Children and COVID-19 Research Library

This rapid country assessments launched by the Employment, LabourMarkets and Youth Branch (EMPLAB) of the ILO in around 14 countries aims to provide constituents and other policy-makers with a practical tool for the real-time diagnosis of the employment impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to inform policy responses. Serbia adopted the most generous and comprehensive economic package among the Western Balkan economies, providing near universal support to both firms and citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Young people’s employment prospects in Asia and the Pacific are severely challenged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Youth will be hit harder than adults in the immediate crisis and also will bear higher longer-term economic and social costs. Before the pandemic, young people were already facing challenges in the labour market. These are worsened by the COVID-19 crisis, and its multiple effects threaten to create a “lockdown generation” that will feel the weight of this crisis for a long time.

The objective of the rapid country assessments launched by the Employment, LabourMarkets and Youth Branch (EMPLAB) of the ILO in around 14 countries at different levels of development is to provide constituents and other policy-makers with a practical tool for the real-time diagnosis of the employment impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to inform policy responses. The assessments examine the dramatic effects of the pandemic on economic growth and employment and how it has exacerbated labour market vulnerabilities and inequalities. They also show the importance of a prompt and targeted policy response and the value of social dialogue.

This report has been compiled jointly by 36 international organizations, under the aegis of the Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA).
It covers different aspects of public and private life from economic and environmental fluctuations to changes that affect individuals in terms of income, education, employment and violence and changes affecting public services such as civil aviation and postal services. The report also puts a spotlight on the affects for some sub-population groups like women and children as well as geographical regions. Children already left behind will likely bear the brunt of the pandemic’s impact, whether through missing out on life-saving vaccinations, increased risk of violence, or interrupted education. Many children, especially those in the poorest households and the poorest parts of the world, risk losing their lives to pneumonia, diarrhoeal diseases, malaria, HIV and other preventable diseases unless urgent action is taken to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

 

This rapid review seeks to inform the initial and long-term public policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, by assessing evidence on past economic policy and social protection responses to health and economic crises and their effects on children and families. The review focuses on virus outbreaks/emergencies, economic crises and natural disasters, which, like the COVID-19 pandemic, were 'rapid' in onset, had wide-ranging geographical reach, and resulted in disruption of social services and economic sectors, without affecting governance systems. Evidence is also drawn from the HIV/AIDS pandemic, due to its impacts on adult mortality rates and surviving children.

The available evidence on the effects of economic policy and social protection responses is uneven across outcomes, regions, and type of policy response as a large body of literature focused on social assistance programmes. Future research on the COVID-19 pandemic can prioritize the voices of children and the marginalized, assess the effects of expansionary and austerity measures,  examine the role of design and implementation, social care services, pre-existing macro-level health, demographic and health conditions and the diverse regional health and economic impacts of the pandemic. The paper also provides key lessons for public policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.