Publication: How the World Bank Supports Adaptive Social Protection in Crisis Response: An Independent Evaluation
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2025-07-30
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2025-07-30
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Shocks and crises pose significant threats to human development, disproportionately affecting poor and vulnerable households. These shocks, whether natural disasters, economic crises, or political upheavals, often force households to resort to negative coping strategies, such as pulling children out of school, selling assets, or going hungry. To address these challenges, social protection responses need to be tailored to both immediate and long-term needs. This evaluation assesses the World Bank's support for Adaptive Social Protection (ASP) systems from 2012– 22, assessing their relevance and effectiveness in responding to shocks. During the evaluation period, the World Bank significantly contributed to the global understanding and financing of ASP systems. Its knowledge contributions were instrumental in shaping the ASP concept, while its lending has increased substantially, expanding across all regions with a focus on low-income and fragile countries. World Bank – supported social protection systems have responded to different types of shocks over the past decade. However, shock response often fell short in coverage, timeliness, and adequacy, especially for sudden-onset shocks. Key factors constraining systems’ ability to adequately address shocks include narrow data systems, lack of interoperability across systems, low political buy-in for cash transfers during shocks, and lack of financial resources. Fragmented institutional landscapes and internal World Bank silos also hindered the effective implementation of World Bank – supported ASP systems. The evaluation offers three recommendations to prepare social protection delivery systems for faster and more comprehensive coverage in response to shocks, and to measure shock response for corrective action. (i) Continue investing in system building and expanded coverage, focusing on program elements that serve both regular and shock-responsive functions. (ii) Strengthen coordination between client government SP and DRM agencies, improve partnership with humanitarian agencies, and enhance internal collaboration within the World Bank for shock response. (iii) Enhance the measurement of SP systems’ effectiveness in responding to shocks by setting performance targets, monitoring system performance with dynamic stress testing, and using the insights to guide future investments.
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“World Bank. 2025. How the World Bank Supports Adaptive Social Protection in Crisis Response: An Independent Evaluation. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/43523 License: CC BY-NC 3.0 IGO.”
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