Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic demanded unprecedented efforts by countries across the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD) and the world. The crisis necessitated action from all levels of government and society to alleviate the impact of the pandemic on citizens’ lives and livelihoods. It also shed light on structural issues, such as the erosion of public trust in government and expert opinions, as well as persistent social challenges from the disproportionate impact on women, low-income households, children and young people, as well as low-skilled, part-time, temporary and self-employed workers.
In confronting this challenge, countries around the world swiftly implemented, sometimes unprecedented, measures and deployed significant fiscal resources. Evaluating these policies to better understand their impact, gain lessons for the future and, ultimately, strengthen resilience and trust in public institutions is important.
The OECD’s work on ‘Evaluating governments COVID-19 responses’ contributes to this effort by providing insights into the effectiveness of measures. Belgium is the second country to invite the OECD to apply this analytical framework and comprehensively evaluate its responses to the COVID-19 pandemic on risk preparedness and crisis management, health, education, economic and fiscal affairs, and labour market and social policies.
Belgium demonstrated economic and social resilience through a whole-of-government response to the crisis that was closely co-ordinated between the federal and federated public authorities. This co-operative approach, in areas including health, education, employment and the economy, enabled Belgium to address and adapt to the considerable challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Belgium can draw on the lessons learned and take policy actions today to build resilience and better prepare for possible future risks. This report recommends further policy action to enhance risk anticipation and preparedness, improve public governance and trust, build a better health system capacity, promote better opportunities in education and employment, and maintain fiscal restraint to ensure a more sustainable and inclusive economy. The conclusions and recommendations of this report aim to provide guidance to Belgium on opportunities to enhance responsiveness to citizens’ needs and priorities.
This report is an important step in building a multidisciplinary and robust evidence base on policy responses to COVID-19. It will serve as a valuable resource for federal and federated entities in Belgium, as well as for their peers across the OECD and beyond.
Mathias Cormann
OECD Secretary-General