technology platform to track applications and analyse data?

This tailored approach has assisted over 9 lakh people and economic benefits worth 1836 crores were disbursed till March 31st 2021, since its inception in August 2011. This is in 16 States and 2 Union territories, have facilitated just 179 schemes out of 1392 mapped, provided by the government.?

Social Protection fulfils the objective of protecting vulnerable communities. We have shown one way to do this; there are many other ways. During COVID, as poor and vulnerable families struggle for survival, it is time we prioritise and scale up Social Protection.

#SocialProtection #CommunityBuilding #Govtschemes #Society