Abstract
Several low-income communities in Africa rely on income received daily to survive. Within a period of one week from the confirmation of the virus in African, prices of food was reported to have risen by more than five fold. The study aim at assessing the impact of COVID-19 on food security, the burden on health care workers, the isolation of poor rural communities with limited access to telecommunications and the high vulnerability of informal settlements. The study utilized qualitative data collection method. The findings revealed that food supply chain in Africa was disrupted due to the pandemic and resulted in food loss and waste, a loss in purchasing power that led to reduce people’s eating patterns, causing nutritional deficits. Health care facilities in many African countries are understaffed with inadequate personal protection equipment (PPE) and even lack proper training to deal with this novel virus. Several regions across Africa remain isolated from internet access due to high poverty, illiteracy and a lack of infrastructure and logistical inefficiencies. The risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19 was very high in densely populated informal settlements across Africa where hundreds of inhabitants share communal taps and many rely on open defecation without access to functioning toilet systems. Cases of physical contact influence the spread of respiratory diseases like tuberculosis and even HIV/AIDs. It is recommended that vulnerable low-income communities should receive appropriate healthy and nutritious food assistance and public health infrastructure and capabilities be reinforced as well as increase access to telecommunications.
Presenters
Friday Ogar IdikuSenior Lecturer, Agricultural Extension and Rural Sociology, University of Calabar, Cross River, Nigeria
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Africa, COVID-19,food insecurity,pandemic
