Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the continent consisting of the countries of South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Lesotho, Eswatini and Namibia. The Southern Region of the continent had a diverse range of policy solutions to the pandemic. Overall, the policy response to COVID-19 was highly gender sensitive with 80% of policies having a gender sensitive component to them. The general focus of the region was on addressing the shock to women’s economic security by providing stimuli to industries that disproportionately employed women and had faced shocks because of lockdown measures. Another key priority for the region was stifling additional violence against women and girls brought about by pandemic lockdown measures. A few policies supporting unpaid care were enacted in the region, but these seemed to be of limited importance as evidenced by their numbers. While gender sensitivity seemed to be a priority, the environmental aspect of the policy took a backseat with only 25% of policies enacted in the region positively affecting the environment. 

South Africa rolled out a comprehensive basket of policies targeting the general population, but also ensuring a gender sensitive aspect to it. The policies were implemented in the broad economic, labor market, social protection and VAWG sectors, with policies providing stimuli to various sectors such as agriculture, healthcare, MSMEs, infrastructure, tourism, etc., providing cash transfers to caregivers at foster homes and at home, ensuring GBV services are available and accessible and kickstarting just transition projects. Some exemplary policies included:

• Established the Presidential Climate Change Coordinating Commission (PCCCC) to coordinate the Just Transition. One of its first tasks is understanding the impact of climate change on jobs, and climate change responses by sector and location. 

• Department of Social Development, worked with the Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, and identified vulnerable women and girls who needed to access menstrual health products and provided them with sanitary products.

• Launched the Early Childhood Development (ECD) Stimulus Relief Fund (ECD-ESRF) to sustain and create employment opportunities in the sector marked by high unemployment and job losses that resulted from the pandemic.

Though Zimbabwe did not implement any measures that supported unpaid care, they rolled out a mosaic of policies geared towards supporting women's economic security and addressing the increased violence against women. Some of their policies included conditional cash transfers, sector specific support to agriculture and healthcare (women account for 70% of the agricultural labor force and 65% of healthcare), strengthening of police and judicial services, and setting up hotlines to facilitate ease of reporting. Some exemplary policies included:

• Emergency Harmonized Social Cash Transfer (HSCT) program to provide conditional cash transfers to families in need, focusing especially on child protection and nutrition.

• Expansion of The Ministry of Women Affairs One Stop Centers that provide healthcare and rehabilitation services to victims of domestic violence.

• Project-Urban social assistance in collaboration with USAID and WFP reaches the most vulnerable populations (disabled, unemployed, women, children) and provides them with unconditional cash transfer for food.