Communities are at the centre of health emergencies across all hazards, as well as need- and risk-based interventions. Many countries are facing multiple and/or prolonged crises concurrently, posing significant risks of social and economic disruption, with disproportionate impact on vulnerable and marginalized populations. The best interests of children, women and marginalized communities must therefore remain central to collective preparedness and response efforts.
Within the HEPR Community Protection Framework and the broader Community Protection and Resilience (CPR) approach, communities are not only beneficiaries of assistance but agents of protection and resilience. Multisectoral coordination for social and economic protection is reflected under Objective 3 of the Community Protection Framework, which focuses on strengthening equitable, community-centred protection mechanisms as a core component of preparedness and response. Emergency preparedness and response actors must therefore listen to and work alongside communities to ensure that interventions strengthen, rather than undermine, local coping capacities and social cohesion. Community social protection is a key enabler of locally led emergency management, contributing to faster, fairer and more accountable all-hazards responses, while reinforcing equity, inclusion and resilience across sectors.
On 29 January 2026, over 750 participants from 170 countries joined the interactive WHO–UNICEF webinar, "Ready & Resilient: Community Social Protection for Preparedness and Response." Participants included practitioners, policymakers, development and humanitarian partners, civil society organizations and community representatives. The discussion highlighted the urgent need for stronger global and national collaboration, operational guidance, standard operating procedures, tools and implementation packages to advance multisectoral coordination for socioeconomic protection in crises and outbreaks.
A recurring theme was the need to institutionalize multisectoral coordination as part of preparedness, not only during response. Effective community social protection requires collaboration across protection, livelihoods, health, education, governance and community leadership structures. Particularly vulnerable and marginalized groups — including children, people with disabilities, people living with NCDs, adolescents and populations with occupational exposure to disease — require tailored interventions to ensure equitable access to essential health and social services, reduce financial barriers and mitigate the effects of crises and loss of livelihoods.
Participants emphasized that community social protection must be embedded in preparedness planning and aligned with national emergency frameworks. Strengthening linkages between health services, social protection systems and local governance structures is essential to ensure continuity of essential services during shocks. Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA), for example, can be leveraged to overcome financial and access barriers to care when integrated into preparedness and service delivery models.
Experience sharing from the field demonstrated both promising practices and persistent gaps. Vulnerabilities, particularly among children , are often invisible or insufficiently addressed in national systems. Clear definition and targeting of recipient groups, as well as inclusion of marginalized populations often excluded from formal social protection systems, are critical. Planning and institutionalizing multisectoral coordination mechanisms ahead of crises ensures that roles, responsibilities and partnerships are established and practiced before emergencies occur.
Leveraging existing community structures and informal networks, and strengthening community leadership, are fundamental to effective engagement across the emergency management cycle. Tailoring community social protection packages during preparedness — through joint planning with relevant sectors and agencies — increases ownership, accelerates scale-up during crises, and prevents harmful coping mechanisms. Anticipatory action and early support to protect livelihoods and ensure continuity of essential community services are central to this approach.
The findings from this global exchange align with operational experience from WHO country offices and partners. Under the Community Protection and Resilience agenda, ongoing work focuses on developing targeted guidance for WHO country offices and partners on multisectoral coordination for community social protection, tools for continuity of essential community services, and operationalization within the Community Protection Framework implementation pathways.
In parallel, we are establishing communities of practice to strengthen knowledge exchange and foster sustained collaboration among global, regional and local stakeholders. Scaling community social protection within preparedness systems is not only a matter of equity, it is a strategic investment in resilient, emergency-ready health systems that protect those most at risk.
Community Protection and Resilience Unit
WHO Health Emergencies Programme
