Confronting Spatial Inequalities in the Covid-19 Crisis

The geography of the country’s twin public health and economic crises has been neglected, despite some places being much more vulnerable to shocks than others, with more fragile economies, more precarious livelihoods, weaker institutions and fewer resources to fall back on in times of disaster. This policy brief shows that the government’s social protection programmes have helped to offset the inequalities between poor and affluent communities. However, these efforts have not been sufficient to compensate many places for the loss of income through employment. They need to be sustained and intensified in view of the severe problems now facing lagging urban and rural areas.

This short article summarises the findings and this short article draws out some policy implications for townships and informal settlements. 

For the full report connected with this work see here.