COVID-19 in Developing Countries: Secondary Impacts (Report)

COVID-19 and its secondary impacts are causing suffering and disruption around the world, especially in developing countries. Poor, marginalised groups generally consider the pandemic a crisis on top of other, existing crises while donors, multilateral organisations and NGOs are warning that COVID-19 and the response to it could undo the progress towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The dilemma of trying to stem the spread of infections while avoiding worse harm in other areas is at the heart of the global policy-making challenge. The Government has made countering the spread and impact of COVID-19 one of its top priorities in its foreign and development policy. It has taken several measures in response—these include investing more than £700 million to date in responding to the primary and secondary impacts of the virus, creating the post of a Special Envoy for Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Affairs, and adapting pre-COVID-19 contracts with aid partners in an attempt to make them more flexible and more responsive to the immediate needs of local communities.

This report focuses on four areas in considering the effectiveness of the UK’s contribution: non-COVID healthcare; economic performance and livelihoods; food security; and the well-being of women and girls.