The current COVID‐19 crisis raises the question of the role of transformative social policies (TSPs) during socio‐economic crises. We used recent findings from an UNRISD survey of vulnerabilities and ILO's Social Protection Spotlight to examine the different roles of TSPs in the response to the COVID‐19 crisis. We found that all TSPs are important, especially in terms of reaching vulnerable groups. They need, however, to be used simultaneously in an integrated manner to be successful and should be linked to crisis and disaster management. It is also important to enhance targeting of vulnerable groups within universalism to protect groups of individuals who require additional or different kinds of support, for example, migrant or informal workers. If these additional integrated policies become part of long‐term development policies, they could be instrumental in ensuring that no one is left behind when the SDGs are implemented.
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