The impact of Covid-19 on developing countries
Last week I took part in Agile Rabbit’s virtual webinar on the impact of Covid-19 on developing countries. With lockdown restrictions starting to relax across many parts of the western world, it’s easy to forget about the threat that coronavirus still imposes on countries such as Yemen, Afghanistan and Syria, in addition to internal conflicts taking place in these areas. Lyse Doucet sat down with Waad al-Kateab, Dr Hamza al-Kateab, Dr Weeda Mehran and David Miliband to talk about the effects of coronavirus across the Middle East, and how these countries are coping with the outbreak. Despite being geographically a long way from the UK, the discussion highlighted how we are very much interconnected with this part of the world, with the take home message that “none of us are safe until all of us are safe”.
The coronavirus outbreak introduces a double threat to many Middle Eastern countries. Yemen is currently facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, and Syria is on the brink of its tenth year of war, with both countries simultaneously trying to navigate through the pandemic. Dr Hamza shares that in North West Syria around 3 million people are living in camps, making the stringent social distancing measures employed in richer countries a concept far from reality. The lack of television and radio channels available within the region also dismisses the idea of daily briefings, and regular news updates employed by many other countries across the globe. Combining this with limited lab tests, diagnoses and treatment plans, makes for chaotic approaches to controlling the disease. When speakers were asked whether or not Western approaches were beneficial for other countries to employ, the response highlighted how certain measures really aren’t applicable across the globe. A country-wide lockdown introduces a loss of income which families need for basic essentials, and the lack of infrastructure means that food cannot be distributed effectively to help those in need. It was later highlighted that one of the potential benefits of the coronavirus could be that countries across the Middle East may put more focus on collaborations and generating local solutions rather than recruiting externally for help.
Dr Weeda describes a similar situation in Afghanistan, with only 733 cases at the time being a largely underestimated figure. Many people across Afghanistan don’t seek medical help as they do not believe they will get the support they need, and fear they may be exposed to additional problems. A contrast to here in the UK, where trust in the health care system and tracking down individual cases is the the driving force to get us through the pandemic. Dr Weeda also alludes to a social problem in Afghanistan which is often overlooked when discussing the outbreak, the fact that individuals often try to hide the fact they have contracted the virus out of fear of being looked down on for having symptoms, or in worse case scenarios even arrested. It’s probably safe to say that there can be a social taboo surrounding face coverings in the UK, but the issues faced across other parts of the world put a new perspective on social stigma surrounding disease.
I hope this post has highlighted some of the key issues that developing countries have to face when dealing with a pandemic in comparison to their Western counterparts. Despite already being a rather long piece, this post has only scratched the surface of some of the issues discussed and questions answered about coronavirus in developing countries. If you would like to hear more about the wider impacts, as well as speakers involved, the webinar is still available to watch on Agile Rabbit’s website.
