Role of social protection in reducing the burden of public health and social measures during the COVID-19 pandemic

Overview

To date, little is known at the global level about the nature and effectiveness of the social protection responses aimed at reducing the socioeconomic burden of the COVID-19 pandemic and public health and social measures (PHSM) through existing, scaled up or new social protection policies and programmes, in particular when the impacts are viewed through the lens of the social determinants of health. This scoping review provides a snapshot of the evidence about the implementation of social protection measures during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlights the need for greater sensitivity among development actors and health leaders to ensure that emergency responses are equitable and balanced when implementing PHSM to avoid additional strains on affected communities and countries, depending on the scale of their implementation.