




































1 

 

COVID-19 PANDEMIC: THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND HEALTH 

CHALLENGES TO AFRICA. 

 

Rev. Fr. Dr. Hyginus Chibuike Ezebuilo 

Department of Philosophy Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka Nigeria 

Hc.ezebuilo@unizik.edu.ng 

08035448298 

 

 

Abstract 
Covid-19 is characterized as pandemic based on vastness of areas to which it has 

spread within its course. The human to human spread of the virus occurs due to 

close contact with an infected person, exposure to coughing, sneezing, respiratory 

droplets or aerosols. These aerosols can penetrate the human body (lungs) via 

inhalation through the nose or mouth. Within a short time, this virus caused an 

upheaval and unrest across the globe. This study employs the discursive analysis 

method to evaluate the social, economic and health challenges the pandemic has 

posed on Africa generally. The findings reveal that African countries have been 

affected in different ways by the coronavirus pandemic with unimaginable effects. 

The pandemic affects socio-cultural interactions and economic, intellectual and 

religious activities through the imposed social distancing policies that have 

different levels of strictness in several African countries. The implication of the 

findings is that social policies can affect the social and economic well-being of 

citizens. One outstanding social consequence of the covid-19 pandemic for African 

citizens is the creation of social anxiety among families and communities in the 

region. The phenomenon has also shown how vulnerable African societies are in 

facing health hazards. This study recommends that policymakers should enforce 

social policies that unite communities in hardtimes, to reduce social anxiety. 

African countries must strike a fine balance between protecting health, minimizing 

economic and social disruption, and respecting human right. 

Keywords: Covid-19, Coronavirus, Pandemic, Africa, Health, Infection 

 

Introduction 

The Corona virus disease (Covid-19) has profoundly affected life around the 

globe. Isolation, contact restriction and economic shutdown imposed a complete 

change to the socio-economic environment in affected countries; and, as Fegert 

(2020) rightly noted, “they have the potential to threaten the health conditions of 

individuals significantly.” Even though this crisis can bring with it opportunities 

for personal growth and strengthen family cohesion in Africa, disadvantages may 

outweigh these benefits. For instance, speaking with reference to child and 

adolescent, Fegert noted that anxiety, lack of peer contact and reduced 

opportunities for stress regulation are main concerns (Fegert et al., 2020). This 

applies to every individual more or less. There is also the threat of increase in 

criminal acts and domestic violence. 

 

mailto:Hc.ezebuilo@unizik.edu.ng


                                                                       Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 1(2), 2021 

2 

 

Urgent research questions include understanding the consequences of social 

distancing and economic lockdown on the social, cultural, and health aspects of 

Africans, much of whom are already disadvantaged and marginalized. Research is 

also needed to assess the implications of policies enacted to contain the pandemic 

in various parts of the continent. In Nigeria, for instance, there was lockdown, 

suspension of economic activities, closure of schools, Churches and Mosques; 

social distancing, limiting of any public gathering to maximum of 20 persons; 

request to report self or anyone suspected with corona virus symptoms, 

compulsory use of facemasks; stay at home; washing of hands with sanitizer 

constantly under running water; home schooling and so on. There is need to 

estimate the risks and benefit ratio of these measures in order to be better prepared 

for future developments. 

 

In Nigeria, schools and businesses were closed down as well as public places of 

worship. Social contacts were strongly limited and out-of-home leisure time 

activities canceled. Parents were asked to support their children with home 

schooling, while at the same time working from home. External support by other 

family members and social support systems fell away. Also, as Fegert (2020) 

remarks, in addition to “worries and anxieties related to COVID-19, the economic 

situation has worsened with high and rising levels of unemployment in all affected 

countries.”These, no doubt, have put so much pressure on the society and everyone 

was affected including children, adolescents, adults, old men and women, the poor 

and the rich. The resultant effects were distress and other health problems, crime 

and violence – some of which the society is still living with today. 

 

As the pandemic is evolving through phases, this paper evaluates the impacts these 

phases might have on Africa’s socio-cultural and health situations. The paper 

highlights some key challenges and concerns for remedy across Africa during the 

different pandemic phases and offers some recommendations that can be adopted. 

During the acute phase, the main issue has been associated with social distancing, 

increased pressure on families and reduced access to support services. After the 

pandemic, economic recession and consequences of anxiety, stress, violence 

exposure and how to reorganize society became predominant issues. 

 

Immunization campaigns covering measles, yellow fever, polio and other diseases 

have been postponed in many African countries in 20020. The introduction of new 

vaccines has been halted and several countries have reported running out of 

vaccine stock (Boakye-Agyemang, 2020). As things are return to normality and 

restrictions being eased, it is critical that they implement catch-up vaccination 

campaigns quickly. For as Boakye-Agyemang(2020) said, “the longer, larger 

numbers of children remain unprotected against measles and other childhood 

diseases, the more likely we could see deadly outbreaks flaring up and claiming 

more lives than covid-19.” 

 



Ezebuilo                                                   Covid-19 Pandemic: The Socio-Economic… 

3 

 

Covid-19 is one of the most serious health challenges in a generation, but it is also 

an opportunity to drive forward innovation, ingenuity and entrepreneurship in life-

saving health technologies. The pandemic has put a fresh impetus on the need to 

invest in innovation and to put the right policies and strategic frameworks in place 

to unleash African ingenuity on the world. Indeed, African countries must strike a 

fine balance between protecting health, minimizing economic and social 

disruption, and respecting human rights. 

 

The study is structured as follows. The first section is the introduction. The second 

section attempts a definition of coronavirus/covid-19. It also examines the 

challenges of different phases of the pandemic. The third section reviews some 

health issues related to covid-19 and how this has posed a challenge to the 

communal living in Africa. The fourth section looks as the challenges covid-19 has 

posed on African communities and families. The fifth explores some beneficial 

consequences of covid-19 pandemic. The unfolding of the pandemic in its last 

phase is the central focus of the sixth section. The seventh section presents a 

general evaluation of the socio-economic impact of the pandemic in Africa. 

Finally, the last section offers concluding remarks and indicates directions for 

future development in this field. 

 

Corona Virus: Meaning and Phases 
The coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) is a communicable respiratory disease 

caused by a new strain coronavirus that causes illness in humans (African Union, 

2020). Scientists are still learning about the disease, and think that the virus began 

in animals (African Union, 2020). Indeed, Adnanshereen (2020) has stated that 

“Genomic analysis revealed that SARS-COV-2 is phylogenically related to severe 

acute respiratory syndrome-like bat viruses, therefore bats could be the possible 

primary reservoir.” It belonged to the Coronaviridae family of viruses. Corona 

represents crown-like spikes on the outer surface of the virus, hence, it was named 

coronavirus(corona – Latin for crown) (Adnanshereen, 2020). At some point, one 

or more humans acquired infection from an animal, and those infected humans 

began transmitting infection too other humans. The disease spreads from person to 

person through infected air droplets that are projected during sneezing or 

coughing. It can also be transmitted when humans have contact with hands or 

surfaces that contain the virus and touch their eyes, nose, or mouth with the 

contaminated hands (Adnanshereen, 2020). 

 

Adnanshereen (2020) further explained that the subgroups of coronaviruses family 

are alpha, beta, gamma and delta coronaviruses. These viruses where thought to 

infect only animals until the world witnessed a severe acute respiratory syndrome 

(SARS) outbreak caused by SARS-CoV, 2002 in Guangdong, China. Only a 

decade later, another pathogenic coronavirus, known as Middle East respiratory 

syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) caused an endemic in Middle East countries. 

Recently at the end of 2019, Wuhan an emerging business hub of China 

experienced an outbreak of a novel coronavirus that claimed millions of life. This 



                                                                       Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 1(2), 2021 

4 

 

virus was reported to be a member of the beta group of coronaviruses. The novel 

virus was named as Wuhan coronavirus or 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) by 

the Chinese researchers. The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses 

(ICTV) named it as SARS-CoV-2 and the disease as Covid-19. 

Initially, it was suggested that the patients infected with this coronavirus induced 

pneumonia in China may have visited the seafood market where live animals were 

sold or may have used infected animals or birds as a source of food 

(Adnanshereen, 2020).However, further investigations revealed that some 

individuals contracted the infection even with no record of visiting the seafood 

market. These observations indicated a human to human spreading capability of 

this virus, which was subsequently reported in more than 100 countries in the 

world. The human to human spreading of the virus occurs due to close contact with 

an infected person, exposure to coughing, sneezing, respiratory droplets or 

aerosols. 

 

These aerosols can penetrate the human body (lungs) via inhalation through the 

nose or mouth. Within a short time, this virus caused an upheaval and unrest across 

the globe. The consumption of infected animals as a source of food is the major 

cause of animal to human transmission of the virus and due to close contact with 

an infected person (for reason already stated), the virus is further transmitted to 

healthy persons. 

 

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has characterized covid-19 as a 

pandemic. In an Opening Remarks of the director-General, he writes (WHO, 

2020): 

…we are deeply concerned both by the 

alarming levels of spread and severity, and 

by the alarming levels of inaction. We have 

therefore made the assessment that COVID-

19 can be characterized as a pandemic. 

Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or 

carelessly. It is a word that, if misused, can 

cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified 

acceptance that the fight is over, leading to 

unnecessary suffering and death. 

 

Unlike an epidemic which is content with spreading in a particular geographical 

area, the spread of a pandemic cuts across geographical areas. Thus, a pandemic is 

defined as “an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a wide area, crossing 

international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people” (Last, 

2001). 

 

Fegert (2020) divides the pandemic into three phases, and she identifies different 

psychological reactions within each phase. These phases are preparation phase, 

punctum maximum phase, and return to normality phase. In the first phase, 



Ezebuilo                                                   Covid-19 Pandemic: The Socio-Economic… 

5 

 

governments enforce social distancing, shutdown and general measure of hygiene 

in order to contain and mitigate the spreading of the infection. The second phase is 

the phase when the highest incidence of new cases is reached. This point was not 

reached at the same time by various countries. Some countries seem to have passed 

this point when many others have not yet reached it. The third phase is the period 

of recovery from the pandemic, which requires reorganizing and re-establishing 

services and practices. 

 

None of these phases are actually attained together and at the same time by all 

affected countries. The return to normality phase is not an exception, and indeed, 

not all the countries have returned to normality even today. Those that have 

returned, reorganizing and re-establishing services are taking different speeds. 

Some countries were more reluctant to suspend the covid-19 policies than others. 

And of course, some individuals and groups make some gains out of those policies. 

In general, as Fegert noted, measure of containment and mitigation, such as social 

distancing and hygiene, can succeed in reducing the height of the punctum 

maximum (number of infected subjects), but with a more prolonged time course for 

returning to normality. 

 

Health Related Risks and our Africanness 
During the recent corona virus disease outbreak in China, the impact of the 

outbreak on health in Africa can be rated as moderate to severe, with depressive 

symptoms and anxiety being conditions most often observed (Wang et al., 2020). 

This crisis imposes multifaceted burdens on individuals, families, and groups 

throughout the period. According to Fegert (2020), these burdens include the 

socio-ecological impact of the pandemic, which is understood to be enormous. She 

noted that the environment of children was affected at different levels including 

community and family, as well as the individual child itself. 

 

Since the pandemic was announced, at the community level, there has been 

disruption of, or more limited access to basic services, such as schools and routine 

medical care, market, banks, churches etc. 

In affirmation to this reality, Fegert writes: 

 

Several countries have seen a re-organization 

of hospital services with provisional care 

(including re-assigning doctors and nurses 

not usually involved in critical care). There 

have been closures, partial closures or 

reduced services of [in-patient] and day care 

facilities, with [outpatient] contacts reduced 

in some places to emergency cases only. 

Some hospitals have been unable to accept 

new [in-patients] due to the risk of infection 

(2020). 



                                                                       Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 1(2), 2021 

6 

 

 

In Nigeria, one could observe a reluctance of people with ill health to avail 

themselves in the hospitals, and even a refusal to go for medical checkup. This is 

because, as Fegert noted above, there was a reduced service of day care facilities 

and services and some hospitals were not accepting new in-patients. Medical 

personnel wanted to protect and preserve their own lives. And often, even if a 

person is suffering from only headache, it would be labeled corona virus even in 

the hospitals. So people did not feel safe anymore going to hospital even when 

they were really sick. If one goes, the person might be avoided as a carrier of the 

virus, and the depression alone coming from this is capable of causing death. 

 

One realizes that the common bond of unity and communality with which Africa 

has identified itself through the ages was rapidly moving to extinction. Even the 

immediate family members of a sick folk in the hospital could hardly afford a visit, 

talk less of touching or staying with the patient. If a person happened to cough in 

public, such person would be looked at with great suspicion and sometimes, those 

sitting or standing around would begin to relocate themselves to somewhere else. 

Ordinarily one would expect to get immediate help from people in such instance, 

but the reverse was the case because everybody wanted to preserve their own lives. 

The Africanness of the Africans disappeared. One can then wonder whether the 

communal life of Africa is actually something ontological. 

 

Moreover, leisure time activities have been limited in most African countries. In 

Nigeria, for instance, children were not allowed to freely use the play grounds, 

social group activities were prohibited and sports activities were closed too, insofar 

as it may warrant body contact and breach the rule of social distancing. Social 

relations have been strongly limited to closest family members. In some places, 

contact to peers was prohibited or severely limited; and, as Fegert (2020) rightly 

noted, this can have a negative impact on children and adolescents given the 

importance of peer contact for well-being. Meetings were not allowed. The only 

language understandable was social distancing. 

 

Many African countries have experienced a lockdown of schools. As Fegert (2020) 

pointed out, however, school closure may not have a major impact on reducing 

infections and preventing deaths. Hence, possible negative consequences such as 

loss of education time, restricted access to peer all need to be taken into account 

when estimating the advantages and disadvantages of this particular pandemic. 

Moreover, as we have pointed out already, stigmatization of infected people 

occurred in many places. 

 

Besides, covid-19 pandemic-related quarantine in several countries could 

significantly affect mental health. Fegert (2020) reports that in a recent review on 

the psychological impact of quarantine, Samantha Brooks and Colleagues pointed 

out that post-traumatic stress symptoms occur in 28 to 34% and fear in 20% of 

subjects in quarantine. Additional quarantine-related health problems include 



Ezebuilo                                                   Covid-19 Pandemic: The Socio-Economic… 

7 

 

depression, low mood, irritability, insomnia, anger and emotional exhaustion. The 

scarcely available data point towards a detrimental effect of disease-containment 

measures such as quarantine and isolation on individuals. 

 

Challenges within Communities and families 

At the community and family levels, the pandemic has led to a re-organization of 

everyday life. All community and family members have to cope with the stress of 

quarantine and social distancing. School shutdowns have led to home-schooling 

and potential postponement of examinations including that of the West African 

Examination Council and other final examinations. Parents have experienced 

increased pleasure to work from home, to keep jobs and business running as well 

as to take care of schooling children. At the same time, connection with the wider 

family who could have been of help was restricted. 

 

Clearly, then, family connections and support were disrupted. Fear of losing family 

members who belong to a risk group also increased. In case of death, the pandemic 

disrupted the normal bereavement processes of families. Mourning of lost family 

members, especially in cases where contact with the infected member was 

restricted or refused also raised several problems and pressure on many families. 

The pandemic has major economic implications and it put financial pressure on 

many families. First, economic recession has brought about low socioeconomic 

status on many individuals and families. In addition to this, other factors such as 

unemployment, income decline, and unmanageable debts are significantly 

associated with a decrease in mental well-being. In addition, during conomic 

recession a significant increase in domestic violence can be observed. 

 

Quarantine can lead to decreased freedom and privacy, and consequently higher 

stress. Income loss and economic hardship can lead to feelings of economic stress 

and consequent marital conflict. It may also increase existing criminal behaviors 

by perpetrators as they struggle to regain a sense of control. Exposure to these 

perpetrators of crime is increased, and the possibilities of victims to escape abusive 

partners are reduced. Lending her voice to this fact, Fegert (2020) writes: 

 

In the current COVID-19 crisis, there have 

been reports from all over the world about a 

significant increase in domestic violence. UN 

secretary general Antonio Guterres pointed 

out a “horrifying global surge in domestic 

violence…with the potential to create long-

term consequences.” 

 

Based on this, for the covid-19 pandemic, a worldwide increase in the risk for 

families and communities is a plausible assumption. 

 



                                                                       Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 1(2), 2021 

8 

 

It was also observed that some countries were setting prisoners free in order to 

decongest prisons and reduce chances of contacting the virus, and that for this 

reason, anyone arrested by the police could not be detained for more than 24 hours 

(Dickson et al., 2020). All this could add to proliferation of crime and perpetrating 

of various forms of violence in the society. There was equally an increase of all 

forms of maltreatment and unlawful extraction of money from innocent citizens by 

covid-19 monitoring teams such as the police and other men in uniform: 

recognized and unrecognized (Dickson et al., 2020). 

 

We have already remarked that disease-containment measures such as quarantine 

and isolation on individuals can have detrimental effects. One other quarantine-

associated threat we wish to mention is an increased risk of online sexual 

exploitation. With regard to children and adolescents Fegert (2020) writes: 

 

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 

children and adolescents have spent more 

time online, which may increase the risk of 

contact with online predators. Due to limited 

social encounter, children’s outreach to new 

contacts and groups online has increased. 

 

The adults too are not left out. As more adults have been isolated at home, there 

may also be an extended demand for pornography. Europal (2020) has already 

reported an increase in child pornography since the beginning of the pandemic. 

In summary, phases one and two of the current covid-19 pandemic represent a 

dangerous accumulation of risk factors. There was reorganization of family life, 

massive stress, fear of death of relatives, economic crisis with simultaneous loss of 

almost all support systems and opportunities for evasion in everyday life, limited 

access to health service as well as a lack of social stabilization. 

 

Beneficial Consequences of Covid-19 Pandemic 

The multiple threats and challenges notwithstanding, the covid-19 pandemic could 

also provide opportunities. When families successfully complete the initial 

transition phase, the absence of business appointments, guests and business trips 

can bring rest and relaxation into family life. Several external stressors disappear. 

Mastering the challenges of the covid-19 crisis together may strengthen the sense 

of community and cohesion among family members. Again, more time with 

caregivers can go along with increased social support, which strengthens resilience 

(Fregert, 2020). In addition, children troubled by school due to whatever reason 

(e.g. bullying, punishments, or other stressors), can experience the situation of 

home schooling as relieving. 

 

Furthermore, mastering covid-19 challenges can contribute to personal growth and 

development. Personal growth is an experience of psychological development as 

compared with a previous level of functioning or previous attitudes towards life. 



Ezebuilo                                                   Covid-19 Pandemic: The Socio-Economic… 

9 

 

Thus, successful management of stress and trauma can lead to personal growth, 

which in turn reinforces the sense of competence and becomes a protective factor 

for coping with future stressors. 

 

However, environmental factors such as socio-demographics, individual social 

networks and social support affect the outcome of a crisis (Schaefer, 1992). This 

means that the opportunity for personal growth may vary from person to person 

and from place to place. Nevertheless, Fegert noted that “personal characteristics 

determine stress-related growth as well.” These factors, according to her, include 

intrinsic religiousness and positive affectivity. The former is suggested to help to 

find meaning in crisis, while the relevance of the later shows the importance of 

positive mood and attitude for stress-related growth (Fregert, 2020). 

 

Back to Normality 
In the third phase of the pandemic (return to normality), it will be important to 

quickly re-organize and re-establish lost treatment with patients and develop 

strategies to deal with the burden and strain of new patients not seen and not 

referred during the pandemic. During the acute phase o the pandemic in many 

African countries, only emergencies have been addressed. Offering adequate 

services to families for dealing with the aftermath of the pandemic is central for 

reducing long-term consequences of corona virus in the society 

 

Furthermore, the economic crisis brought by the pandemic could have long-term 

negative consequences leading to increased family conflict, abuse, theft, substance 

abuse, rape, suicide attempt, etc. Access to health services is also needed to cope 

with the increased demand in times of economic recession (Haw, et al., 2015). As 

observed earlier, reports are indicating a decline of people using medical services 

for fear of being infected by corona virus. Consequently, after the crisis there 

might be a sudden surge to hospitals to a possibly overwhelming magnitude. 

 

During the acute phase of the pandemic, victims of domestic violence and other 

abuses may not be noticed due to restrictions and lack of social interaction. In 

phase three, due to relaxation of restrictions and more contact to others, some of 

these victims may confide incidents during the pandemic to others. The 

Government should be prepared to offer specific treatment for these individuals, 

especially children and youths. Fegert (2020) rightly suggests that in case of 

suspicion, specific anamnesis should be taken, and diagnostic clarification made. 

 

Social-Economic Impact of Covid-19 in Africa 
The adoption of lockdown measures aiming at curbing the spread of the 

coronavirus pandemic had profound socio-economic implications across Africa. 

The fact remains that containment measure is hardly consistent with the 

organization of African societies where, as CamilloCasola noted, informality is the 

rule. According to Casola (2020), a good number of the African populationlives in 

informal settlements, such as slums or shantytowns; and they survive by means of 



                                                                       Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 1(2), 2021 

10 

 

informal economy. Perhaps this is due to rapid urbanization which has seen the 

rapid growth of informal settlements without the basic infrastructure to cope with a 

large influx of people on top of natural population. 

The International Labour Organization (ILO) reported that “informal employment 

is the main source of employment in Africa,” accounting for about 89% in sub-

Saharan Africa – the highest rate being found in Burkina Faso (94.6%), the lowest 

in South Africa (34%) (Casola, 2020). A basic characteristic of the informal 

economy is self-employment, that is, individuals working on their own account 

and most typically in precarious situations. Generally, the covid-19 pandemic will 

have a dramatic impact on Africa’s labor market, leading to a sharp increase in 

underemployment (up to 30 million jobs could be lost), while the wages and 

working conditions of surviving jobs could significantly worsen with many 

workers switching to the informal sector to maintain their incomes (Casola, 2020). 

Among the social consequences of the covid-19 crisis, a strong rise in poverty will 

be inevitable. As Casola (2020) remarks, poverty rates were reduced from 54% in 

1990 to 41% in 2015, albeit the absolute number of people who live below the 

international poverty line of $1.90 per day rose from 278 million to 413 million 

due to demographic growth. Regional situation also vary. Casola noted that half of 

the African poor lives in Nigeria (85 million), democratic Republic of Congo, 

Tanzania, Ethiopia and Madagascar, followed by Mozambique, Uganda, Malawi, 

Kenya and Zambia (hosting a further 25%) (Casola, 2020). 

 

The prevalence of poverty is higher among workers in the informal economy, 

namely activities such as small subsistence farming, breeding, fishing, and street 

peddling) who have no salary, social security nor saving accounts. Before the 

covid-19 crisis, poverty rates in Africa were expected to decline by 0.71% in 2020 

and 0.67% in 2021. On the contrary, the African Development Bank (AFDB) has 

foreseen that the recession that the coronavirus pandemic generated will increase 

poverty rates throughout the continent in 2020 by at least 2% and further deepens 

by an additional 2.5% to 3.6% it in 2021 (Casola, 2020). 

 

This means that an additional 26 to 58 million people in the sub-Saharan region 

will fall into extreme poverty conditions, mainly in West and Central Africa – 

“Nigeria and Democratic Republic of Congo will be particularly affected (Casola, 

2020).” While a vast majority of Africa’s poor lives in rural areas, and is directly 

dependent on farming or pastoral activities, the “new poor” mainly lives in urban 

areas, possesses some level of education are perhaps self employed in sectors 

different from agriculture. This may fall back into poverty due to loss of jobs or 

social security income benefits. 

 

Casola (2020) is of the view that the fact of informality in Africa’s productive 

system will be the main ground for deteriorating economic conditions. He writes:  

 

As a feature typical of African societies and 

productive systems, informality exposes the 



Ezebuilo                                                   Covid-19 Pandemic: The Socio-Economic… 

11 

 

populations of the continent to serious 

vulnerability. Forced to comply with 

lockdown measures to prevent the spread of 

the virus, households that are dependent on 

unprotected informal wages are at risk of 

losing their income sources and running out 

of livelihoods. This will lead to an increase in 

social inequalities, exacerbating insecurity, 

and deteriorating the economic conditions of 

individuals and communities faced with the 

dramatic choice of either starving or getting 

sick (Casola, 2020). 

 

In addition, Casola noted that curfews and border restrictions have disrupted 

supply chains, trade activities and agricultural production. They also limited 

transportation of goods to markets, reduced the availability of basic food items and 

intensified price increases, thereby leaving the poor masses struggling to access 

food. Inevitably, both the rural and urban dwellers had to cut down on the quantity 

and quality of their consumption due to rising food prices; and this have direct 

consequences on their nutrition and health levels. 

 

Indeed, the number of people on the brink of starvation is expected to double in 

Africa, with a high share of them in Nigeria due to combined effect of the 

pandemic and other drivers of social upheaval such as Fulani herdsmen, 

Bokoharan terrorist movement, violent conflicts and several protests. So, while we 

are dealing with dealing with the covid-19 pandemic, we are at the same time also 

on the verge of a hunger pandemic. 

 

Furthermore, the social impact of the pandemic and its economic consequences in 

Africa pose a serious risk of sliding back in terms of development. As stressed by 

the African Development bank, the covid-19 crisis could move the continent 

further from the Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating extreme poverty. In 

order to mitigate this risk, it is paramount for African governments to provide 

adequate assistance to food-insecure households and invest their financial 

resources in strengthening social security measures and alleviating the effects of 

the covid-19 pandemic on the most vulnerable citizens. 

 

Potentially, the full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area 

(AfCFTA) which will provide countries with opportunities for growth and 

economic diversification, particularly through industrialization and manufacturing, 

could be a game changer for Africa. By addressing the fragmentation of African 

economies, in the long run, the AfCFTA is also likely to boost agricultural output. 

According to the World (2020b), the AfCFTA has the potential to increase intra-

African exports of agricultural products by 49% by 2035 (compared to 10% 



                                                                       Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 1(2), 2021 

12 

 

growth without the AfCFTA); while also lifting between 30 and 68 million people 

out of poverty (World Bank, 2019). 

 

 

Conclusion 

The novel coronavirus, first reported in China as an infectious upper respiratory 

disease, has since spread worldwide presenting one of the most serious global 

health crises in history with socio-economic and health costs. While the health 

impacts are directly through contagion, the economic impacts are largely a 

consequence of the preventive measures adopted by the respective governments to 

curtail its spread. Prominent measures adopted by most African countries include 

the closing of their frontiers and partial or complete lockdown of economies which 

among other things have seen the temporary closure of businesses, schools and 

social services. These measures, however, have generated significant setbacks for 

African economies mainly in terms of lost productivity and trade. Specifically, 

these measures have significantly strained almost all major growth enhancing 

sectors of many economies, and ultimately, on their overall income. While the 

regional and country specific impacts could be similar in Europe and Asia 

depending on which sectors were severely affected, due to the continents’ lack of 

economic resilience and diversification, Africa faces greater risks of seriously 

negative impacts from covid-19 for several reasons. 

 

Crowded informal urban settlements have made physical distancing difficult and 

ordinarily could have made Africa particularly susceptible to covid-19. This is 

exacerbated by limited access to safe water, undernourishment, poorly funded 

health systems and underlying health conditions like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. 

Nevertheless, mortality rates are to date, significantly lower than other regions of 

the world, probably due to Africa’s hot weather and younger population. 

 

Therefore, government should maintain regular and emergency treatment as far as 

possible in order to reduce negative consequences. Health workers should be 

aware of the numerous health threats associated with the pandemic and employ 

flexibility and creativity to ensure treatment during the different phases of the 

pandemic. Covid-19 associated health risks have disproportionately hit the 

advantaged and marginalized of society. A specific focus should be set on them in 

order to prevent aggravating pre-existing disadvantages. 

 

In addition to emergency policies to fight the pandemic, there is a need to build 

resilience and improve long-term growth prospects by investing in basic 

infrastructure and driving economic transformation. Urbanization has seen the 

rapid growth of informal settlements without the basic infrastructure to cope with a 

large influx of people on top of natural population.The pandemic presents an 

opportunity for African countries to make provision of water and sanitation a focus 

of their economic recovery stimulus, and improve a range of development 

indicators in the process. Also the sources of origination and transmission of 



Ezebuilo                                                   Covid-19 Pandemic: The Socio-Economic… 

13 

 

coronavirus are important to be determined in order to develop preventive 

strategies to contain the infection. Most importantly, human corona viruses 

targeting African traditional vaccines and antiviral drugs should be designed that 

could be used against the current as future epidemics and pandemics. Beside the 

development of most efficient drug, a strategy to rapidly diagnose covid-19 in 

suspected patients is also required by means of African traditional medicines.  

Also, there should be caution if not a complete ban on the use of wild animals and 

birds as a source of food. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



                                                                       Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 1(2), 2021 

14 

 

 

 

 

 

REFERENCE 

 

AdnanShereen, Muhammad. 2020.  “Covid-19 Infection: Origin, Transmission, 

and Characteristics of Human Coronaviruses.” Journal of Advanced Research, 

vol.24, no.1, pp.91-98. 

African Union. 2020. “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Latest Updates on 

the COVID-19 Crisis from Africa CDC.” https://www.africacdc.org/covid-19/. 

Accessed December 8, 2020. 

Boakye-Agyemang, Collins. 2020. “Covid-19 Hits Life-saving Health Services in 

Africa.” https://www.afro.int/new/covid-19-hits-life-saving-health-services-

africa,” accessed December 14, 2020. 

Casola, Camillo. 2020. “The Social Impact of the Covid-19 Crisis in Africa.” 

https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/social-impact-covid-19-crisi-africa-

27642, accessed December 9, 2020. 

Europol. 2020. “Catching the Virus Cybercrime, Disinformation and the Covid-19 

Pandemic.” https://www.europol.europa.eu/publications-documents/catching-

virus-cybercrime-disinforaiton-and-covid-19-pandemic, accessed December 7, 

2020. 

Fegert, Jorg M., Benedetto, Vitiello, Vera Clemens et al. 2020. “Child and 

Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health: A narrative Review to Hghlight Clinical 

and Research Needs in the Acute Phase and the Long return to Normality.” Child 

Adolescent Psychiatry Mental Health, vol.14, no.20, 

https://capmh.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13034-020-00329-3, (2020), 

accessed December 5, 2020. 

Gifford-Smithh, M.E., Brownell, C.A. 2003. “Childhood Peer Relationship: Social 

Acceptance, Friendships, and Peer Networks.” Journal of School Psychology, 

vol.41, no.4, pp.235-284. 

Haw, C., Hawton, K., Gunnell, D. et al. 2015. “Economic Recession and Suicidal 

Behaviou: Possible Mechanisms and Ameliorating Factors.” International Journal 

of Social Psychiatry, vo.61, no.1, pp.73-81. 

Jakkie, Cilliers. 2020. “Exploring the Impact of Covid-19 in Africa: A Scenario 

Analysis to 2030.” https://reliefweb.int/report/world/exploring-impact-covid-19-

africa-scenario-analysis-2030. accessed December 14, 2020. 

Last, J.M. (ed.). 2001. A Dictionary of Epidemiology (4thedition). New York: 

Oxford University Press. 

Schaefer, J.A. & Moos, R.H. 1992. Life crises and Personal Growth: Theory, 

research and application. Westport: Praeger Publishers. 

Schneider, D., Harknett, K., McLanahans, S. 2016. “Intimate Partner Violence in 

the Great Recession.” Demography, vol.53, no.2, pp.471-505. 

Wang, C., Pan,  R., Wan, X. et al. 2020. “Immediate Psychological Responses and 

Associated Factors During the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus among the 

https://www.afro.int/new/covid-19-hits-life-saving-health-services-africa
https://www.afro.int/new/covid-19-hits-life-saving-health-services-africa
https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/social-impact-covid-19-crisi-africa-27642
https://www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicazione/social-impact-covid-19-crisi-africa-27642
https://www.europol.europa.eu/publications-documents/catching-virus-cybercrime-disinforaiton-and-covid-19-pandemic
https://www.europol.europa.eu/publications-documents/catching-virus-cybercrime-disinforaiton-and-covid-19-pandemic
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/exploring-impact-covid-19-africa-scenario-analysis-2030
https://reliefweb.int/report/world/exploring-impact-covid-19-africa-scenario-analysis-2030


Ezebuilo                                                   Covid-19 Pandemic: The Socio-Economic… 

15 

 

General Population in China.” International Journal of Environment and Public 

Health, vol.17, no.5, p.1729. 

WHO. 2020. “WHO Director-General’s Opening Remarks at the Media briefing 

on Covid-19.” https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-

general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19-11-march-2020. 

accessed December 16, 2020. 

World Bank. 2019. https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/publication/for-sub-saharan-

frica-coronavirus-crisis-calls-for-policies-for-greater-resilience?cid=afr_tt_wbafrica_fr_ext. 
Zoellner, T., Maercker, A. 2006. “Posttraumatic Growth in Clinical Psychology: A 

Critical review and Introduction of a two Component Model.” Clinical Psychology 

Review, vol.26, n0.5, pp.626-653. 

 

 
 
 

https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19-11-march-2020
https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing-on-covid-19-11-march-2020

