The urban penalty of COVID-19 lockdowns across the globe: manifestations and lessons for Anglophone sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The paper contributes towards deciphering and decoding the misery of the urban poor in light of the COVID-19 scourge. The paper unpacks urban poverty in light of the corona virus. The emergence of the COVID-19 and the lack of any vaccines requires physical distancing as preventative measures to contain and reduce the spread of the virus. Governments across the world, including in Anglophone Sub Saharan Africa have implemented lockdown measures. The COVID-19 pandemic is happening within settlements where the majority of the population lives from hand to mouth. In Anglophone sub-Saharan Africa because of urbanisation and increased urban poverty, COVID-19 scourge has had a huge impact on the urban poor. The COVID-19 is likely to devastate economies and the community. For rapidly growing, densely populated and poorly planned settlements, the situation is tragic for these inhabitants. Nation states lockdown and social and physical distancing in response to the pandemic have escalated their misery. The paper adopts a critical review of literature anchored in case study analysis, document analysis and scanning from reports. Results point to redefining the way humanity has related, functioned and conceptualised realities. There is need to go beyond prevention from infection as majority of urban dwellers are in the informal sector or unemployed. For the urban poor, strategies for social distancing may not be possible or effective. People are being asked to make choices between being hungry and risk of getting infected. The paper recommends planning response at national, regional and local level bearing in mind informal settlements, high densities and forms of overcrowding which have been placed as hotspots for the virus. There is need for rebuilding societies, during and beyond COVID-19 calling for immediate disaster risk planning adaptation and transformation to promote resilience.