COVID-19 Resources

The socio-economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic risks reversing decades of progress on sustainable development whilst aggravating existing inequalities. A variety of tools and resources have been developed to support member States in their sustainable recovery and to build back better, focusing on identifying those left furthest behind and in strengthening social protection systems that can better respond to crises and disruptions.
  1. Inequality of Opportunity in Asia and the Pacific: Pandemic Preparednes

    This report extends the Inequality of Opportunity series to explore inequality in COVID-19 Pandemic preparedness and identifying population groups that are less likely to protect against infectious diseases and the virus, given their pre-pandemic household’s living conditions.

  2. COVID-19 Preparedness LNOB Analysis

    This indicator on LNOB database explores inequality in COVID-19 Pandemic preparedness and identifying population groups that are less likely to protect against infectious diseases and the virus, given their household’s pre-COVID-19 living conditions. The tool contains an interactive map with CART tree analysis.

  3. Classification and Regression Trees (CART): A User Reference Guide for Identifying Those Left Furthest Behind

    The Covid-19 pandemic has aggravated existing inequalities whilst creating new vulnerabilities within societies in Asia and the Pacific. This user reference guide elaborates on the methodologies behind the process to identify those furthest behind using Classification and Regression Trees (CART), with explanations on how these methodologies can be modelled to assess the preparedness against Covid-19 pandemic, and how those results should be interpreted. The identification of those furthest behind could help policy makers to tailor social protection responses to those most vulnerable to contracting the virus to shield them from shocks and life contingencies inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

  4. Policy Responses to COVID-19 in Asia and the Pacific: Combating COVID-19 in Asia and the Pacific: Measures, Lessons and the Way Forward

    This policy brief explores how the pandemic can become a catalyst to change the development approach to one which prioritizes people and the planet. Just as during the 2008 global financial crisis, the world is looking right now at Asia and the Pacific to lift the global economy out of the current recession. At this critical crossroads, the region should transform itself from being an economic growth leader into a trailblazer for sustainable development.

  5. Social protection responses to COVID-19 in Asia and the Pacific: The story so far and future considerations

    Governments in the Asia Pacific region have taken unprecedented measures to respond to the health, economic and social impacts of the crisis. Temporary social protection measures have played a prominent role. The crisis has provided a wake-up call to the significant gaps in coverage and adequacy of existing social protection systems, and dramatically increased the visibility to policy makers of those left behind. Such systems have the potential to form a core component of wider recovery plans that seek not only to provide relief but influence a path to more sustainable and equitable economic and social development.