jointsdgfund.org (10.09.2020)

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Saint Lucia to support an expansion of the nation’s Public Assistance Programme (PAP) by 1,000 households as part of the nation’s 2019 coronavirus (COVID-19) response.

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (09.10.2020) Single-parent temporary special allowance is paid to single-parent households if;

1. they receives child-rearing allowances of June 2020;

2. their child-rearing allowances of June 2020 are suspended due to receiving public pensions; or

3. their income dropped as low as child-rearing allowance beneficiaries.

Development Pathways (08.10.2020) COVID-19 has sparked a mass of interest in “basic income”. South Africa’s Minister of Social Development has advocated it; Spain has promised it on a permanent basis; UNDP has argued for it globally (at least on a temporary basis)... But the more you look at basic income, the less attractive it seems, at least from a social protection perspective.

BBC News (07.10.2020) Extreme poverty is set to rise this year for the first time in more than two decades, with coronavirus expected to push up to 115 million people into that category, the World Bank has said.

socialeurope.eu (24.09.2020) The pandemic has brought into focus the social contract between income and contribution which can underpin a solidaristic welfare state.

panapress (11.07.2020) Ten million pieces of soap will be put on the Burundian market monthly, at a price half subsidized by the state, as part of hygienic measures undertaken by the government in partnership with the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) to prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.

The Guardian (24.09.2020) The chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced a replacement for the coronavirus job retention scheme based on a German-style system of wage subsidies. Faced with the prospect of rising job losses this autumn when furlough closes at the end of October, and tougher restrictions on the economy as the pandemic worsens, the “job support scheme” forms the backbone of his winter economy plan. 
The government will contribute towards the wages of employees who are working fewer than normal hours, and will cover 22% of worker pay for six months.  

ilo.org (26.08.2020) A new ILO policy brief shows how public employment services are using technology to increase the help available to people whose jobs have been affected by COVID-19.

ilo.org (23.09.2020) A new ILO analysis of the labour market impact of COVID-19 reveals a “massive” drop in labour income and a fiscal stimulus gap that threatens to increase inequality between richer and poorer countries.

EU Reporter (27.08.2020) German coalition parties agreed on Tuesday (25 August) to extend measures to cushion the effects of the coronavirus crisis on Europe’s biggest economy at a cost of up to €10 billion, including prolonging a short-time work scheme and freezing insolvency rules, write Andreas Rinke, Holger Hansen and Madeline Chambers and Joseph Nasr in Berlin.