The Case for Extending the COVID-19 Special Grants

This fact sheet by the Institute for Economic Justice argues for the extension and increase of COVID-19 special grants in South Africa to prevent a humanitarian crisis. It highlights that the economy has not recovered as expected, leaving millions at risk of hunger and destitution if the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant and Caregivers Allowance expire in October 2020.

• South Africa is facing a multifaceted humanitarian crisis characterized by significant employment losses and poverty. In the second quarter of 2020, 2.2 million people (13% of all employment) lost their jobs, and an additional 5 million left the workforce. By June 2020, 37% of people had run out of money for food, which is more than double the 2016 figure, and approximately 70% of adults live below the Upper Bound Poverty Line of R1268 per person per month.
• The COVID-19 special grants, specifically the R350 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant and the R500 Caregivers Allowance, have provided critical support to vulnerable populations. These grants have prevented over 5 million people from falling below the food poverty line. While nearly 9 million people applied for the COVID-19 grant, around 5.6 million had benefited by the end of July, and the Caregivers grant reached over 7 million beneficiaries.
• Allowing the special grants to expire at the end of October 2020 would significantly worsen the humanitarian crisis. Without extra support, an estimated 9.8 million people will face hunger; however, the current grant package reduces this to an estimated 4.1 million. If the grants expire, as many as 5.7 million more South Africans could be pushed into hunger in November.
• The Institute for Economic Justice recommends extending both the COVID-19 grant and Caregivers Allowance by at least five months (until March 2021) and increasing their value to the Food Poverty Line of R585 per month. The total cost to extend both grants at the food poverty line for current recipients is R37.3 billion, which would save 6.8 million people from hunger.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2020). The Case for Extending the COVID-19 Special Grants. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJ-COVID-19-factsheet-5-%E2%80%93-SRD-FINAL.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. The Case for Extending the COVID-19 Special Grants. 2020. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJ-COVID-19-factsheet-5-%E2%80%93-SRD-FINAL.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=The Case for Extending the COVID-19 Special Grants |date=October 2020 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJ-COVID-19-factsheet-5-%E2%80%93-SRD-FINAL.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2020case, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{The Case for Extending the COVID-19 Special Grants}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/IEJ-COVID-19-factsheet-5-%E2%80%93-SRD-FINAL.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }