Towards shock-responsive social protection: lessons from the COVID-19 response in Uganda

The stringent lockdown measures and global economic slowdown, due to COVID-19, are likely to have a large impact on poverty in Uganda. This report documents how the Government of Uganda plans to implement an Urban Cash for Work Programme to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on vulnerable populations. This report analyses the factors that enabled and constrained the effectiveness of the response, at the policy and operational levels, and finds that a timely response was undermined by several factors including the need to negotiate new financing and design a new labour-intensive public works programme, targeting urban populations. Finally, the report provides an assessment of the response in terms of coverage, adequacy, comprehensiveness, timeliness, and gender and social inclusion considerations.