COVID-19: NEIGHBORHOOD TRANSFORMATIONAL SHIFT

COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered “coronavirus”. According to World Health Organisation (WHO), the virus spreads primarily through droplets of saliva or discharge from coughing and sneezing from an infected person and attacks the respiratory systems. Presently there are no specific treatments or vaccines for COVID-19.

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has reported over 1,000 cases in 21 states in Nigeria, a month after the index case was reported. Consequently, federal and state governments have enforced lockdowns at different levels and forced people to stay indoors and all economic activities are put on hold except for critical and essential services.

However, there are growing concerns about safety, health, and economic implications during this period.
The truth is that if COVID-19 breaks out in Nigeria at an overwhelming rate, the entire health system would collapse.

According to the WHO (2004), there are approximately 5 hospital beds per 10,000 people in Nigeria. The University College Hospital, Ibadan with the highest bed spaces only boasts of about 900; most other Teaching and General Hospitals have less than half of this capacity.

Also, the lack of access to clean water and poor hygiene poses a serious challenge for stakeholders and social workers.

According to UNICEF, it is estimated that 69 million Nigerians have no access to clean water. Our local communities are filled with cramped shelters and slum clusters and this makes social distancing and social isolation difficult to achieve. Social distancing and self-isolation presuppose that people have enough space. These facts alone make it difficult to contain the pandemic.
Regular hand-washing under a running tap presupposes that people have clean and running pipe-borne water.

Furthermore, there have been reported cases of increase in theft, loss of jobs and businesses are beginning to feel the impact of the pandemic as healthcare workers work tirelessly to tackle this pandemic; and there is a significant likelihood that the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the Nigerian economy could be even more far-reaching and extensive than anticipated.

Our society is fragile.
How can people who can’t defend themselves during crises living in the nation with fragile and low medical capacity survive this?

That is why I am urging the government and humanitarian groups to do their best and come to the aid of these people.

These are the groups of people social distancing will be impossible for, lack of medical care, lack of basic amenities, and lack of relief materials will make COVID-19 entry into conflict zones terrifying.

Amidst this crisis, care and support for the vulnerable in our society are critical to building a resilient society. Many daily income earners and petty traders who are a vast majority of the informal economy have been protesting against the lockdown in the absence of financial aid and relief. There is an urgent need to find a sustainable way to respond to these challenges and keep people safe.

Humanitarian groups, philanthropists, and the government should help in deploying scarce medical resources and develop holistic transformational plans for a healthy nation, for a safe and prosperous country.

Helping those that cannot fend for themselves during crises is a moral and leadership obligation as well as a shared responsibility for all and sundry.

Igbayilola Joseph Mayowa
SHADE-IN


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