GFI Founder’s Update-May 2022
Dear Friend,
As COVID-19 vaccine distribution spreads worldwide, the inequality of access perpetuates for millions of women and men who work in the informal sector. Countries with the lowest vaccination rates (anywhere between 0.1% to 32%) (NYT) have the highest percentage of workers in the informal economy, with an average rate of about 76.1%. Currently, nations are falling behind of reaching the target set by the World Health Organization of having each country vaccinate 10% of their population by September, and some experts forecast that the economic impacts of the pandemic will last until 2024 or longer for lower income countries. Government policies have tried to ramp up distribution through either a carrot or stick approach, as some rely on federal mandates to promote higher vaccinations while others turn to incentives to encourage people and thwart off vaccine hesitancy. But governments globally still lag in accessing and vaccinating the informal sector whose rates remain staggering low. So what is going on?
First, inequality of access begins at the very top. Seventy-four percent of all doses of the vaccine have been administered to people in high and upper middle-income countries. In comparison, low-income countries have received as shockingly low as 0.7%. Purchasing of excess doses and pre-purchasing commitments by well to do countries also prevent doses from reaching needed areas. Many lower income countries have had to rely on the benevolence of other wealthier nations to supply COVID-19 vaccines to their citizens, and the few approved vaccines have been slow to trickle to many countries in Asia, Africa and South America, where informal sectors are a prominent part of the economic landscape.
Second, once vaccines are approved and available, countries need to be geared up and be ready to vaccinate people, however, those with high informal sectors often lack necessary healthcare infrastructure for a large-scale rollout, therefore missing large sections of their populations. In most developing countries, past mass vaccine campaigns have targeted children, not adults. This switch, and drastic increase, requires preparation and training to vaccinators, civil society and government to execute successful campaigns and to inculcate the wider population. In countries who have developed a prioritization plan for vulnerable populations, groups including market workers, transport workers, hospitality sector workers, and women and girls (those most likely engaged in the informal economy) are often found in the lower end of the prioritization scheme. Simply put, vaccination efforts do not prioritize informal workers and by doing so, delay recovery efforts.
Third, trust in the government is strongly correlated with a willingness to take the vaccine and contribute to public compliance. Yet, government continues to overlook the economic impacts of COVID to the informal sectors, leading to an erosion of trust as workers have had to prioritize economic survival over health and safety. During the height of the crisis, nationwide lockdowns were implemented to prevent outbreaks and salvage healthcare systems, but the unintended consequence was that millions of informal workers had a sudden loss of income and were not able to make a living. With nearly 2 million people as wage earners, workers had no savings to drawn from and no way to absorb the shock. Due to the nature of informality — being unregistered and undocumented — informal worker operate in an economy that is unrecognized by governments. While government tried to jumpstart economic activity multiple times through stimulus packages and aid, informal workers and their families were not able to receive essential financial assistance, and thousands continue to struggle returning to pre-pandemic wages. In a GFI and TILI study of female business owners in Tunisia, data found that only 3% of participants were able to access state funded financial assistance, and 56% had to continue working despite health risks, in order to provide for their family’s basic needs. Most workers relied on pooling resources from extended family, switching jobs or working multiple jobs, or falling into extreme debt. The economic toll of the pandemic, compounded by the oversight of government in distributing relief, has made rates of inculcation in informal sector even lower.
If we are to collectively reach the informal sector we need to better understand the structural barriers and institute innovative solutions to reach the most vulnerable. Wealthy nations need to share limited vaccines to countries most in need; healthcare systems need to prioritize informal sectors in vaccination campaigns; and local government needs to acknowledge the economic hardships of informal workers and aid in providing financial relief. None of these actions are easy and it will require a Herculean effort, but the informal sector deserves vaccine equality.
Sincerely,
Karen Tramontano
President and Founder
