ipcig.org  (09.04.2021) The fourth and last section of the Policy in Focus1 magazine analyses the social protection responses to the COVID-19 crisis in Asian countries

blogs.worldbank.org (26.04.2021) In the months after the first cases of COVID-19 appeared in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), countries across the region acted quickly to limit the spread of the virus. Lockdowns, curfews, and social distancing undoubtedly saved lives, but these necessary actions also constrained businesses and economies. Communities suffered from the loss of jobs and livelihoods, the closure of schools and markets, and the damage to businesses, many of which may never recover.

Reuters (07.04.2020) Oman on Wednesday restructured its pension and social protections systems, part of a reform push by the Gulf Arab state wrestling with an economy battered by low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic.

blogs.worldbank.org (30:03.2021) Developing countries have introduced an unprecedented number of social protection and jobs policies to mitigate the effects of the crisis.  Over the past year, developing countries have introduced more than 1,300 crisis-related social protection and jobs (SPJ) policies. That figure is based on data from the COVID-19 SPJ Policy Inventory for 55 countries, representing 80 percent of the population in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC).

fao.org (2021) The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted digital financial inclusion trends across the world in many and complex ways. In developing and emerging contexts, this crisis also holds the potential to propel an unprecedented acceleration in the process of financial digitization and turn out to be a game-changer for digital financial inclusion.

EU Reporter (29.03.2021) The European Commission has published the March 2021 edition of the Employment and Social Developments in Europe (ESDE) Quarterly Review, with a thematic focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the self-employed. The review shows that this group has experienced a strong reduction of their working time and more severe income losses than employees in most member states. National social protection systems typically provide lower coverage and compensation for the self-employed.

Eurofound (March 2021) This report sets out to assess the initial impact of the COVID-19 crisis on employment in Europe (up to Q2 2020), including its effects across sectors and on different categories of workers. It also looks at measures implemented by policymakers in a bid to limit the negative effects of the crisis. It first provides an overview of policy approaches adopted to mitigate the impact of the crisis on businesses, workers and citizens.

International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) March 2021 - The COVID-19 crisis has had a huge impact on the world of social protection. The pandemic has alerted national governments and the international community to the urgency of accelerating progress in building and expanding social protection systems and programmes to leave no one behind. From 5 to 8 October 2020, the socialprotection.org team organised a global e-conference titled ‘Turning the COVID-19 crisis into an opportunity: What’s next for social protection?’.

(Dec 2020) This new UNICEF Innocenti report explores how the social and economic impact of the pandemic is likely to affect children; the initial government responses to the crisis; and how future public policies could be optimized to better support children.