Georgia's Social Policy Response to COVID-19: Targeted Social Assistance

Abstract

The new coronavirus has turned out to be an unprecedented and unexpected crisis which has led to rethinking of healthcare, public safety and socio-economic policies. Severe problems have manifested themselves in these areas in Georgia, a developing country with below-average income levels and high poverty rates. Although the principle of the welfare state has been constitutionalized in the recent past and this has been followed by some socio-economic steps, Georgia is still far from achieving its goals. The pandemic and related legislative constraints have caused a deep recession, which has resulted in reduced incomes and lost jobs. In the initial stages of the pandemic, the population was left without assistance and subsequently faced an economic downturn. At the same time, the government decided to take stringent socio-economic measures due to the uncertainty about the potential dangers of the new virus and the vulnerability of the Georgian healthcare system. The government’s efforts to provide social assistance for the population were delayed and faltered in terms of efficiency, but overall, more or less complex schemes of assistance were elaborated. Part of the population was provided with basic social assistance, while the government failed to offer aid to some of its most needy citizens. With the virus spiralling out of control, lockdown is no longer an option and the vision of the government concerning socio-economic developments is still vague.