COVID-19 Conflict & Resilience Monitor – 10 February 2021

The effect of COVID-19 has not been limited to Africa alone. The pandemic first emerged in China, the epicentre, from where it spread to Europe, and then to North and South America. If these regions of the world that have been heavily infected and affected by COVID-19, are able to implement measures to bounce back then we in Africa must do the same by learning from their experience and by devising our own home-grown solutions.

Savings clubs and other such community self-help arrangements can help people to cope better with the negative side-effects of the lockdown policies that governments introduced to prevent the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19. In countries such as Zimbabwe, without an effective social protection system for the poor and disadvantaged, savings clubs have often provided a buffer against the vagaries of broader economic and social challenges in local communities. Typically, ordinary people in Zimbabwe are faced with hunger and poverty due to a complex combination of macroeconomic instability, climate shocks and policy missteps. COVID-19, lockdown policies and social distancing regulations have added to the burden faced by ordinary people and have produced negative consequences on both formal and informal economic activities. The unemployment rate is estimated at 90%.

The impact of COVID-19 has become far-reaching and multidimensional in nature. It ranges from social, cultural, physical, economic to political dimensions. While many countries are working hard to ensure that the impact is minimised, new challenges are emerging. It is clear that the pressure of the pandemic has exacerbated a mounting economic crisis.