The Socioeconomic Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Africa

Elvis Dze Achuo, Gildas Dohba Dinga, Chuo Joshua Njuh, Nembo Leslie Ndam

Abstract


This study is motivated by the conviction that pandemic diseases entail huge human and economic costs. It is in this light that this study was designed to explore the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 in Africa in order to provide sound policy recommendations which can aid in abating the spread of the disease which is crucial for achieving desirable sustainable economic development. We found that besides the loss of human lives, the COVID-19 pandemic can have enormous short and long-run negative impacts on economic growth through various channels including, education, employment, industrial production, as well as the tourism and agricultural sectors. Also, the study revealed that although Africa has recorded the least number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, the continent remains the worst affected with a fatality rate of over 23%. Consequently, in the short-run, African governments should step-up their community screening/testing capacities and ensure the respect of basic hygiene rules.  Equally, African governments should rethink their health, educational and industrial policies in order to incorporate modern methods which make great use of digital technologies. Thus, they should increase investments in the health, educational and industrial sectors in order to render their economies more resilient to potential shocks in the long-run.


Keywords


Coronavirus; SARS-CoV-2; Pandemic; COVID-19, Africa; Disease.

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.52155/ijpsat.v22.2.2095

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