The seriousness and acuteness of the pandemic has quickly taken the world’s attention. This has diverted attention from many struggles for people who were already seeking some type of liberation or relief. At any one time in the world, there are many struggles for human rights occurring. COVID-19 has taken the world by storm, capturing attention and action in unprecedented ways. It has highlighted global inequalities and the political disjunctures between popularism and public health advice. Inadequate and unequal access to health and medical services influence human survival. The varying forms of lockdowns and shutdowns to stop the spread of the virus are in themselves exercises in privilege, especially in high-income countries. For many of the world’s poor, the need to eat overrides any capacity to stay home and avoid infection. Underdeveloped social protection and infrastructures are accentuated during this crisis. This leads to invidious choices for many vulnerable populations. Social workers around the world are having to enter this storm to serve their communities. The update from the International Federation of Social Workers’ (IFSW) Secretary-General, Rory Truell, provides a sobering account of the sacrifices and leadership of social workers around the world. Ethical dilemmas abound as systems struggle to cope and access to resources tightens. It demonstrates how social work is resilient and adaptive when lending support and advocacy the disempowered and vulnerable. It shows very clearly that the struggles for justice and equity are more important than ever. In this issue, this piece from the IFSW and one other paper provide insight into context of COVID-19 for social work. We look forward to publishing further pieces about international social work’s insights into the pandemic (see the Call for Papers in ISW May 2020, p. 414).