Abstract
COVID-19 has had a destructive ripple effect on all aspects of society but with a more drastic impact on the most vulnerable and dependent on government services through social protection mechanisms. Among these is population ageing. Already in need and facing challenges of healthy ageing and dependent, especially in Pacific Island countries, on traditional family relations, the general shrinking of resources including able-bodied family members presents a crisis of livelihood for ageing parents. In Fiji, government social schemes have proven inadequate and open up spaces for the resurgence of charity, reciprocity and the “moral economy” as enduring Pacific values. Where then does social protection go from here? This is the question of our times.
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Plange, NK. (2021). Ageing, Vulnerability and COVID-19. In: Ratuva, S., Ross, T., Crichton-Hill, Y., Basu, A., Vakaoti, P., Martin-Neuninger, R. (eds) COVID-19 and Social Protection. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2948-8_8
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