The COVID-19 Pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa: Public Policy Responses

221 Pages·2022·8.5 MB·English

by  Anis Ben Brik

The COVID-19 Pandemic in the
Middle East and North Africa
This book critically refects on the responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by exploring the impact and
possible future outcomes in a region already struggling with the effects of a
decade of uprisings, failed or diffcult political transitions, state collapses,
civil war, and international confict. International scholars offer a compre-
hensive treatment of today’s major societal issues and provide a unique,
broadly comparative view on public policy responses in the MENA region.
Addressing the implications and public policy responses to the crisis, they
bring a critical perspective to the emerging challenges of evidence-based
policy making; the locus of authority in transnational issues; the nature of
governance; and the role of government and implications for civil society.
Tackling the psychology, sociology, education, law, and public policy issues
related to the social and economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic,
this book will be of interest to scholars and students alike.
Dr Anis Ben Brik is an associate professor and founding director of the Pro-
gram for Social Policy Evaluation and Research (PROSPER) at the College
of Public Policy, Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU). Before joining
HBKU, Dr Ben Brik served as director of the Family Policy Department at
the Doha International Family Institute. He previously served as a senior
policy advisor and consultant to many government ministries and organi-
zations in the Middle East and North Africa region.
The Politics of Pandemics
Understanding the Politics of Pandemic Emergencies in the time of
COVID-19
An Introduction to Global Politosomatics
Mika Aaltola
Pandemic Response and the Cost of Lockdowns
Global Debates from Humanities and Social Sciences
Edited by Peter Sutoris, Sinéad Murphy, Aleida Mendes Borges and
Yossi Nehushtan
The COVID-19 Pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa
Public Policy Responses
Edited by Anis Ben Brik
For more information see https://www.routledge.com/The-Politics-of-
Pandemics/book-series/TPOP
The COVID-19 Pandemic in the
Middle East and North Africa
Public Policy Responses
Edited by
Anis Ben Brik
First published 2023
by Routledge
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and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Anis Ben Brik; individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of Anis Ben Brik to be identifed as the author of the
editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters,
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
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or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
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or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Brik, Anis Ben, editor.
Title: The COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa :
public policy responses / edited by Anis Ben Brik.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2023. |
Series: The politics of pandemics | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifers: LCCN 2022014130 (print) | LCCN 2022014131 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032209661 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032209913 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003266259 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020—Middle East. |
COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020—Africa, North. | COVID-19 (Disease)—
Government policy—Middle East. | COVID-19 (Disease)—
Government policy—Africa, North.
Classifcation: LCC RA644.C67 C6827 2022 (print) | LCC RA644.
C67 (ebook) | DDC 362.1962/414—dc23/eng/20220520
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022014130
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022014131
ISBN: 978-1-032-20966-1 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-20991-3 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-26625-9 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003266259
Typeset in Times New Roman
by codeMantra
Contents
List of figures vii
List of tables ix
List of contributors xi
1 Introduction: Facing the Wave: A Journey in the Shadow
of the Pandemic 1
ANIS BEN BRIK
2 Social Protection Responses in the Arabian Gulf Region 21
ANIS BEN BRIK
3 Small GCC States’ Responses to COVID-19: the UAE and Qatar 44
DIANA GALEEVA
4 Jordan and Tunisia Lose Their Luster: an Institutional and
Policy Journey against COVID-19 61
NEJLA BEN MIMOUNE
5 Resilient Authoritarianism and Global Pandemics: Egypt
after COVID-19 81
LUCIA ARDOVINI
6 Iran’s Bottom-Up Efforts and Challenges throughout the
COVID-19 Pandemic 96
ALI MALEKI AND NAJMODDIN YAZDI
7 Covid-19 and Freedom of Expression in the MENA Region 119
ALHAFAD NOUINI AND ABDELHAKIM ABOULLOUZ
vi Contents
8 Policy Responses to Covid-19 Pandemic in the Maghreb Region 134
HAMID AIT EL CAID
9 COVID-19 Policy Tracker: MENA Government Responses
to the Crisis 159
ANDREAS RECHKEMMER, OZCAN OZTURK,
ANIS BEN BRIK AND LESLIE A. PAL
10 Conclusion: the Long Shadow of Pandemic in the MENA
Region: Legacy and Hope 186
ANIS BEN BRIK
Index 205
Figures
4.1 Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases: Jordan and Tunisia 65
4.2 Cumulative confirmed COVID-19 cases: Jordan and Tunisia 65
4.3 Daily new confirmed COVID-19 deaths: Jordan and Tunisia 66
4.4 Cumulative confirmed COVID-19 deaths: Jordan and Tunisia 67
4.5 Case fatality rate of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic:
Jordan and Tunisia 67
4.6 Daily COVID-19 tests per thousand people: Jordan and Tunisia 68
4.7 Total COVID-19 tests per 1,000 people: Jordan and Tunisia 68
4.8 Daily COVID-19 vaccine doses administered per 100
people: Jordan and Tunisia 72
4.9 Share of people who received at least one dose of
COVID-19 vaccine: Jordan and Tunisia 72
8.1 Evaluation of the general governance model 136
8.2 Daily confirmed Covid-19 cases in Algeria, Morocco and
Tunisia from February 25, 2020 to June 5, 2021 138
8.3 Daily deaths per million people in Algeria, Morocco and
Tunisia due to Covid-19 from March 10, 2020 to June 5, 2021 139
8.4 Daily COVID-19 tests per thousand people were
administered in Morocco and Tunisia from February 23,
2020 to June 4, 2021 140
8.5 Daily Covid-19 vaccine doses per 100 people in Algeria,
Tunisia and Morocco between January 29, 2021 and June 5, 2021 146
8.6 Degree of satisfaction with the measures taken by the
government to respond to Covid-19 in Morocco 151
8.7 Degree of satisfaction with the measures taken by the
government to respond to Covid-19 in Tunisia. Replicated
from an Arabic-written pie chart 152
8.8 Changes in evaluations of governmental response to
Covid-19 from July to October 2020 153
9.1 Monthly measures by country 167
9.2 Human to machine readable conversion 169
9.3 Stimulus packages in response to COVID-19 173
9.4 Social policy responses by category 175
viii Figures
9.5 Social policy responses by subregion 176
9.6 Social policy responses by countries 176
9.7 Social policy responses by categories by countries 177
9.8 Trends in number of social policy measures, March–
December 2020 177
9.9 First trajectory of social policy responses and number of
daily new cases in Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE, and Algeria,
March–December 2020 178
9.10 Second trajectory of social policy responses and number of
daily new cases in Oman, Morocco, Lebanon, and Jordan,
March–December 2020 179
9.11 Third trajectory of social policy responses and number of
daily new cases in Kuwait, March–December 2020 180
9.12 Fourth trajectory of social policy responses and number of
daily new cases in Tunisia, March–December 2020 180
9.13 Fifth trajectory of social policy responses and number of
daily new cases in Egypt, March–December 2020 181
9.14 Sixth trajectory of social policy responses and number of
daily new cases in Saudi Arabia, March–December 2020 181
Tables
1.1 Total cases per million population and fatality rate as of
January 31, 2021 4
1.2 Health preparedness in MENA countries 5
1.3 COVID-19 tests per million of population and vaccination
rate as of January 31, 2021 7
1.4 Multidimensional poverty measures in selected MENA countries 7
1.5 Health expenditure (CHE) (percentage of GDP), 2009–2019 8
1.6 GHI overall index in the MENA region 10
2.1 Social protection responses to COVID-19, by country
(number, % of all measures), March 2020–October 2021 23
2.2 Social protection responses to COVID-19 by category, by
country (number, % of all measures), March 2020–October 2021 24
2.3 Social protection responses to COVID-19 by instrument,
by country (number, % of all measures), March 2020–
October 2021 24
2.4 Implementation features of social assistance measures in
response to COVID-19, by countries, March 2020–October 2021 25
2.5 Target groups of social protection measures, by country
(number, % of all measures), March 2020–October 2021 26
2.6 Target groups of social protection measures, by
instruments (number, % of all measures), March 2020–
October 2021 27
2.7 Social assistance measures, by instrument, by country
(number, % of all measures), March 2020–October 2021 28
2.8 Social insurance measures, by instrument, by country
(number, % of all measures), March 2020–October 2021 31
2.9 Labor market measures, by instruments, by country
(number, % of all measures), March 2020–October 2021 34
6.1 Interviewees 99
9.1 COVID-19 policy trackers 162
9.2 Menu of policy responses to COVID-19 166
10.1 MENA policy responses to the pandemic 191