Increased social assistance to support vulnerable section of population

UK

- Helping renters and homeowners avoid evictions and foreclosures - Coronavirus relief funds in federal fiscal support for state and local governments - Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program for self-employed, independent contractors and gig workers - Additional allocation under “Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economy Security Act” to provide a food safety net for the most vulnerable and expand unemployment benefits - 2 weeks paid sick leave; up to 3 months emergency leave for infected with food assistance - Additional funding for public services and charities to support households and families - Strengthening the social safety net to support vulnerable people by increasing payments under the Universal Credit scheme - Up to 80% of the salary payment for income below 2,500 pound per month - 6-month Job Support Scheme (JSS) whereby employers will pay the wages of staff for the hours they work while for the hours not worked the government and the employer will each pay one third of their equivalent salary - Statutory Sick Pay relief package for SMEs - Paying the minimum wage for 25 hours per week for six months for young workers at risk of long-term unemployment - Financial supports to Low-income people who need to self-isolate and are unable to work

Apart from the immediate responses at the wake of pandemic, different countries sought for supplementary measures in the subsequent months of pandemic. With direct aids, supportive acts for employees and employers, governments across the world attempted to help citizens shoulder financial and social burdens of the pandemic.

Increased social assistance to support vulnerable section of population

Several countries now have digitized rolls of families eligible for social assistance, along with a capability of making cash payments directly into bank accounts or into mobile wallets from which cash can be extracted at registered dealers. For example, Pakistan introduced the “Ehsaas Emergency Relief program” in April 2020, designed to provide 12 million families with a cash equivalent of $75.53 Macao Special Administrative Region introduced direct cash handouts to transfers to taxi drivers leasing a taxi, lessees of wet market stalls, holders of hawker licenses or holders of tricycle rickshaw licenses.54 Kenya appropriation of an additional KShs. 10 Billion (USD 100M) to the elderly, orphans and other vulnerable members of the society through cash transfers by the ministry of labour and social protection to cushion them from the adverse economic effects of COVID -19 pandemic.55 Turkey has given 1,000 Turkish liras ($150) cash support to 2.1 million low-income households, and decided to reach to another 2.3 million households to support nearly 4.5 million low-income families in total.

53 The impact of COVID-19 on global extreme poverty; Homi Kharas; Wednesday, October 21, 2020 54 https://www.imf.org/en/Topics/imf-and-covid19/Policy-Responses-to-COVID-19#B 55 https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/coronavirus/regional-country/country-responses/lang--en/index.htm#KE