Coronavirus Impact on Lives and the Economy
Adewunmi Chrysolite // GCI Press Club Member
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a tragic loss of human life globally, and presents an unforeseen challenge to public health, food system, and the labour force.
The Covid-19 (Coronavirus discovered in December 2019) is an air-borne virus caused by a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS CoV-2). Coronavirus is a large family of viruses that causes illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases.
Covid-19 has affected day-to-day life and dropping the global economy. This pandemic has affected thousands of people, who are either sick or are being killed due to the spread of this virus. Coronavirus has rapidly affected businesses and disrupted the world trade movement.
The pandemic has been affecting the entire food system and has lain bare, its fragility. Border closures, trade restrictions and confinement measures have been preventing farmers from accessing markets, including buying inputs and selling their produce and agricultural workers from harvesting crops. Thus, disrupting and reducing access to healthy and safe lifestyle.
The virus has demarcated jobs and placed livelihoods at risk. As breadwinners lose jobs, fall ill, and die, the food security and nutrition of millions of women and men are under threat, with those in underdeveloped countries, particularly, the most marginalized populations, which include small-scale farmers and indigenous people being the most vulnerable victims.
It has been estimated that the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined sharply during the Country’s lockdown period, and that Nigeria will experience recession by 2022. More specifically, the lockdown policies reduced Nigeria’s GDP by $11 Billion U.S Dollars during the 8-weeks period.
As with most other economies around the world, the sharp drop in Nigeria’s GDP growth is largely down to the drop in economic activity after the country resorted to a lockdown back in April, to curb the spread of the virus.
The daily living of the citizens will be incomplete without mentioning the educational sector. The means of acquiring educational knowledge is hampered, thus, leading to the disruption of the school’s syllabus. Students have been affected by this, as they are not able to attend lectures leading to overall disruption of education.