Tom Baker, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
The local and international track record of social investment funds and social impact bonds is far from convincing. A better-resourced public sector would be a simpler solution.
Hanna Wilberg, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
People on benefits are borrowing from the government to pay for essentials like power bills and car repairs. But repayments leave them with even less than before.
For people with health conditions, disabilities or injuries that do not qualify for ACC, the road to recovery can be long and hard. It is past time for us to do better.
A homeless person lies in a tent pitched in downtown Toronto in April 2020. New research suggests we need to focus less on new technologies to streamline social services and more on the people entwined in these systems.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Kate C. Prickett, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Making further dents in child poverty will mean implementing bold support for those families being left behind. This week’s budget already feels like a lost opportunity.
Guerillas from the Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo) pictured in 1990.
Richard Hoffmann/Sygma via Getty Images
Canada’s current income assistance programs are not doing enough to support Canadians. If the goal of temporary assistance is to help those in need, these programs must have better, broader coverage.
William Ruto addresses his supporters during a campaign rally in Thika, Kenya, in August 2022.
Ed Ram/Getty Images
Early childhood development centres in South Africa, particularly in low-income communities, provide services which many of these children and their families wouldn’t cope without.
Head porters from the northern part of Ghana are victims of institutional weakness.
Quami/Wikimedia Commons
Unresolved historical injustices, deepened in new forms, undermined compliance with Ghana’s COVID lockdown.
Low employment rates, coupled with limited government support, made Canadians with disabilities more vulnerable to adverse events from the pandemic.
(Shutterstock)
Emergency relief measures were operational for six months and are due to end soon. But the impacts of COVID-19 will be felt long after.
Justin Trudeau’s government initiated the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit to help people who lost their jobs during the pandemic. Why not make such a program permanent?
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Mauritius preserved its social welfare system even during structural reforms in the 1970s. It is now better prepared than most nations for the health and economic impact of COVID-19.