Development Pathways (11.03.2021) As part of recent COVID-19-related legislation, the US Government has committed to provide a quasi-universal child benefit (an affluence-tested “qUCB”) – a monthly child cash benefit where, like in Iceland, only the very wealthiest families will not receive the full amount. This child benefit – which transforms the existing Child Tax Credit (CTC) to pay up to USD 300 per month per child under 6, and USD 250 per child aged 6 to 17 – is likely to have a positive impact far beyond the family budget.

Buying insurance through the government program known as COBRA would temporarily become a lot cheaper. COBRA, for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, generally lets someone who loses a job buy coverage via the former employer. But it’s expensive: Under normal circumstances, a person may have to pay at least 102 percent of the cost of the premium. Under the relief bill, the government would pay the entire COBRA premium from April 1 through Sept. 30. A person who qualified for new, employer-based health insurance someplace else before Sept. 30 would lose eligibility for the no-cost coverage. And someone who left a job voluntarily would not be eligible, either.

AFP (11.03.2021)  With the massive $1.9 trillion US stimulus plan approved by Congress on Wednesday, President Joe Biden is marking a dramatic shift in US social policy, with the goal of cutting child poverty in half. "The American Rescue Plan represents a powerful change in social policy in the United States," said Olivia Golden, executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy. After the economy sustained deep damage from the Covid-19 pandemic, the rescue package aims to boost US growth this year, with some economists predicting an expansion of as much as seven percent.

US Stimulus Bill:  The stimulus payments would be $1,400 for most recipients. Those who are eligible would also receive an identical payment for each of their children. To qualify for the full $1,400, a single person would need an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or below. For heads of household, adjusted gross income would need to be $112,500 or below, and for married couples filing jointly that number would need to be $150,000 or below.

The Washington Post (10.03.2021) President Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, which the House passed Wednesday and Biden is expected to sign this week, is mammoth in scope — a number so large it can be hard to conceptualize in concrete terms. But amid a pandemic that has wrought severe economic damage around the world, many governments have made dramatic spending pledges.

reuters.com (09.03.2021) From Australia to Egypt, migrants and refugees have been especially hard hit by job losses and economic pain during the coronavirus pandemic, with many struggling to access healthcare and state aid, a survey showed on Tuesday. The survey, published in a report by the Red Cross Red Crescent (RCRC) Global Migration Lab

reliefweb.int (2020)

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a $40 million International Development Association (IDA*) grant for the benefit of the people of South Sudan. The South Sudan Safety Net Project (SSSNP) will expand access to safety net and provide income security for low income South Sudanese, while strengthening delivery tools and local level capacities. Nearly 430,000 people will receive cash transfers in 10 counties across South Sudan, including Juba. Specifically, the project will provide cash transfers to the poorest and most vulnerable people for working on public works projects. It will also provide direct grants to those who are unable to work, including people with disabilities, the elderly and pregnant or breastfeeding women, among others, Total budge allocate is US$40 millions.

africanews.com (25.02.2021)

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has extended an Official Development Assistance loan of up to 30 billion Japanese yen ($289 million) to support Mauritius’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic and rebuild its economy. The loan, signed on 24 February, is a parallel co-financing agreement between JICA and the African Development Bank under the Enhanced Private Sector Assistance for Africa (EPSA) joint initiative to spur private sector-led sustainable and inclusive growth in Africa. The co-financing arrangement will help the Mauritius government contain the pandemic, secure livelihoods, and boost the resilience of the economy.

standard.gm (02.10.2020)

The Government of Gambia announced a new 250M Covid-19 emergency fund to support families affected by the economic downturn of the Covid-19 pandemic that includes the provision of a cash package of D3,000 to all families.

standard.gm (01.10.2020)

The Gambia Government plans to give the country’s struggling tourism industry a lifeline with a support package of one hundred million dalasi. The Government agreed to provide a one-off cash transfer of US$50 to each of the small-scale tourism actors whose contact details are available. Since then arrangement were made with Africell for the transfer to each beneficiary. 

The Economist (06.03.2021) The pandemic may mark a new chapter in the nature of social safety-nets

Development Pathways (03.03.2021) Given the need to address child development issues and to improve the coverage of social protection programmes across Papua, the Provincial Government of Papua (PGP) responded by launching BANGGA Papua, a child grant for all indigenous Papuan children from birth until their 4th birthday. BANGGA Papua has reached over 32,000 children (and 23,000 mothers) through a benefit level of 200,000 IDR (~13.50 USD)  per child per month, and has helped the PGP to realise their commitment of achieving a “Generasi  Emas,” or a golden generation of Papuans. 

cnnindonesia.com (05.01.2021)

The government changed the amount and duration of direct cash assistance ( BLT )  for village funds this year. In the previous PMK, village funds were given for nine months with a total amount of Rp. 600 thousand for the first to third months and Rp. 300 thousand for the fourth to ninth months. Now , in Article 39 of the new PMK, the amount of BLT in village funds is given within 12 months with a value of IDR 300 thousand per month.

worldbank.org (04.01.2021)

Strong data systems can play a crucial role in helping governments monitor, manage, and mitigate the impacts of adverse shocks. Ghana is among the countries pursuing such data initiatives. The government’s social protection authorities augmented and adjusted existing data systems to help inform the design, implementation, and monitoring of the country’s social safety net response to the pandemic. In June 2020, in partnership with the government, the World Bank began administering a special, repeated telephone-based survey to track a sample of beneficiaries of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) program, which offers small, regular cash benefits to poor and vulnerable households across the country. The survey sought to gather information on the evolving effects of the COVID-19 crisis on LEAP beneficiaries and their coping behaviors.

BBC News (09.03.2021) The £20 weekly increase in Universal Credit must be extended for at least a year to avoid impoverishing hundreds of thousands of people, MPs have warned. The measure, which has been called a lifeline for struggling families, is in place until the end of March.

EURACTIV.com (12.02.2021) Spain’s labour ministry, trade unions, and employer’s associations have agreed this week in principle to a law improving the rights of food delivery workers employed by global digital platforms like Deliveroo, granting them the status of “permanent staff” instead of self-employed.

EURACTIV.com (04.03.2020) An EU reinsurance scheme to support national unemployment benefits was not part of the European Pillar of Social Rights Action Plan presented on Thursday (4 March), although the European Commission has been supportive of the idea.

Global Development Institute Blog (18.02.2021) Social protection has played a leading role in government responses to Covid-19. Public programmes providing income and in-kind transfers to vulnerable population groups have been strengthened and enhanced to address the effects of the pandemic. In low and middle income countries, the expansion of social assistance provided governments with a ready-made platform to reach and support low income groups. Social assistance infrastructure – social registries, implementation agencies, and local community links – facilitated fast and effective responses to the crisis. In addition to existing conditional income transfers and social pensions, several governments in Latin America implemented temporary income transfer programmes to support workers in informal employment. In high income countries, governments mobilised support for furloughed workers and the unemployed while social assistance transfers plugged the gaps left by welfare state retrenchment. Despite this policy activism, the pandemic has laid bare existing deficiencies in social protection and social assistance (for the USA see here, for the EU here,  and for LMICs here). Looking ahead, the prominent role of public transfers has encouraged expectations that the pandemic could open the door for a reappraisal of investment in social protection.

UN/DESA Policy Brief #92: (Feb 2021) COVID-19 is accelerating the pace of digital transformation: implications for social inclusion

Reuters.com (22.12.2020)

Kenya’s parliament on Tuesday voted to end tax cuts put in place in April to cushion the economy from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, a move lawmakers said would help to plug revenue shortfalls but investors said would hamper a recovery. The tax cuts were introduced weeks after Kenya reported its first case of the coronavirus and aimed to shield East Africa’s richest economy.

apnews.com (01.03.2021) With the floodgates set to open on another round of unemployment aid, states are being hammered with a new wave of fraud as they scramble to update security systems and block scammers who already have siphoned billions of dollars from pandemic-related jobless programs.

aseanbriefing.com (18.02.2021) The House of Representatives in the Philippines have passed House Bill No. 8461 (HB 8461) which seeks to authorize the President to suspend the premium contribution hike to the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), in addition to House Bill No. 8512 (HB 8512), which provides the President the power to defer the scheduled hike in contributions to the Social Security System (SSS). Both PhilHealth and the SSS were mandated by existing laws to increase their premium rates in 2021. However, the onset of the pandemic has drawn opposition from Filipinos and businesses for any increases in premium rates. As such, the government hopes the suspension would provide tax relief for businesses, workers, and the self-employed as the country continues to reel from the economic impact caused by the virus.

ilo.org (23.02.2021)

Up to 17,000 garment workers in Lao PDR affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are to each receive two months’ emergency income support worth 900,000 LAK (approximately US$100). Eligible beneficiaries, of whom 85 per cent are women, will receive the cash transfers by the end of March.

C’est une profession émergente, devenue essentielle à l’heure du confinement : les médiateurs numériques aident à comprendre les outils et les usages digitaux à tous ceux qui ne les maîtrisent pas. Personnes âgées, précaires, mais aussi jeunes, près de 20 % de la population est concernée.