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Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in The Gambia

Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in The Gambia
The Gambia is a small country in West Africa with a population of only 2.4 million people. The most recent statistics from the World Bank have indicated that as of 2015, 10.3% of the population was living below the poverty line. The pandemic has had a devastating impact on The Gambia, both in terms of its people and the country’s economic stability.

The U.N. has been working with the Gambian government, development partners and other stakeholders to nurture a comprehensive partnership to build back for the better. This is part of a global effort to ensure that the disruption that the COVID-19 pandemic caused does not lead to more challenges than the virus itself.

The Impact on Employment in The Gambia

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on employment in The Gambia. For example, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has predicted that unemployment rates increased from 9.5% to 11.2% from 2019 to 2021. This is because many businesses had to close or reduce operations in response to the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic in The Gambia has led to a reduction in economic activity since people’s incomes have decreased and the prices of goods and services have increased.

Additionally, COVID-19 in The Gambia has led to the decline of many economic sectors including the tourism industry. For example, the number of tourists in the country dropped to 53.7% from February to March 2020. According to the Gambian Bureau of Statistics, out of 266 formal tourism establishments, 167 had to reduce their trained staff while the other 65 establishments reduced the pay of their staff.

The Economic Impacts

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on poverty in The Gambia. The country was already struggling with high levels of poverty, and the pandemic has made it even harder for people to make ends meet.

The impact of COVID-19 on poverty in The Gambia has led to slower economic growth in the country. The Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs indicated that the economic impact of COVID-19 would lead to a loss of 2.5 million Gambian dalasis equivalent to almost $50,000. As a result, the economy would shrink from 6.3% in 2020 to 3.3%.

Solutions

The government of The Gambia has responded to the outbreak by implementing a number of measures to support those the pandemic has affected. These include providing financial assistance to households impacted by job losses, increasing food production and expanding access to health care.

In April 2020, the government started a food relief program to help almost 84% of the population, providing them with 50 kg of rice, cooking oil and sugar. Additionally, The Gambia provided loans to small and medium Enterprises (SME) so that they do not lay off their staff members and can boost their business.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic has had a dramatic socio-economic impact on poverty in The Gambia. This is mainly due to the fact that the pandemic has caused a decline in economic activity. However, with the help and support from the government, The Gambia was able to stabilize after the pandemic also with the help from donors such as WHO who were able to provide masks and vaccines to people and also aid from USAID that helped improve the livelihood of people from The Gambia.

Without this support, many more people would live in poverty in the Gambia. While the pandemic has been a tragedy for so many, it is heartening to see that there are some people and organizations who are working to make a difference.

– Frida Sendoro
Photo: Flickr

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Australia

The Impact of COVID-19 On Poverty In Australia
While the rest of the world became vulnerable to poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic, Australia showed a remarkable immunity to the pandemic’s effects on poverty. In fact, in 2020, Australia managed to reduce poverty by 50% and “significantly reduce income inequality.” As such, this Oceania country became a model for other countries. However, after 2020, Australia began to abandon the measures it implemented to protect people from poverty, worsening the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Australia.

Initial Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Australia

Typically, poverty increases during a recession. However, this was not the case in Australia during the Alpha wave of the pandemic. A recent report released by the UNSW Sydney and ACOSS Poverty and Inequality Partnership in March 2022 highlights how Australia decreased poverty from March 2020 to December 2020.

Despite unemployment rates increasing from 5.1% to 17% and the gross domestic product (GDP) shrinking by 7% during the June quarter of 2020, the “average incomes of the lowest 80% of households” expanded from March 2020 to December 2020. More specifically, the average income of the lowest 20% income population increased by 8% and the middle 20% saw an average income increase of 11%.

In 2019, about 3 million people lived in poverty in Australia, but in June 2020, poverty affected 2.6 million people, which is about 50% less than Australia expected.

This is largely due to the Coronavirus Supplement, which is an additional top-up payment for people on welfare. It supplemented the JobSeeker Payment, which began in March 2020 as a government-issued support to help employers retain employees.

Because of the coupled efforts of the Coronavirus Supplement and the JobSeeker Payment, 9.9% of the population stood below the line of poverty in June 2020 compared to the 22.7% expected poverty percentage without further income support.

Poverty among people on JobSeeker Payment support also reduced sharply, dropping from 76% in 2019 to 15% in 2020.

How the Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Australia Reversed

During the Delta wave of the pandemic in 2021, Australia imposed lockdowns and “the effective unemployment rate” (individuals working no hours and people who exited the workforce) increased to 9%. This is because, by April 2021, Australia had eliminated both the Coronavirus Supplement and JobKeeper Payment. It introduced the COVID Disaster Payment in September 2021, but this support had a more narrow target — “80[%] of those on the lowest income support payment were excluded,” says UNSW Sydney. Subsequently, poverty rates increased by roughly 20% and income inequality rose along with it.

In September 2021, only 17% of “people under the lockdown on the lowest income support payments” received the COVID-19 Disaster Payment, which most likely left the remaining people, 765,000, in poverty. When Australia phased out the COVID-19 Disaster Payment, around 1.6 million people were on “lowest income support payments” — roughly “25% more than before the pandemic” in 2019.

The Government and Poverty

Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic shows that the government can end poverty. As Dr. Cassandra Goldie said in an article by UNSW Sydney, poverty and income inequality grow because of government policies, but when governments introduce effective social policies, like the Coranavirus Supplement, poverty can also greatly reduce. By spending on essentials and sending out vital help, the government was able to keep people in jobs, softening the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Australia. Thus, Australia’s unique situation during the pandemic reveals the power the government holds in exacerbating or ending poverty.

– Samyukta Gaddam
Photo: Unsplash

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How the Canadian Job Market Made A Comeback After COVID-19

Canadian Job Market
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, Canada’s unemployment rate first jumped to the highest it had been in more than two decades. In just two years, it dropped to almost the lowest it has ever been. As in many countries, the Canadian job market struggled after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many people had trouble finding work during the first few months of the pandemic. However, Canada has managed to create a staggering number of jobs since then. Now, the country’s job market is, arguably, in better shape than it was prior to the start of the pandemic.

Pre-COVID-19

 Before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Canadian job market had been enjoying a prolonged period of prosperity. From 2009 until 2019, Canada’s unemployment rate decreased almost every year, with a low in 2019 0f 5.7%, an all-time low for the country.

In February 2020, just before the start of the pandemic, Canada’s unemployment rate was at 5.5%, only a slight increase from 2019 and there were some signs of encouragement. Employment amongst youth had increased, although with little change to other age groups. Additionally, a number of provinces had also seen increases in employment. Most notably, Quebec increased its employment by 20,000. Other provinces that had increased employment during this same period were Alberta, Nova Scotia and Manitoba.

How COVID-19 Affected the Job Market

As COVID-19 began to spread, many nations required massive shutdowns of companies and businesses to combat the virus. People worldwide either had to work remotely or lost their jobs entirely. Canada was no exception to this as the number of jobs available decreased by more than 3 million in the months of March and April 2020.

Canada’s unemployment rate rose to 13.7% in May 2020, the highest it had been since 1993. Most of the jobs that Canada lost had been recovered during the summer of 2020 and yet, recovery efforts slowed as the virus began to ramp up again that fall. Another wave of job losses also occurred in January 2022 as a result of precautionary shutdowns in response to the Omicron variant.

The pandemic had the largest impact on women, young workers and workers with low wages. Unemployment for those between the ages of 15-24 rose far more sharply than any other age group. Before the pandemic, women had a lower unemployment rate than men. However, in May, unemployment spiked for both genders and women had the higher rate.

Post-COVID-19

In just two years since the start of the pandemic, the Canadian job market has rebounded in impressive fashion. Not only did the country’s unemployment rate return to where it was prior to the shutdowns, but it was also even lower than it was in early 2020. In February 2022, Canada’s unemployment rate stood at 5.5%, lower than the 5.7% rate it was in February 2020. That is also just about the all-time low of 5.4% that it reached in 2019.

Much of the decrease in the unemployment rate can be due to Canada’s unprecedented job creation. The nation has been able to create thousands of jobs per month over several months. In November 2021, 154,000 jobs were added and 54,700 jobs were created in December. Following the temporary Omicron shutdown, Canada added 337,000 more jobs in February 2022.

While many jobs recovered thanks to businesses reopening after the start of the pandemic, the Canadian government also introduced various measures to improve the state of the job market. One of these was the Canada Recovery Hiring Program which helped employers rehire employees with an added boost to their salaries. The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy allowed millions of Canadians to keep their jobs so that their employers could rehire them once the positions were available again. The Canada Recovery Hiring Program provided assistance to employers that would help them rehire employees, create new jobs and increase hours for those jobs. The combination of the policies and others allowed Canada’s job market to rebound tremendously.

Looking Ahead

After losing more than 3 million jobs at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada has managed to get its job market in a better position than it was prior to the pandemic. Rapid job creation that shattered expectations has allowed millions of citizens to return to work and many to begin working. It appears that Canada has made the best of what was, otherwise, an unfortunate situation.

– Tyshon Johnson
Photo: Flickr

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Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Cote d’Ivoire

Impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Cote d’Ivoire
The breakout of COVID-19 in 2020 had dramatic consequences on the economy of Cote d’Ivoire. Closing public spaces, quarantines and curfews helped to limit the spread of COVID-19 but created a rise in unemployment. Consequently, there has been a significant impact on poverty in Cote d’Ivoire due to COVID-19.

The Increase in Extreme Poverty After the COVID-19 Outbreak

As a result of measures to counter COVID-19, 85% of the informal workers in the country lost their jobs. Furthermore, COVID-19 measures have destroyed more than 1.3 million jobs and 71.7% of the households have a lower income than before the health crisis.

However, the poorest people of Cote d’Ivoire were the ones who suffered the most from the consequences of anti-COVID policies. In fact, 1.37 million households went under the poverty line and the poorest people lost on average more than 30% of their revenues, the UNDP reported.

According to the UNDP, extreme poverty in the country increased by four between 2019 and 2020 due to the COVID-19 consequences on the economy. Then, between 2020 and 2021, the share of the population living with less than $1.90 per day went from 18.3% to 20.2%. It shows how urgent it is to counter the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Cote d’Ivoire.

New Measures to Fight Against Extreme Poverty

The government developed policies and programs in 2020 to help the economy recover as well as to reduce as much as possible extreme poverty. As a matter of fact, the country’s budget increased from $14.8 billion in 2021 to $16 billion in order to increase the number of anti-poverty policies and strengthen the health sector.

Furthermore, as 93% of the labor force works in the informal sector, many policies have been implemented to support this critical economic sector and to avoid more poverty among the workers in this sector. Indeed, starting from March 2020, workers from the informal sector are benefiting from the same social security through the Social Regime for the Self-Employed (RSTI).

The Informal Sector Support Fund (FASI)

In addition to the RSTI, which Cote d’Ivoire adopted before the pandemic, the government launched the Informal Sector Support Fund (FASI) in May 2020 to financially support the companies and the workers of the informal sector which suffered heavily from the economic consequences of COVID-19. The implementation plan of the FASI has four phases. Between June and August 2020, the first phase aimed to identify potential beneficiaries and grant subsidies and loans. The second phase between September 2020 and February 2021 was about training and follow-up support for beneficiaries to avoid bankruptcy and the destruction of jobs following the COVID-19 outbreak.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Solidarity and Fight Against Poverty started its research on extreme poverty in October 2021. This research provided a better view of extreme poverty with detailed statistics and determinants of extreme poverty within all the regions of Cote d’Ivoire in the period following the COVID-19 crisis.

Conclusion of the Study

This study helped increase the efficiency of the National Register for poor and vulnerable households. Since the launching of its operational phase in 2019, the register is one of the most important policies the government implemented to tackle poverty in Cote d’Ivoire. Indeed, this unique database currently helps to examine the social needs that come from the consequences of COVID-19 on the economy and provide social programs to the ones who need them with high efficiency. This is because the database informs governments of exactly where and for what they need to send help.

The United Nations agencies, and especially the UNDP which provided $1.8 million to Cote d’Ivoire, are supporting on a daily basis the government of Cote d’Ivoire in their fight against COVID-19 consequences.

With such ambitious policies, the government is facing the impact of COVID-19 on the economy of Cote d’Ivoire, hoping to eradicate extreme poverty and allow an even brighter future for the country at the same time.

– Evan Da Costa Marques
Photo: Wikipedia Commons

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The Battle to Improve Vaccine Access in Brazil

Vaccine Access for Brazil
During the pandemic, many governments have worked independently and together to combat the virus and provide vaccinations for citizens in their states. However, Brazil has proven itself to be an exception, as vaccine access for Brazil was incredibly limited due to the president’s resistance. However, as of June 2022, 80% of the population is now vaccinated, and this rate is higher than the world average.

How President Bolsonaro is Infringing on Vaccination Rights and Access

Brazil operates on a universal health system that guarantees public access to necessary vaccines. In fact, vaccination rights have constitutional protection and the government has a legal duty to ensure them. As in all other countries, the circumstances that the pandemic caused generated an urgent need for vaccines, requiring a rapid, planned response by government authorities. However, President Bolsonaro failed to make COVID-19 mitigation a political priority throughout the country. He turned his back on science to endanger the health and lives of Brazilians and adopted policies that placed their health at great risk. One of his main methods involved spreading false information about COVID-19.

President Bolsonaro also opposed social distancing, refused to wear a mask, and regularly shook hands with his supporters. His ultimate goal was to achieve herd immunity in Brazil by allowing the disease to spread. Additionally, he deliberately refused to follow WHO recommendations and sought to block officials from following COVID-19 mitigation guidelines, vetoing legal mask mandates. President Bolsonaro’s failure to prioritize the health of his citizens shows his disregard for human rights amid a global pandemic. Thankfully, however, other actors were eager to take this task into their own hands.

ANVISA’s Crucial Role in Vaccine Access

Now, more than 80% of the Brazilian population has received COVID-19 vaccines. These vaccinations have undergone successful distribution through the National Immunization Program. Yet, distributing these vaccines was not easy — rather, President Bolsonaro’s neglect of public health guidance made distribution more complicated. The main actor behind vaccination distribution was ANVISA, the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency. ANVISA works with the Ministry of Health, which is responsible for controlling and regulating health-related products in Brazil.

The Ministry issued several regulations to enable the distribution of emergency vaccines, but it lagged in its development of a national COVID-19 vaccination plan. Thus, ANVISA took matters into its own hands and negotiated vaccine access for Brazil with willing and available manufacturers. However, the Ministry’s standstill is understandable, considering President Bolsonaro’s eagerness to undermine the pandemic and the fear that officials would receive negative retaliation for combatting the virus. Because of this fear, the ministry lost the trust of many Brazilian citizens. Therefore, ANVISA was able to quickly gain public trust and vaccine access for Brazil because of its administrative independence, financial autonomy and the stability of its leaders and technical personnel. Additionally, it gave scientifically supported and unbiased solutions and technical decisions.

ANVISA’s role has proven to be incredibly crucial. It has issued emergency regulations and analyzed requests for the emergency use of vaccines, demonstrating its thought processes through open, public meetings. ANVISA presented every decision to the Brazilian community, which increased public trust in the approved vaccines.

Struggles to Access COVID-19 Vaccines

Acquiring these vaccines was difficult, as one of the only allowed options was the Sputnik V vaccine, which initially did not receive approval from ANVISA and therefore could not be imported to and used in Brazil. In the meantime, ANVISA worked with local Brazilian governments to negotiate for vaccine access and advance other non-pharmacological efforts to control the pandemic and spread trusted and accurate public health information. Some of these efforts included partial lockdowns and social distancing, for example. These efforts generated more public trust, which paved the way for the eventual vaccination campaign.

ANVISA’s technical performance and consistent course of action eventually assisted local governments in importing safe, effective vaccines and increasing community trust in products, thus improving vaccine access for Brazil. One such process involved giving the Russian COVID-19 vaccine a chance, despite concerns because otherwise, there would not be enough vaccines. Despite safety concerns, ANVISA allowed Sputnik vaccines into Brazil, importing 928,000 doses. Even though this is just a fraction of the total that Brazil requested, it went a long way. However, importing the Sputnik vaccine meant that stringent measures to monitor the vaccine’s safety had to undergo implementation.

Now, Brazil can selectively import vaccines that specific countries have approved for emergency use. It is now restricting Sputnik imports and monitoring them closely. Only healthy adults are eligible for the Sputnik shots and vaccine distributors within Brazil must specify that the vaccine is a Sputnik vaccine.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed, overall, that Brazil’s federal government was not ready to deal with an international public health emergency — a lack of governance and political influence over science prevented the Ministry of Health from vaccinating the country, but thankfully, ANVISA’s consistency in action assisted local governments in eventually vaccinating most of the country. This demonstrates the cruciality of administrative autonomy in organizations and the abilities that such organizations have in implementing policies and actions that help preserve the health of an entire country.

– Shiloh Harrill
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Games Done Quick Generates Millions for Global Healthcare

Games Done Quick
Crammed into the convention center of a suburban Minneapolis DoubleTree Hilton, thousands sat in a room filled with chairs, a pair of projection screens, a TV, a few gaming consoles and PCs, a stack of prizes and a couch, listening to the clicks of keyboards and joysticks over seven days. Competitors, many of whom were unknowns sitting among the crowd, trained for years, memorizing specific levels paths and honing their muscle memories, in anticipation for this week. Around the world, millions watch the lightning-fast action online, shooting comments into a scrolling chat box and sending in donations to fill up a green bar at the bottom of the screen. This is the scene of a typical Games Done Quick event. Generally, people are here for two things: to see video games — from classics like Super Mario Bros. to newcomers like Elden Ring — finished in record-breaking times and to generate millions of dollars toward saving lives.

About Games Done Quick (GDQ)

Games Done Quick, also known simply as GDQ, is a series of live-streamed and in-person charity events built around marathons of video game speed runs. Speedrunning is a popular style of gaming where players attempt to complete sections or entire games as quickly as possible — sometimes using hacks and/or glitches to achieve better times. GDQ typically regularly hosts two major events throughout the year: Awesome Games Done Quick and Summer Games Done Quick.

Though these events focus on speed-running video games, GDQ’s central goal is raising money for nonprofits. In the past, it has even controversially switched which games participants would play mid-event in hopes of maximizing the amount of viewership and donations. Over the nine years that GDQ has been hosting events, they have raised a total of $34 million toward charities that fight cancer, provide education to women in the developing world, and give health care to those around the world who would otherwise not receive it.

GDQ and Doctors Without Borders

Doctors Without Borders is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide medical care to anyone who needs it. According to its website, it works in more than 70 countries. Typically, the organization works mostly in conflict zones, areas where natural disasters have hit and locations where access to traditional health care is either limited or nonexistent.

Recently, Doctors Without Borders has been involved in the global response to COVID-19 by supporting developing nations’ overwhelmed healthcare systems, refugee search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean Sea and providing displaced peoples from the Lake Chad region of Africa medical attention as the area experiences a period of violent conflict.

In July 2022, GDQ hosted its annual Summer Games Done Quick, benefitting Doctors Without Borders. It was its first in-person event since 2019, having switched to an online format during the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, viewers watching on the popular live streaming platform Twitch donated more than $3 million to Doctors Without Borders. According to its website, GDQ claims to be the largest event in the world raising money for Doctors Without Borders.

The Future of GDQ and Live Streaming for Charity

In August 2022, GDQ plans to host “Flame Fatales,” which will feature a cast of female-only speedrunners and benefit the Malala Foundation. The Malala Foundation is a nonprofit advocating for the funding of secondary education for girls around the world and supporting education activists.

Outside of GDQ, Twitch, among other live streaming services, has served as a platform for numerous other fundraisers. These include large-scale, produced events, such as GDQ, but also individual streamers encouraging their viewership to donate to charity while watching.

In 2021, French streamers ZeratoR and Dach hosted Z Event 2021 on Twitch. By collaborating with other popular streamers, they raised a record-breaking $11.5 million to fight world hunger through the organization Action Against Hunger.

Throughout his career, individual streamer Nick28T has driven those watching his gaming streams to donate more than $200,000 to the BC Cancer Foundation, which funds cancer research, advocacy and care for patients living in British Columbia.

In 2020 alone, Twitch reported that streamers across the site managed to raise over $81 million for charity. In response to the popularity of charity streams, Twitch has invested in specially made tools for philanthropy. It has partnered with Tiltify, a service that provides streamers with fundraising overlays, donation tracking tools and more. The partnership represents the company’s attempt to compete with other platforms like YouTube and Facebook to host these massive charity drives as more fundraisers choose to go digital.

– Ryan Morton
Photo: Flickr

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The Importance of Foreign Aid in Times of Crisis

Foreign Aid in Times of Crisis
The world seems to be dwindling under a series of historic shocks. Beginning with a global pandemic in 2020 and moving to a new war in Europe as well as significant changes in abortion legislation in the U.S., many parts of the world are moving into an energy crisis. With wealthy nations having their hands full with domestic issues and geopolitical antagonism, developing countries are on their own. Here is why foreign aid in times of crisis is a critical issue and what some are doing about it.

Partnership and Security

When globalization is on the decline, poorer countries often end up on their own. That puts the countries in a position where they have to find countries and organizations that are still willing to provide foreign aid in times of crisis to them after wealthier western countries have disregarded their needs. Instead wealthier western countries defaulted on their promises to raise living standards and increase national security. With the world becoming increasingly fragmented with a lack of genuine cooperation, global welfare and security are at a large risk. Further, global issues, such as the climate crisis, that require a joint effort from as many nations as possible, will be even harder to address.

Changing Weather Patterns

Whilst changing weather patterns are a hurdle that every country needs to face and adapt to, it is the low-income countries that carry the brunt of it. Especially, the sub-Saharan regions in Africa that such weather phenomena affect leading those regions to be reliant on long-term investment. A study that the IMF conducted has shown that one draught can decrease an African country’s medium-term economic growth potential by one percentage point. Meanwhile, savings from long-term investments that go towards improving resilience and coping mechanisms have proven to be of great significance. Some of the coping mechanisms include improved seed varieties, durable health systems and refined access to finance and telecommunications.

In Ethiopia alone, farmers’ yield increased by 40% as a result of improved seed varieties that proved resistant to rust, a fungus. Unfortunately, countries that face challenges of adaption most often do not possess the means to do so. The farmers lack funding and institutional capacity, hence why it is down to the international community to prevent changing weather patterns from threatening development and stability in low-income countries.

Impact of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has cost 15 million lives and pushed 100 million people into poverty in 2020 alone. The pandemic demanded a unified response across nations, constituting large amounts of foreign aid in times of crisis, to prevent a setback in human development and human rights. Yet, that did not happen. Instead, developed countries injected trillions of dollars into their own recovery, leaving poorer countries to mend themselves. It does not come as any surprise that in May 2022, 72% of people in high-income countries received at least one dose of the COVID vaccine, contrary to 17% in low-income countries.

With developing countries entering the pandemic with lower fiscal buffers than they had in 2008-09, in the aftermath they are now faced with unequal recovery, effects of the climate crisis and economic shocks to food, fuel and financial markets. Arguably, the neglect of the global responsibility that wealthy countries cause this. The U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres’ stressed to the Economic and Social Council segment on operational activities for development, in New York, in May that “In a world of crisis, rescuing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is more important than ever.”

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

More encouraging is the 2030 Agenda that the United Nations developed which constitutes a reformed development system to provide foreign aid in times of crisis that matches countries’ needs and priorities. No poverty, no hunger, good health, quality education and gender equality are only some examples of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that aim to accelerate progress in low-income countries.

To promote substantial change, funding is necessary. With less than 10 years left, world leaders at the SDG Summit in 2019 promoted “A decade of action and delivery for sustainable development”. This represents the kind of innovative, cooperative model the world needs to rekindle relationships, strengthen organizations and expand financing in times of crisis.

The World Bank Suspends Debt

In an attempt to ease the burden COVID-19 and other shocks have put on low-income countries, the world has introduced the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI). The initiative suspended $12.9 billion in debt-service payments for 48 participating countries, allowing them to focus their financial capacities on protecting the lives and livelihoods of their citizens.

Looking Ahead

The multitude of crises and complexity of domestic and global issues that the world is facing has led to a demand for stronger leadership and cooperation at all levels. Moreover, the bar is rising higher for the wealthier nations to live up to their responsibility to lower-income nations by providing enough funding to prevent setbacks in human development and promote sustainable progress.

– Pauline Lützenkirchen
Photo: Flickr

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The Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Guatemala

impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Guatemala
Despite the poverty rate in Guatemala rising from 45.6% to 47% in 2020, social protection programs have prevented a calamity as the implications of COVID-19 hit vulnerable households. UNICEF initiated financial and social programs to support households in Guatemala to ease the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Guatemala.

Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Guatemala

The COVID- 19 pandemic devastated Guatemala as one of the most impoverished countries in Central America. The state suffered numerous losses as its already poor health system faces challenges in keeping up with the pandemic events. According to Alonzo et al. (2021), the pandemic complicated pre-pandemic stressors given that Guatemala is known for high rates of chronic malnutrition, poverty and inequality.

Poverty Rate in Guatemala

With increasing population rates, Guatemala is a country faced with crises that require humanitarian interventions. According to the World Bank, Guatemala’s poverty rate of 52.4% in 2020 has created vulnerabilities that harshly affect children. Chronic child malnutrition impacts 47% of children younger than 5 and 58% of Indigenous Guatemalan children.

Additionally, Hurricanes Eta and Iota led to devastation for numerous households, increasing the catastrophic implications of COVID-19 in November 2020. The IFRC reported that “at least 1.5 million people were displaced in Central America as a consequence of disasters, including Hurricanes Eta and Iota: 937,000 in Honduras, 339,000 in Guatemala and 232,000 in Nicaragua.” Such projections paint the true situation in Guatemala as poverty ravages the population.

Government Responses in Guatemala

Since 2018, Guatemala has introduced social and financial programs targeting poverty alleviation. The nation allocated 1.3% of its GDP to fund projects like Bono Social, the national cash transfer program, and Bono Familia, an emergency cash assistance program to support families during COVID-19.

According to Cejudo et al. (2020), Bono Familia provides a “temporal supplementary monthly income of $130 to vulnerable families with a monthly electricity consumption below 200 kWh (based on their electricity bill).” Combined with Bono Social, the national cash transfer scheme, the government supported vulnerable families, ensuring they received financial aid to boost their economic situation.

Other programs include Fondo de Protección al Empleo and Bono al Comercio Popular. The former establishes a temporary daily income for formal workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic. The latter targeted informal traders. However, the public criticized these government interventions due to poor execution. Additionally, the bureaucratic nature of the fund distribution made it difficult for the targeted families to receive financial assistance.

Role of UNICEF in Mitigating COVID-19’s Impact

The Ministry of Social Development (MIDES) and UNICEF have been working together to improve the administrative and managerial processes that support Guatemala’s interventions for poverty that the COVID-19 pandemic caused. With the support of the World Bank, UNICEF introduced initiatives to support Guatemala’s social protection frameworks. By launching an effective Management Information System (MIS), UNICEF initiated strategies to enhance children’s access to education and health services. As part of the Bono Social initiative, the goal was to fulfill the potential of young boys and girls through education.

Within three months of Bono Familia’s implementation, UNICEF and World Bank helped more than 2.6 million people across 340 municipalities in Guatemala through emergency cash transfers. Therefore, as families lost income through employment loss, the program boosted their financial support to protect vulnerable households.

Accessing Vulnerable Households

UNICEF faced difficulties reaching vulnerable households, especially since the organization lacked data on the social demographic of Guatemalans. To overcome this, the humanitarian organization introduced an innovative platform that enabled a social registry. Consequently, this ensured the Guatemalan government could enhance its cash transfer policies to meet the objectives of its social programs. Therefore, Guatemalans received cash injections that allowed payment in pharmacies, stores and gas stations.

Through technological solutions, UNICEF learned more about responding to Guatemala’s poverty. According to its report, most of the younger population supported the older generation, ensuring they received access to social programs. Additionally, the integrated platform has undergone establishment on a national grid, allowing better approaches for implementing future programs.

Eradicating Poverty in Guatemala

As Guatemala enhances its social protection programs to ensure every household can access them, eradicating poverty must follow strategic responses aligned to its economic and political framework. According to UNICEF, legal and political ideologies should support the vision of social protection programs, mainly targeting vulnerable households. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the challenge of poverty in Guatemala and responses must focus on addressing gaps in technology and information to better access vulnerable families.

Most importantly, engaging with humanitarian groups to increase contact points in social protection programs has enhanced the capabilities of the Guatemalan government in mitigating poverty. As more community stakeholders involve themselves in the implementation stages at local and national levels, organizational capacities to reduce poverty in Guatemala are more effective. With UNICEF offering support to “develop a consolidated social protection system which includes strengthening all child-focused social protection programs, enhancing access to services as well as early childhood programs and augmenting humanitarian support,” stakeholders can effectively mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Guatemala.

– Hanying Wang
Photo: Flickr

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Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Djibouti

Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Djibouti
Djibouti has not recorded any cases of COVID-19 since the end of June 2021, but the country is yet to overcome the social and economic impacts of the pandemic. The onset of the pandemic in March 2020 compounded poverty in Djibouti due to protective measures. Long-term consequences of these measures reflect in the increased vulnerability of all citizens, increased dependence on the government for basic needs and significantly reduced income levels and opportunities. Poor households are struggling the most to recover as some have slipped into extreme poverty. Poverty levels, in general, have risen, as the increase of underfed people from 43% of the population in January 2020 to 54% as of April 2022 illustrates. Here is some information about the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Djibouti and some efforts to alleviate it.

Food Insecurity

Djibouti faces harsh climatic conditions including multiple concurrent droughts which make it difficult to conduct agricultural activities. The agricultural industry only accounts for approximately 3% to 4% of Djibouti’s GDP which is continually shrinking due to high rates of rural to urban migration. As a result, the state relies on imports for 90% of its food supply, according to a World Food Programme (WFP) report.

Food insecurity levels increased and 17% of the population lives below the extreme poverty line. The COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the impacts of pre-existing issues by limiting income activities, further increasing poverty in Djibouti. Reduced trade also increased food prices and reduced food supply.

Income and Unemployment

The informal sector economic backbone of Djibouti and accounted for 47% of employment before the pandemic. Trade and transportation accounted for approximately 20.2% and 25.6% of economic activity alone. However, during the pandemic, 89% of the population did not travel unless necessary and 77% reduced market visits, according to the World Bank report from September 2020.

The national lockdown affected services, construction, general trade and transportation too. Consequently, unemployment increased by 20% shortly after the beginning of the pandemic. As the poor survive as daily workers, they were the largest share of the increase.

Since the end of the lockdown, economic activity is gradually returning to normal. The number of people receiving partial wages has increased but the number of people receiving full wages has also decreased. Additionally, the poor are recovering slower than other income levels and are still more likely to receive no wages for their labor. According to the World Bank report from December 2020, 44% of households primarily depend on government assistance, with wages being a secondary source of income as a result of COVID-19.

Women

According to the World Bank report from September 2020, “Around 37% and 34% of male breadwinners are employees and employers respectively, compared with 26% and 27% among the female breadwinners.” Female unemployment rose from 36.4% in 2019 to 39.4% in 2021. Djibouti did not have gender-sensitive COVID-19 response measures. Men were more likely to receive full payment for their work as compared to women, however, men were also more like to receive no payment, according to the World Bank report from September 2020.

The Crisis Response Support Programme

The African Development Bank (AfDB) provided UA 30 million ($41 million, as of July 2020) for a COVID-19 response program in Somalia and Djibouti between 2020 and 2021. In Djibouti, the program was to cushion the impact of the pandemic on the economy, strengthen the existing health care system and build resilience that would outlast the pandemic. As a result, the program set up five centers at strategic locations including the capital’s airport, at state borders and at the two main refugee camps to manage the spread of COVID-19.

The funds also partially contributed to the creation of the Djibouti Social Fund which was responsible for the food security of vulnerable groups and protected economic activities that the pandemic affected. AfDB also provided 65,000 food kits for vulnerable households and set up the Djibouti Partial Credit Guarantee Fund to provide banking services to companies suffering cash flow problems due to the pandemic.

The Horn of Africa Initiative

The Horn of Africa Initiative gathers Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan as well as international partners, the AfDB, the World Bank and the European Union (EU). Its purpose is to promote peace, stability and sustainable development through regional economic integration. In 2022, the European Union (EU) will contribute €430 million from an initial €162 million to the Horn of Africa Initiative, so as to increase resilience and food security in the region. This is in light of the impact of COVID-19, changing weather patterns and the Russia-Ukraine war that has caused inflation of food and fuel prices.

As more people have become vulnerable to poverty in Djibouti after the pandemic, it is clear that the country needs much support to fully overcome the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Djibouti. The efforts of the African Development Bank and the European Union could not be more timely. Due to their cooperation with the government, the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Djibouti has been manageable and more importantly, reversible.

– Kena Irungu
Photo: Flickr

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Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Spain

Impact of COVID-19 on Poverty in Spain
There is no question that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused mayhem across the globe over the past few years and the virus, alongside its health, social and economic implications, has effectively left no corner of the world untouched. Even wealthier nations within Europe, like Spain, have had their fair share of setbacks thanks to the pandemic. Thankfully, however, this nation has been blessed with an equipped and responsive government as well as various charitable corporations and NGOs, who have made it their mission to see the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Spain be negligible.

Early Action

Much like other affluent countries, Spain implemented a Royal Decree-Law 11/2020 at the beginning of the pandemic to counteract the widespread loss of both jobs and income. This was most certainly a vital measure when considering the following.

In 2020, the unemployment rate shot up to 16.5% as a consequence of government lockdowns. Contrast this rate with the 14% seen at the beginning of the year. It quickly became evident that over a million Spaniards were at risk of no longer being able to afford essentials like housing, food and other things of the sort. In other words, the potential impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Spain was a huge concern.

The nation was reporting more than 8,000 new COVID-19 cases a day at the beginning of the pandemic and thus the Spanish congress understood that they could not carry on business as usual and that they needed to restrict societal mobility via the closing of non-essential stores and businesses, halting commerce and slashing over 600,000 jobs.

Regarding the Royal Decree, officials took it one step further, going as far as to pause rent payments for the financially vulnerable so that there would be no immense backlog of fees at the conclusion of the eviction suspension.

This bold step caused evictions to decrease by 90% in the second quarter of 2020. Another noteworthy form of aid was the introduction of Universal Basic Income (UBI) for the nation’s most impoverished, an unprecedented move not attempted in any other region of the world. Nearly a million qualified for payments that equated to about €1,015.

Supplementary income had benefited roughly 22% of the Spanish population during the virus’ initial wave, helping keep families fed and stable in a time full of such great instability.

The Private Sector

The public response was not the only combatant to the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Spain that deserves praise. Private industry also stepped up in the wake of Spain’s Coronavirus crisis, with numerous companies and organizations making it their priority to keep communities both secure and safe during a moment of impending doom.

CAF, for instance, a popular development bank in Latin America, decided to donate $600,000 to Spain and its neighbor Portugal to assist them in their fight against COVID-19 and its ramifications. Consequently, about 25,000 Spanish families gained access to medical supplies that were otherwise out of reach.

Closer to home, big corporate names like Siegwerk donated to established and dependable charities like Banco de Alimentos and Caritas, which have a long track record of helping ease the hunger of countless Spaniards. Thanks to donations like these, Caritas was able to assist many vulnerable people and families in obtaining their basic necessities like shelter and food.

What Does This Mean for the Rest of the World?

The innovative and generous government response to the impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Spain as well as the sympathetic actions of large corporations leaves the world with a lot to be hopeful for. Despite the complete shuttering of the economy, the amount of Spaniards at risk of poverty only increased from 20.7% in January 2020 to 21% in December 2020, making it appear as though the COVID-19 catastrophe never actually happened. The impact of COVID-19 on poverty in Spain was fairly minimal because officials were able to put their constituents first and profit-driven companies were able to overlook their finances for the general welfare. Given such dynamics, it seems the ideals of humanity are no longer too far out of reach.

No one in Spain would be willing to proclaim COVID-19 a blessing with its toll on the economy and human life, but as the old saying goes: “when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade” and that is precisely what this European nation has accomplished.

– Jacob Lawhern
Photo: Flickr