ADAPTING TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC SHOCKS IS PART OF SAINT LUCIA’S NEW NATIONAL SOCIAL PROTECTION POLICY.

Pandemics, extreme weather events and natural disasters can lead to shocks to the economy and lives of persons around the world. These shocks can lead to issues such as unemployment, decreased income and threats to food security.

COVID-19 and inflation have highlighted the speed at which the world’s trajectory can be altered. Policy and Program Officer in the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment, Eulampius Frederick, describes the adaptive shock response mechanism aimed at addressing these events.

“Shock responsive social protection is a special form of social protection where you adapt your current social protection programs to prepare for, mitigate and respond to co-variant shocks. Co-variant shocks affect large sections of the population, perhaps even an entire region—things like hurricanes, natural disasters or even the recent the pandemic.”

The shock responsive social protection mechanism is an integral component of the updated National Social Protection Policy.