Publication:
The Role of Digital in the COVID-19 Social Assistance Response

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dc.contributor.authorWorld Bank
dc.date.accessioned2022-10-04T16:42:45Z
dc.date.available2022-10-04T16:42:45Z
dc.date.issued2022
dc.description.abstractThe COVID-19 pandemic resulted in vast numbers of people in need of social assistance, many of whom were not previously covered by social safety nets. To meet this unprecedented level of need, governments quickly scaled social assistance reaching over 1.7 billion people in low- and middle income countries. Scaling up social assistance presented two separate but related challenges: first, adapting targeting and registration to reach individuals not commonly included in social assistance databases, such as urban informal workers, and second, how to deliver government to person (G2P) payments safely and securely in the context of the pandemic. Countries that could leverage pre-pandemic investments in digital public infrastructure (DPI)— identification (ID), payments and trusted data sharing—were better able to implement COVID-response social assistance programs and reach more beneficiaries. This paper, analyzes the role of these DPIs, also called digital stack, in the social protection response to COVID by analyzing data on howCOVID-response social assistance programs register red and made payments to beneficiaries across178 programs across 85 countries. The analysis shows how these digital systems and infrastructure allowed for innovative targeting, registration, and payment approaches that covered a significantportion of the population. This paper uses administrative data on G2P registration and payment methods combined with anecdotal evidence from country case studies to show how pre-pandemic investments in digital databases, digital ID, and digital payments impacted countries’ abilities to reach new beneficiaries and deliver payments safely in the context of the pandemic response. It further details workaround solutions implemented by countries without these assets and infrastructure in place, and how some countries were able to expand their digital infrastructure even amidst the urgency of the crisis response. The analysis concludes with suggestions as to the impact that the social assistance response to COVID-19 can have on the future of social protection payments, in terms of inspiring investments in building and strengthening G2P ecosystems globally.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099830009302217091/P1731660f8c52f062092ac00d53c648bac7
dc.identifier.doi10.1596/38104
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/38104
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherWashington, DC
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo
dc.subjectSCALING UP SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
dc.subjectGOVERNMENT TO PERSON (G2P) PAYMENTS
dc.subjectDIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE
dc.subjectDIGITAL IDENTIFICATION
dc.subjectDIGITAL PAYMENTS
dc.subjectTRUSTED DATA SHARING
dc.subjectCOVID-19 DIGITAL SOCIAL ASSISTANCE
dc.subjectDIGITAL STACK IN SOCIAL PROTECTION
dc.subjectTARGETED TRANSFERS
dc.subjectPANDEMIC ASSISTANCE RESPONSE
dc.subjectDIGITAL SOCIAL PROTECTION PAYMENT
dc.titleThe Role of Digital in the COVID-19 Social Assistance Responseen
dc.typeWorking Paperen
dc.typeDocument de travailfr
dc.typeDocumento de trabajoes
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.crossref.titleThe Role of Digital in the COVID-19 Social Assistance Response
okr.date.disclosure2022-09-30
okr.date.doiregistration2025-05-05T12:20:23.328298Z
okr.date.lastmodified2022-09-30T00:00:00Zen
okr.doctypeWorking Papers::Other papers
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099830009302217091/P1731660f8c52f062092ac00d53c648bac7
okr.guid099830009302217091
okr.identifier.externaldocumentumP173166-f8c52f97-0ee9-4a62-92ac-0d53c648bac7
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum33910376
okr.identifier.report176518
okr.importedtrueen
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099830009302217091/pdf/P1731660f8c52f062092ac00d53c648bac7.pdfen
okr.sectorICT Services,Central Government (Central Agencies)
okr.topicInformation and Communication Technologies::ICT Policy and Strategies
okr.topicInformation and Communication Technologies::Poverty Reduction & ICT
okr.topicSocial Protections and Labor::Safety Nets and Transfers
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Conditional Cash Transfers
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Services & Transfers to Poor
okr.unitIDDDR - ID4D (IDD03)
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