Belgian federal and federated entities worked together to mitigate most of the direct impacts of the pandemic. Nevertheless, ensuring the country’s preparedness for and resilience to future crises will require strengthening trust in government and in expert advice, reducing inequality, and maintaining the fiscal balance. This report provides a multidisciplinary and cross-government assessment of Belgium’s response to COVID‑19 to draw shared lessons from this experience, improve transparency towards citizens and, ultimately, strengthen trust for a more resilient society.
This evaluation is the product of close co-operation among the OECD; the Belgian federal government; the regional governments of Brussels-Capital, Flanders and Wallonia; and the Flemish, French and German-speaking Community governments. Belgium is the second country to invite the OECD to carry out such a review using its framework on ‘Evaluating government responses to the COVID-19 crisis’. This framework focuses on the three main phases of the risk management cycle. This evaluation of Belgium draws on a wide variety of qualitative and quantitative data, including survey data collected from the country’s ministries, municipalities, hospitals, general practitioners and schools.
The evaluation of Belgium’s COVID-19 responses highlights the importance a whole-of-government response to crises. Whether in the areas of health, education, the economy or employment, co-operation across government enabled Belgium to withstand the significant challenges posed by the crisis and to minimise most of the direct impacts of the pandemic. However, in a world where complex crises are likely to happen more often, maintaining a high level of resilience and trust in public institutions will require demonstrating leadership and preserving democratic accountability mechanisms under exceptional circumstances. Preserving the fiscal balance and ensuring that educational and social policies leave no one behind will also be key factors in ensuring a sustained and inclusive recovery. The conclusions and recommendations of this report will guide governments in these efforts.