The COVID-19 crisis has forced countries across the Americas to take unprecedented steps to protect their populations, chiefly in the fields of public health and social security. In particular, States have developed a wide range of policies designed to safeguard their citizens against lost income when lockdown measures have made it impossible for them to carry out their productive economic activities. Such policies are many and varied, primarily comprising employment protection, the mobilization of unemployment benefits and the creation of social programmes to protect those groups hit hardest by the crisis, such as self-employed and informal workers.

Effective access to adequate social protection plays a crucial role in promoting sustainable development, social cohesion and socioeconomic resilience. In recognition of this, African governments have expressed a renewed commitment to expand the scope and extend social security coverage to the vast majority of the population on the continent during the last decades. However, effective coverage rates remain generally low and vary within countries and across branches of social security due to low labour participation in the formal economy (ILO, 2017).

The correct interpretation of data is a great challenge faced by all organizations. In an increasingly fast-paced environment, which demands timely and apposite decisions, data analysis has become an increasingly important tool. In particular, in the context of COVID-19, the use of analytical technologies has enabled institutions to better evaluate the health and social impact of the pandemic and to improve decision-making processes.

Universal health coverage (UHC) is a global health priority and access to health care services is one of the most important components of social security. The COVID-19 pandemic has once again highlighted the need for universal access to affordable care. Health care service delivery systems and financing methods have important repercussions for people in accessing and benefitting from health coverage. While national health insurance systems enable comprehensive and equitable access to health-care services in many countries, implementing them involves several challenges.

Rehabilitation is a core issue for individuals and social security. Having already been brought to the forefront in the context of ageing societies, the COVID-19 pandemic has further accentuated the important role of rehabilitation, as many coronavirus patients require help to get back to a normal life and work. Rehabilitation programmes that are based on a holistic approach combining care, return-to-work and social benefits, whilst improving cooperation between different actors, have emerged as most promising to effectively meet increasing rehabilitation needs.

Telemedicine is a discipline that involves the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to provide remote medical services. Health-care professionals can use it to carry out prevention activities and those related to the diagnosis, treatment and monitoring of health-care system users, in particular those who are unable to seek care in person.

After over a year since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, efforts to address existing and new social security coverage gaps due to extensive labour market disruptions continue to be at the forefront of governments’ agendas to minimize the negative impact of the crisis and protect people’s livelihoods.

Health systems across the world are under severe pressure to contain and mitigate the infection rate of COVID-19. The pandemic is revealing serious vulnerabilities and gaps in the health systems of many countries. These are impacting the capacities to control the pandemic, stabilize health conditions and restore economic activity. The need for strategies and solutions to support social security institutions in facing these challenges is fundamental to ensure the right to health for all.

The COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted world economies and social security systems for over a year now. This article focuses on measures taken to secure the livelihoods of those whose employment relationship was cut.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the importance of safety, health and well-being, and the role that social security institutions play to support their beneficiaries in navigating through the pandemic. By promoting a prevention culture, governments, workers, employers and social security institutions contribute to building a safer, healthier and more productive working environment. A healthy workforce also contributes to the sustainability of social security systems.

The closure of childcare centres and schools resulting from the COVID-19 lockdown measures has imposed a heavy strain on families, both on the children and their parents, and especially the mothers. The pandemic exposed yet again the preponderance of women in childcare and housework, raising once more the serious challenges of gender equality, women’s rights to social security as well as their financial security and overall well-being (Doucet, Mathieu and McKay 2020, p. 277).

Social protection systems have been one of the most effective instruments to mitigate the social, economic and health impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Governments worldwide moved swiftly to extend and adapt existing schemes and create new benefits to protect employment, prevent poverty and facilitate health-related restrictions. Social security institutions innovated to respond rapidly to the demands from governments and the public, and delivered existing and new benefits in an unprecedented and difficult context.

As part of the wider economic stimulus packages to respond to the second wave of COVID-19, governments continue to temporarily defer the collection of social security contributions (SSC), or to exempt from or reduce the contribution payments of some population groups. To date, 68 countries have introduced at least one of these measures (ISSA Coronavirus Country Measures Monitor). An April 2020 communication from the European Commission supported these as a “valuable tool to reduce the liquidity constraints of undertakings and preserve employment” during the COVID-19 crisis (EC 2020a).

At the onset of the COVID-19 crisis, the immediate response of governments has been massive in both scale and coverage, to cushion the health, social and economic impacts of the pandemic. A raft of emergency measures were urgently implemented including ad hoc income transfers and unemployment benefits, targeted subsidies, free COVID-19 tests, subsidized health care and other support programmes. In many countries, governments have relied on social security institutions to distribute these subsidies and benefits, including to the most vulnerable groups especially low-income earners, informal sector workers, women, migrants and the youth.

Across the world, the COVID-19 pandemic is exposing gaps in social security coverage. The crisis' impact is particularly severe in low- and middle-income countries where many workers, especially those in the informal sector, have no access to any form of social protection. The crisis prompted governments to establish new social security benefits on an emergency basis for uncovered groups and to take rapid measures to expand existing social security schemes for those covered populations perceived as particularly vulnerable.

In Europe, the second wave of the coronavirus has since September prompted the re-introduction of social distancing measures, restrictions to economic activity, telework, curfews and lockdowns. Without certainty on the duration of the health crisis and its knock-on effects on the economy, governments have been re assessing the status of social security benefits and measures introduced since the onset of the pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed work arrangements. Teleworking has been introduced or expanded around the world to reduce the risk of infection at the workplace. This has also affected frontier workers in the European Union (EU). As they normally work in one country and reside in another one, changing the place of work to one’s home can influence which country’s social security legislation is applicable to them.

Italy was one of the countries most affected by COVID-19 during the first semester 2020. In addition to a generalized lockdown starting on 10 March, wide-reaching social security measures to mitigate the health, social and economic impact of the coronavirus crisis were implemented. Two early decrees in March and April (“Cure Italy Decree” and “Liquidity Decree”) containing emergency response measures were followed by legislation (“Relaunch Decree”) adopted in May to support the recovery.

Partial unemployment schemes, sometimes called short-term work schemes, are one of the key mechanisms to reduce both the degree of sudden economic downturns and their labour market and social impacts. As reported by the ISSA in March, these schemes, which allow employers to flexibly reduce working hours of their employees while the income loss of employees is covered through unemployment insurance, were extended or newly implemented at a massive scale shortly after the onset of the coronavirus crisis. In many cases, they were considered an essential measure to cushion the economic shock resulting from lockdown restrictions.