IPC-IG Research Coordinator presents social protection responses to COVID-19 targeting rural populations

By IPC-IG
Photo: Canva/Tony Wu

According to estimates by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in 2020 there was a reduction of 7.3 per cent in GDP and an average increase of 4.3 per cent in the population living in poverty in the countries of the region. The webinar titled Encuentro de Socialización de buenas prácticas y casos de éxito en esquemas de Protección Social programas en la región, para enfrentar la crisis por Covid-19 y la implementación de la Política Social Integral Regional de la Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana PSIR SICA discussed social protection responses to the healthcare, economic and social challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Fábio Veras, Senior Research Coordinator at the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) and at the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Ipea), participated in the webinar with a presentation titled COVID-19 y la protección social en las zonas rurales de América Latina y el Caribe: Lecciones para reconstruir mejor, in which he introduced three case studies based on the initial mapping of social protection responses to COVID-19 exclusively targeting rural populations located in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

The case studies were based on three Policy Research Briefs developed by the IPC-IG in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which addressed social protection responses to COVID-19 in rural areas in Latin America and the Caribbean.  

One of the briefs presented is titled Social protection response to COVID-19 in rural LAC: Social and economic double inclusion. It reflects on how to improve social protection systems in Latin America and the Caribbean after the COVID-19 pandemic, analysing how they can ensure food security and social and economic ‘double inclusion’. The brief Social protection response to COVID-19 in rural LAC: The potential of digitalization to build back better analyses how digitalisation can facilitate the access of rural populations to effective and adequate social protection and economic inclusion in the region. 

Finally, Social protection response to COVID-19 in rural LAC: Protection and promotion of employment in the agricultural sector reflects on how to improve social protection systems in Latin America and the Caribbean after the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on social insurance and labour market measures. 

 

About the event 

The webinar took place virtually on 16 June 2022 and was organized by the FAO Subregional Office for Mesoamerica, in coordination with the Central American Secretariat for Social Integration (SISCA). 

It aimed to identify and disseminate good practices and social protection measures adopted in Latin American and Caribbean countries; articulate the agendas under way in the region in an intersectoral manner; and identify opportunities for the incorporation of new measures and the expansion of social protection systems at the national and regional levels. To this end, the event featured structured and high-level presentations sharing crucial data and experiences. 

In addition to Mr. Veras, the event was also attended by Miguel del Castillo, Head of the Social Development Unit of the ECLAC Subregional Office; María Inés Castillo, Panama’s Minister of Social Development and Interim President of CIS; Carmen Ubaldi, Executive Director of the Technical Unit of the Social Office of Paraguay; Gloria Reyes of the Dominican Republic's Get Over Yourself Program; and Alejandro Grinspun, from FAO. 

Watch the full recording here