Factors affecting the usefulness of existing social protection databases in disaster preparedness and response

摘要: How can social protection systems be used in disasters, as a complement to, or substitute for, humanitarian assistance? Oxford Policy Management led a research project investigating this question, looking at the role of social protection in both mitigating the impact of large-scale shocks and supporting households after a crisis hits. We identify factors that can help and hinder effective disaster response, and consider how social protection actors collaborate with others working in humanitarian assistance and disaster risk management (DRM). This policy brief specifically focuses on the characteristics of existing social protection databases that enhance or limit their potential use in emergencies. It draws on examples from across five of the project’s case studies: Lesotho, Mali, Mozambique, Pakistan and the Philippines.Many social protection interventions hold data on the households or individuals they support. These interventions might include cash transfer programmes (such as child benefits, old-age pensions or poverty-targeted cash assistance), public works programmes, social insurance or assistance with expenditure on health care. 1 Information about a wider population group–including potential future recipients or households who have been assessed but classified as ineligible–is also often collected, but not always stored and maintained. Moreover, recent years have also seen a rapid acceleration in integrated approaches to data and information management for social protection, in order to provide a coordinated and harmonised response to the multi-dimensional vulnerabilities faced by individuals across a life-cycle.