Social protection and COVID-19 in urban and rural settings

© World Food Programme 2020. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or other non-commercial uses are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission. Applications for such permission should be addressed to the Director, Communications, Advocacy and Marketing Division, e-mail: wfp.publications@wfp.org.While the dominant narrative on the geographical distribution of COVID-19 focuses on urban settings, this brief considers some of the potential impacts and implications of the coronavirus pandemic on vulnerability and social protection responses in both rural and urban contexts in East Africa. As it lists the various implications for social protection and livelihood responses for "building back better", it draws on the lessons learned from the WFP operations in East Africa to fill the urban social protection gap in the short, medium and long terms