Care as Essential Infrastructure: Definitions of and debates on care infrastructure from Kenya, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, the United States, and Zimbabwe

Drawing on six case studies (Kenya, Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, the United States, and Zimbabwe), this paper explores the definitions, debates, and demands related to the concept of care infrastructure. The paper finds the following components of care infrastructure across the case studies: care-supporting physical infrastructure, knowledge production, community networks, national care frameworks and public financing, social protection, and public care services, programs, and regulations. It examines the role of the state in supporting and investing in care infrastructure and in advancing care as a right or care as a public good.