Integrating Humanitarian Response with Social Protection Systems: Limits and Opportunities

The separation between provision of short-term humanitarian assistance and long-term development programmes – such as social protection – often creates inefficiencies, wastes resources and means support fails to reach those who urgently need it. Social protection is usually funded, managed, delivered and monitored separately from humanitarian assistance, by distinct actors with conflicting priorities but increasingly similar target groups. The Shock-Responsive Social Protection (SRSP) approach aims to link and integrate these sectors. This Policy Briefing uses research from three countries to consider how SRSP should be implemented, making four recommendations for policymakers working in humanitarian response, disaster risk management and social protection.