The COVID-19 pandemic crisis and poor people's struggle for survival: How should governments in low-income countries respon and what resources are needed?

Sakketa, Tekalign Gutu / Lukas Kornher
External Publications (2020)

in: ZEF Policy Brief (33)

As COVID-19 expands its geographical footprint across the globe with increasing speed, also many low- and middle-in-come countries are confronted with the urgent task to iden-tify and implement means to combat the life-threatening pandemic. To slow down the spread of the virus, schools and workplaces were closed and physical distancing was imposed. Major cities in Africa, such as Kampala, Cape Town, and Lagos are under a complete lockdown. Many countries, amongst other Ethiopia and Sierra Leone, have declared the state of emergency. The Economist in its March 26th 2020 edition wrote that “Africa is woefully ill-equipped to cope with COVID-19” emphasizing the fact that “people cannot stay away from work if they have no money”. Hence, COVID-19 not only brings the risk of a huge death toll, but fighting the spread of the virus inevitably affects the livelihoods of the most vulnerable people, the global poor, who are at the brink of starvation once they are deprived of their income opportunities. As such, the dilemma African governments are facing is to balance the trade-offs between saving lives in the short term and saving livelihoods for long-term survival.

About the author

Sakketa, Tekalign Gutu

Agricultural / Development Economics