South Africa’s Social Policy Response to Covid-19: Relief Measures in an Unequal Society
Date Issued
2021-03
Author(s)
Abstract
This report discusses South Africa’s initial social policy response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It provides a timeline of the early stages of the pandemic and of the government’s legislative interventions. South Africa’s social policy response was premised on the country’s post-apartheid development agenda, which is significantly informed by the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP). In response to the pandemic, South Africa’s government rolled out a social relief and economic support package worth approximately 10% of GDP. This package funded, for instance, a special Covid-19 “Social Relief of Distress Grant” for all those individuals who were unemployed and did not receive any other form of social assistance. South Africa could roll out such a massive social relief and economic support package because the necessary institutional infrastructure was already in place. The report concludes with some reflections on the broader social implications of the pandemic.
Subjects
South Africa
;
Covid-19
;
social policy
Institution
Type
report
Band
21
Secondary publication
No
Language
English
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Name
South Africa.pdf
Size
791.1 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
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