When Covid-19 first landed in South Africa, exposing the entire populace to the global pandemic, the social sector was amongst the first to be galvanised into action. By the time the call for social distancing was made, these organisations, who are in the main non-profit organisations, had already thought of (and began implementing) solutions to continue their work under difficult conditions and tendered support to all spheres of government. When government declared a National State of Disaster, these organisations had already established networks of collaboration, response measures and appeals for support to address the social challenges that would inevitably present themselves in a national lockdown. The proactiveness from the social sector was due to their understanding of the crisis of inequality in South Africa, and the particular challenges facing South Africa’s poor and most vulnerable populations.
