The governments of Kenya and Senegal reacted quickly to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus. They applied different lockdown policies and different social relief measures to assist vulnerable households in withstanding the health crisis. Based on empirical data of the research project �Informal Employment, Social Security and Political Trust in sub-Saharan Africa�, which was jointly conducted by ILO, IDOS and FES, the report discusses the impact of different policy approaches on poverty and inequality in the two countries� informal economies.