ABSTRACT
The global health pandemic due to COVID-19 has demonstrated the importance of expanding and adapting social protection measures. In South Africa, social protection measures are providing relief to vulnerable households through social grants that were increased as of April 1, 2020 for older persons, war veterans, child grants, and care dependency grants. Social protection initiatives such as the provision of food parcels for vulnerable individuals and households, a measure recently announced by the Kingdom of the Government of Eswatini and in England, can get assistance into the hands of those who need it most. Social protection has been used in disaster response, as bridge between humanitarian assistance and development processes Social protection initiatives in times of disaster and humanitarian crises help to address the economic and social disruption that threatens the wellbeing of individuals, families, communities, and societies.
