Efficacy of Lockdowns in Africa A Participant Perspective
Main Article Content
Keywords
Lockdowns, Covid-19, Africa, Informal, BRICS
Abstract
The novel coronavirus has rocked the world, unleashing disease, deaths and a social quagmire. The catastrophic implications of the pandemic have pushed states on the brink forcing most of them to institute country lockdowns in a bid to flatten the curve of infections, avoid new ones and ensuring that the health systems are not overwhelmed at any one point in time. More than ninety per cent of states went on lockdowns, leading to corrosive effects on their economies. The death toll in Asia and Europe was astronomical, whilst that of the United States of America, Brazil and India was unprecedented. Except for a few countries in Europe and Africa that did not act homogeneously, the rest of the world ceased to function. Whilst lockdowns were effective in western countries, in the African continent, it was a different case. Although there was a willingness to institute lockdowns in Africa, the context made it almost impossible for many countries to effectively and efficiently do so. These factors which hampered the workability of lockdowns included high informal employment rates, informal settlements, rampant homelessness, porous borders, a high population density, institutions with vulnerable populations as well as conflict settings. This paper discusses in detail the research findings of the author on the efficacy of lockdowns in Africa utilising the idealism theory. The importance of the study is to equip policymakers with better strategies to make lockdowns more effective through the dissection of problems discovered in the research findings. The paper’s findings are that lockdowns are difficult to adhere to in the African context, should be context-bound and must be buttressed by government efforts and interventions for them to be effective.
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References
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International Labour Organisation (ILO), 2020. “Impact of lockdown measures on the informal economy. A Summary.” ILO Brief.
International Labour Organisation (ILO), 2020. “The impact of the COVID-19 on the informal economy in Africa and the related policy responses.” ILO Brief.
Issue Brief: COVID-19 and the Displaced: Addressing the Threat of the Novel Coronavirus in Humanitarian Emergencies,” 2020. https://reliefweb.int/organization/ (Accessed on 3 July 2021).
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Mafuruse, C. 2020. In Kazeem, Y. 2020. “Across Africa, a reliance on the informal sector threatens effective coronavirus lockdowns.” Available at: https://qz.com/author/quartz-africa/ (Accessed on 5 July 2021).
Mbiyozo, A.N. 2020. “Prevention, testing and treatment should be available to all, regardless of nationality or immigration status.” https://issafrica.org/iss-today (Accessed on 4 July 2021).
Merriam, S.B. 1988. Case Study Research in Education: A Qualitative Approach. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Moyo, I. 2020. “Southern Africa’s porous borders pose a problem for containing the coronavirus.” https://theconversation.com/southern-africas-porous-borders-pose-a-problem-for-containing-the-coronavirus-135386 (Accessed on 7 July 2021).
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Rubenstein, D.M. 2020. “Social distancing unlikely to hold up in Africa without a safety net for micro-entrepreneurs.” https://www.brookings.edu/program/global-economy-and-development/ (Accessed on 4 July 2021).
Sharma, M., Mindermann, S., Rogers-Smith, S., Leech, C., Snodin, G., Ahuja, B., Sandbrink, J., Monrad, J.B., Altman, J.T., Dhaliwal, G., Finnveden, G., Norman, L., Oehm, J.A., Sandkuhler, S.B., Aichison, J.F., Gavenciak, L., Mellan, T., Kulveit, J., Chindelevitch, L., Flaxman, S., Gal, Y., Mishra, S., Bhatt, S., and Brauner, J.M. 2021. Understanding Effectiveness of Government Interventions against the Resurgence of COVID-19 in Europe. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-26013-4
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Smith, E. 2020. “In Africa’s largest ‘slum’, a grassroots movement is spearheading the fight against coronavirus.” https://www.cnbc.com/coronavirus (Accessed on 6 July 2021).
Stats South Africa, 4th quarter 2019bQuarterly Labour Survey, cited in Hendricks, A. 2020. “COVID-19: Lockdown hits informal traders.” Available at https://www.bizcommunity.com/PDF/PDF.aspx?!=196&c=345&ct=1&ci=201999 (Accessed on 6 July 2021).
Superliner, 2017. How Many South Africans Live In Informal dwellings? And other Home Ownership Statistics. Available at: https://www.superliner.co.za/how-many-south-africans-live-in-informal-dwellings-and-other-home-ownership-stats/ (Accessed on 12 November 2021).
Teachout, M., and Zipfel, C. 2020. “The economic impact of COVID-19 lockdowns in sub-Saharan Africa.” Policy Brief.
Tshazi, Q. 2020. “COVID-19: People in informal settlements continue to show great resilience.” At: https://www.news24.com/ (Accessed on 5 July 2021).
United Nations Department of Economics and Social Affairs, 2019. Sustainable Cities and Communities. Available at: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2019/Goal-11/#:~:text=The%20absolute%20number%20of%20people%20living%20in%20%will%20require%20adequate%20and%20affordable%20housing%20by%202030 (Accessed on 11 November 2021).
United Nations (UN) Habitat, 2020. “COVID-19: Socioeconomic Impact on Africa-Health, Economy and Planning.” United Nations Policy Brief. United Nations Publications.
United Nations Population Division, 2020. In United Nations (UN) Habitat, 2020. “COVID-19: Socioeconomic Impact on Africa-Health, Economy and Planning.” United Nations Policy Brief. United Nations Publications.
Van Niekerk, W., and Le Roux, A. 2017. Haman Settlements. Available at: https://researchspace.csir.co.za/dspace/bitstream/handle/10204/9665/Van%Niekerk_19626_2017.pdf?sequence=1 (Accessed on 12 November 2021).
Wilkinson, A. 2020. “The impact of COVID-19 in informal settlements-are we paying enough attention?” at: https://www.ids.ac.uk/opinions/the-impact-of-covid-19-in-informal-settlements-are-we-paying-enough-attention/ (Accessed on 4 July 2021).
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Aug 23, 2022
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Efficacy of Lockdowns in Africa: A Participant Perspective. (2022). Journal of BRICS Studies, 1(1), 41-54. https://doi.org/10.36615/jbs.v1i1.655
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Daglous Makumbe, University of the Western Cape
Department of Political Studies
How to Cite
Efficacy of Lockdowns in Africa: A Participant Perspective. (2022). Journal of BRICS Studies, 1(1), 41-54. https://doi.org/10.36615/jbs.v1i1.655