African Union, the Africa Platform for Social Protection, HelpAge International, WIEGO, Save the Children, FES, ILO

To provide a platform for an engaging conversation between African Governments, civil society organizations, and people affected by COVID-19 on how to address critical social protection gaps exposed by the pandemic and progress towards inclusive and rights-based social protection, several partners decided to organize a virtual dialogue made up of three connected webinars. The conversation will revolve around the VOICES of affected populations, the ACTIONS of Governments to expand social protection during COVID-19, and Africa’s VISIONS for social protection as part of an inclusive recovery.  

In this session, children, workers in the informal economy, and older people from different African countries were heard directly on how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their lives, livelihoods, access to education and wellbeing. These voices were contextualized with evidence on the impacts of the pandemic on various population groups across the life-course and in different African countries.

Presenter: Francesca Bastagli, ODI

Panellists:

• Jane Marie Ongolo, African Union Commission
• Annie Diouf, Confederation Nationale de Travailleurs du Senegal (CNTS), StreetNet International
• Ignasio Mpaka
• Precious Ng’onga, FES – Zambia
• Lefhoko Kesamang, AU Commission
• Kijala Shako, Save the Children

Moderator: Simon Nhongo, APSP