Fourteenth International Conference on Health, Wellness & Society

Abstract

Planners and government officials, who have idealized notions of the modern African city, tend to dismiss the continent’s large informal sector as ‘a chaotic jumble of unproductive activates’ that should be removed through the misguided policies of forced eviction and repression. COVID-19 illustrates how the traditional stereotypes and prejudice against the informal sector were carried over in the top-down containment measures enforced during the pandemic. Following the path of the international community, there was panic that the epidemic would spread fast and take a heavy toll in Africa because of the general health conditions and limited capacity of the health system. Unfortunately, the aggressive measures to contain and manage the pandemic in Africa did not sufficiently take into account the local cultures and social economy of the region, and therefore affected informal sector workers and informal settlements disproportionately. Structural inequalities in most cities excluded informal sector operators from meaningful participation in the design and implementation of COVID-related policies, or due access to the palliatives provided by government and humanitarian organizations. With hindsight, it appears that the official response to the pandemic in Africa was misguided. There was widespread distrust among the poor that the COVID policies served the interest of the elite oppressors. We argue that for the future government officials and planners, who aspire to international standards of modernity, and adopt the prescriptions of the global community, must learn to strike a balance between the ideals of international standards, and the reality of local conditions and requirements.