In many African countries, social protection programmes are usually concentrated in rural areas. The perception that wealth and employment opportunities are found disproportionately in urban areas can result in the urban poor being relatively neglected. In addition, the complexity of reaching urban caseloads—via innovative approaches to registration, eligibility determination, and payments—should not be under-estimated. This webinar sought to build on experiences of COVID-19 responses in selected sub-Saharan African countries from the perspective of both government and non-government actors.

Panellists:

• Tayllor Spadafora, UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa (ESARO)
• Krishna Pahari, Senior Regional Programme Officer, WFP Regional Bureau for East and Central Africa
• Erica Mattellone, Chief of Social Policy and Evaluation, UNICEF Madagascar
• Jules Simpeze Banga, Advisor to the Minister of Energy and Water Resources for North Kivu, DRC

Moderator: Lena Gronbach, University of Cape Town