Session recordings available herePresentation available here.
The United Nations’ Joint SDG Fund is a new global pooled funding mechanism for transformative policy and strategic financing that accelerate progress towards the SDGs. The Fund’s portfolio on Integrated Social Protection for Leaving No One Behind invests USD 103 million over 2 years into 35 Joint Programmes in 39 countries for innovative policy solutions that prioritize the most vulnerable. The programmes are implemented by 600+ partners to facilitate multi-sectoral and transformative change. The Theories of Change of the programmes emphasize catalytic results in health care, education, social welfare services, childcare, employment, social cohesion, and pensions systems.
Given that the most vulnerable that are particularly affected by COVID-19 pandemic, the Fund’s investment into integrated social protection is more critical than ever. Amongst other innovations, the programmes use Adaptive or Shock-Responsive Social Protection (SRSP) to design systems that safeguard populations vulnerable to risks related to natural disasters and climate change - and increasingly public health crises. Besides “quick wins” produced by re-purposing 20% of the investment to respond to COVID-19, the portfolio is generating lessons learned on the use of SRSP to address multiple and reinforcing crises in the context of the systemic impact of COVID-19 upon the SDGs.
The session provided an overview of the approach to integrated social protection, specifically in those countries where SRSP is in the focus. It emphasized innovations triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic that demonstrate the strategic and catalytic role of integrated, cross-sectoral policies for enabling coherent and systemic transformations leading to the acceleration of the SDGs.
