Social Protection networks are a set of public policies aimed to protect the population before social contingencies, which appear during life cycles. These networks have the potential to shield the social and economic welfare through money transfers, as social benefits which are subject to a specific social security regime and as focused or conditioned programs, additionally to in kind transfers or social services. As an example, before the current COVID19 pandemic, social protection networks materialized as programs directed to protect the incomes of households through emergency bonds, the expansion of health services coverage, the exemption of payments for social services, among others, have been decisive for the resilience of homes in the region.

Latin America and the Caribbean are exposed to multiple threats of natural origin. In the last two decades, there have been registered 1,032 natural disasters, which have affected 155 million of people. Therefore, it is urgent to boost the resilience before natural phenomena in the region, due to its high levels of inequality and poverty, which are associated to higher vulnerability and exposition to threads.

In this sense, it is essential to boost and consolidate social protection networks in the whole Latin America and Caribbean region, in addition to expand the social contingencies to the impacts caused by natural phenomena and climate change related events. For this, it is required to have institutions prepared to operate and respond to emergency situations and disasters, accordingly to social benefits and services offered by them.

Social Security institutions are essential for social security networks, during disasters events. Sendai Framework 2015-2030, establishes as a priority to invest in disaster risk reduction for increasing resilience, which demands to promote the development of protection networks, tied to programs of livelihoods improvement. Today, social security coverage is limited in our region. As an example, almost half of the working population do not contribute to the retirement pension system; however, the coverage is extended by universal pension, health services, education, in kind and money transfer programs, directed to household on poverty and extreme poverty situations, pregnant women, children and people with disabilities; to wit, different mechanisms of protection networks complement each other, so the social security system needs to adapt in front of disaster risk.

Therefore, the development of social protection networks entails the generation of technical and logistical capacities to secure, in theory, the timely and appropriate delivery of social benefits and services at any time. Social and economic resilience of the region depends, somehow, on the better preparedness of social institutions before disasters, based on continuity of operations, prioritization of substantial functions, and the execution of emerging programs to protect the affected population and in vulnerable situation.