Effects of COVID-19 on Child Poverty and Efficacy of Social Protection Responses in the Philippines: Component 2: Qualitative Assessment of the Social Amelioration Programme

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has rapidly morphed into unprecedented health, economic and geopolitical crises. As of May 2021, COVID-19 had spread throughout the Philippines, with over 1.1 million confirmed cases and 18,821 deaths. In addition to the direct health effects from the transmission of COVID-19, there is growing evidence that the pandemic, and the actions taken to control the virus, have caused severe economic and social effects.

According to the Asian Development Bank’s estimates, GDP growth in the country is projected at -10 per cent year-on-year. In response to the pandemic, the Government of the Philippines launched one of its largest emergency response initiatives called the Social Amelioration Programme (SAP). This study assessed the quality of design and implementation of SAP as implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in terms of its ability to provide easily accessible, timely, adequate and adaptive support for all those in need and to cover their basic necessities. Additionally, the study assessed the impact of SAP in terms of its ability to protect families and their children from negative coping strategies from the financial shock of the pandemic.