Bolivia during 2020 was the victim of simultaneous political, economic, and public health crises. The three crises interacted with one another in ways that made each individual crisis more severe. The country’s social policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic was uneven. Emergency cash...

Solomon Islands was caught off guard when Covid-19 was declared a global pandemic. Most of its initial efforts were to ensure that the deadly virus did not venture beyond its borders into the community. As a result, it has only recorded 18 border cases to date (8 February 2021). In Solomon...

Argentina’s initial social policy response to Covid-19 focused on protecting employment, wages and basic living conditions. Key policies included cash transfers and food programs for vulnerable families, wage subsidies for private sector workers and subsidized loans for firms and self-employed...

Uruguay’s social policy response to Covid-19 built on a strong social protection system and a favorable social situation that existed before the pandemic arrived. The country’s favorable position in the region enabled the government to gradually reformulate key existing social policies to...

As a major hub for global trade and travel, Singapore was badly affected by the Covid-19 global pandemic. However, the city-state has since managed to curb local transmission of the coronavirus and return employment levels to pre-pandemic levels. These positive outcomes are a result of...

This report examines Ecuador’s social policy response to mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic’s effects and protect vulnerable populations. It chronologically traces containment, closure policies, social policies and programmes put in place following the announcement of Covid-19 as a global...

Turkey’s social policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic combined various conventional and unconventional social policy tools. In a context of already persistently high unemployment rates, the government put an emphasis on labor market reforms to protect employment, with a short-time work...

Peru has one of the highest number of deaths proportional to its population and a severely hit economy, even though it was one of the first countries to implement strict social distancing measures and an ambitious plan for fiscal stimulus and economic relief for households. The response of the...

This report examines the social policy response of the Government of Armenia to the Covid-19 crisis. Official data on the implemented programs suggest that since March 2020, around USD 55 million has been transferred to individuals and households as wage support, unemployment and family...

Zambia’s social policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic is unfolding against a background of severe financial challenges, a squeezed social sector and limited state capacity. There are also concerns about the upcoming general election in August 2021, which is already beginning to shape policy...