![]() Firstly, not only is this argument wrong in the African context, it is also an inherently flawed and highly questionable epidemiological preposition. The argument that lockdowns relieves pressure on the health care system is disingenuous. Lockdowns seemto have been initiated and implemented obliviousto these realities. All in all, lockdowns are set to rise the already critical poverty levels in the region, and without state-sanctioned social protection measures, the situation may soon become dire. ![]() To these families, the certainty of starvation is less daunting than the lottery of COVID-19. Some families have already expressed fears that they might die out of hunger before the virus visits their households. Stifling the possibility of people´s daily money-generating errands via the given lockdowns makes it difficult for households to stock-up and let alone realize the possibility of three decent meals a day. However, most households in SSA have limited savings and mostly live hand-to-mouth with the majority of them working in informal sectors where job-security is mostly nonexistent. Lockdowns require people to stock-up food and other essential products. Some scholars also point out that the economic situation at household level in the region is at odds with the demands of a lockdown. This means avoiding contact to stop the spread of the virus is practically impossible under such living conditions. For example, while there are some exceptions, there are several African cities that are home to slums and other unplanned settlements which means that people in such situations live densely together and have to share essential services such as water sources, and bathrooms with several other people in communities. While they are well-intended and useful, these arguments in support of lockdowns are in some cases out of touch with reality in most parts of SSA.įirstly, most (but certainly not all) living conditions of people in SSA are not compatible with the concept of social distancing. While there has been support for lockdowns by several scholars who posit that lockdowns are useful for slowing down the spread of the disease, preventing the health care systems from potentialcollapseand preventing deaths. The billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates warned as early as February that Africa would be the worst-hit region of the world. Seeing the effects of the disease in some parts of Asia and Europe, many wondered what damage it could inflict on SSA, a region still experiencing the negative impacts of HIV/AIDS and Ebola pandemics. Countries in the region did not seem prepared for the arrival of a pandemic of this magnitude. The emergency of COVID-19 took SSA by surprise. ![]() The search included capturing publications that focused on COVID-19 with relevance to SSA through this process, 8 publications were identified and included in the study. A search of existing literature in academic journals was done in order to build the premise of the commentary. Thus the aim here is to interrogate the relevance of total country lockdowns in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic in SSA. This commentary contributes to this debate by focusing on sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). ![]() The onset of the Corona Virus Diseases of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to debates on the relevance of country-wide lockdowns as tools for responding to this pandemic.
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