IPC-IG staff members sign articles in publications about responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in different contexts

By IPC-IG
Photo: Canva

Staff members of the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) sign articles in publications from other institutions. Mariana Balboni, Senior Project Officer, and Charlotte Bilo, Researcher, collaborated with two publications on social protection responses to COVID-19.

Balboni participated in the special edition of the publication “Good Practices in South-South and Triangular Cooperation: Delivering on the Sustainable Development Goal on Good Health and Well-being”, jointly produced by the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), the Pan American Health Organization (OPAS), the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The joint document reports that the COVID-19 pandemic had repercussions on the collapse of health systems, which struggled to deal with emergency responses while trying to maintain the provision of essential health services. The study aims to share solutions and knowledge at the global and regional levels related to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, regarding “Good Health and Well-being”.

The publication gathers 40 good practices of South-South and triangular cooperation, highlighting successful stories, solutions and government responses from countries that were ahead of the pandemic curve, demonstrating that these initiatives were shared and extended through South-South and triangular cooperation, or demonstrated readiness for adaptation and replication. In this context, Balboni collaborated with an article presenting the activities related to social protection and health of the online Community of Practice on South-South Cooperation for Children, hosted on the socialprotection.org platform.

Bilo, on the other hand, collaborated on an article published in Science magazine, titled "Gender-responsive social protection post–COVID-19". The article highlights some of the best practices related to gender-sensitive social protection responses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study highlights the current context and the reason why there is a need for gender-sensitive social protection responses, delving into topics such as: women in the informal labour market, showing statistics and the impact of this scenario on local and global economies; violence against women and girls, linking economic insecurity and stress to poverty as the main drivers of intra-family violence during the pandemic; and unpaid and unequal house work, emphasising that the main factors contributing to inequalities during COVID-19 are increased burdens related to childcare, homeschooling and care for sick family members concentrated on the shoulders of women and girls.

The document also highlights eight policy recommendations that organisations can carry out immediately to move towards more inclusive and responsive outcomes, committing to advancing gender equality, with a focus on rights and dignity.

Both studies contribute to a better understanding of the health crisis in their respective contexts, and can be read and downloaded for free at the links below: