FORMATION OF STATE POLICY ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE STRATEGY OF PUBLIC WELFARE DURING THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC CRISIS COVID-19

Abstract

Today, the COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating social inequality, thus significantly affecting the principles of sustainable development aimed at social well-being. It is important to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic and its response affect the health and well-being of citizens, as well as social inequality. The COVID-19 pandemic threatens the progress made in poverty reduction and socio-economic development over the past two decades, unemployment is rising rapidly worldwide and the number of unemployed will continue to rise once social assistance is provided. As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, global human development will decline for the first time, which means that millions of people are experiencing extreme poverty, mainly due to job losses, which will lead to global poverty growth. Although COVID-19 affects the way of life of all peoples, existing inequalities in opportunities, income, health and social security are exacerbated in all societies and economies. The poor have unequal access to high-quality health care and other basic services, are at risk of illness, poor housing and overcrowding, inadequate working conditions, high levels of air pollution, poor sanitation and water supply, and lack of access to high-quality education. The spread of the infection is due to the growing global transport, which is due to the development-based economic system aimed at reducing social protection and health care. Gender inequality in the workforce puts millions of women at risk of infection because they work as saleswomen, cleaners, nannies and hospital staff, often for inadequate minimum wages, and women are among the first to lose their jobs as a result of COVID-19. Today, the socio-economic system needs to be transformed so that it focuses on the well-being of citizens, as well as a global partnership for sustainable development. The priority of public policies and programs that strengthen citizens’ trust will be the introduction of universal systems to guarantee the right to basic services, such as access to health care and social protection, living in a prosperous society, so that everyone can enjoy this right throughout life. It is necessary to ensure the transformation of short-term measures in many countries for stability and to ensure that they address the weaknesses highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those related to gender, age, disability, socio-economic status.