Spanish response to Covid poverty was too little, too late, report says

Human Rights Watch says pandemic exacerbated weaknesses in country's social security system

The Spanish government's efforts to tackle the economic turmoil unleashed by the Covid pandemic were too little, too late and too few", according to a report that finds thousands of people are still reliant on emergency food aid and facing even greater hardship as prices soar.

The Human Rights Watch study, which documents cases of parents skipping meals so their children can eat, says the pandemic has revealed and exacerbated weaknesses in Spain's social security system. All too often, food banks, community groups and NGOs have had to step in and help people in need - particularly those in informal work who were not eligible for state help.