Exploring the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on informal settlements in Tshwane Gauteng Province, South Africa

Mathew, Mathew T.; Simbanegavi, Prisca; Gibson, Linda

doi:10.1080/17441692.2020.1805787

Cited by 85 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Simulating the effect of the Covid-19 containment measures in sub-Saharan Africa, Teachout and Zipfel (2020) estimate that 9.1% of the region's population would slide into extreme poverty and 19.3% would be unable to afford their pre-Covid-19 food consumption level after a two-month lockdown. Nyashanu et al (2020) corroborate this fact with substantive examples from the informal settlements of Tshwane Gauteng Province of South Africa. The informal sector produces about 30% of global GDP and 30%-90% of total non-agricultural employment in sub-Saharan Africa (ILO, 2018;Alexander, 2019).…”

Section: Literature On the Health And Economic Imperatives Of Covid-19supporting

confidence: 77%

Health and economic imperatives for households in the context of the anti-Covid-19 strategy in Cameroon. The case of Yaounde

Ndi

Bang

et al. 2021

JHASS

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Purpose This paper aims to explore the responses of households in the informal economic sector to the Cameroon Government strategy against Covid-19 in Yaounde, Cameroon between March and May 2020. Design/methodology/approach Given the recency of Covid-19, the exploratory design was used to collect and analyse information for the study. Empirical data was obtained through personal observations and questionnaires, whereas grey data were sourced from official sources in government and international agencies in Yaounde. The mode of the ordinal data generated from the questionnaire was used to characterise the attitudes of respondents to quarantine measures and bar charts were used to illustrate the distribution of responses. Findings The government’s strategy against Covid-19 was largely ignored in Yaounde between March and May 2020 because of the influence of the predominantly informal economy on household’s ability to allocate scarce resources between the competing needs of protecting their health on the one hand, and their livelihoods on the other hand. Poor households had to walk a difficult line between shutting down their businesses to protect their health or risking Covid-19 infections to protect their livelihoods. Over 53.1% of respondents thought quarantine measures were unsuccessful as over 63% ignored them. Quarantining and Social distancing were also difficult in informal settlements because of structural congestion. Research limitations/implications Perhaps, the greatest limitation of this study was the use of non-probability sampling. As such, sampling error could not be estimated, blurring the ability to ascertain the degree of similarity between the sample and the study population. This made sample generalisability difficult. Practical implications There are short-term and long-term policy implications of these findings. Basic comprehensive measures including food and water distribution, as well as rent holidays, must be implemented in informal neighbourhoods to ensure more successful quarantines in future pandemics. In the long run, investments in urban social housing must be carried out to reduce slums, an ever-present risk factor in the rapid propagation of infections. Originality/value The originality of this study is first, in its level of analysis which is the household. By measuring household responses to quarantine measures within defined neighbourhoods, the study deviates from most that have adopted a theoretical approach and conducted analysis at country or regional levels. Few studies have attempted to investigate the failure of quarantine measures against Covid-19 from the viewpoint of the occupational characteristics of the populations involved.

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Section: Literature On the Health And Economic Imperatives Of Covid-19supporting

confidence: 77%

Health and economic imperatives for households in the context of the anti-Covid-19 strategy in Cameroon. The case of Yaounde

Ndi

Bang

et al. 2021

JHASS

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“…Although differences in anxiety measures and differences in coping strategies across countries preclude a direct comparison, the relatively high level of anxiety in our study may reflect that anxiety was measured during a nation-wide total lockdown. Findings from in-depth interviews indicate that among those experiencing higher anxiety, the lockdown has been associated with more significant challenges such as lack of space in the home environment, shortage in access to supplies, lack of savings, and loss of income [ 36 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multinational dietary changes and anxiety during the coronavirus pandemic-findings from Israel

Kaufman‐Shriqui

Navarro

Raz

et al. 2021

Isr J Health Policy Res

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Background Increased anxiety was frequently reported during the 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic. An association between anxiety and increased body weight has been documented. Identifying associations between diet quality and anxiety may facilitate the development of preventive dietary policy, particularly relevant since obesity appears to increase the risk of adverse COVID-19 outcomes. In this study we aim to examine associations between changes in diet pattern and body weight and anxiety levels during the COVID-19 pandemic among Israeli respondents to an international online survey. Methods Conducted between March 30–April 252,020, this was cross-sectional, international and online study. The questionnaire was developed and tested in Hebrew and translated into six other languages: English, Arabic, Spanish, French, Italian, and Russian. The survey was conducted on a Google Survey platform, the link to which was posted on several social media platforms. Adults aged 18 or older who saw and responded to the link on a social media site comprised the study population. Results Of the 3979 eligible respondents, 1895 indicated their current location as Israel. Most Israeli respondents completed the survey in Hebrew (83.2%) followed by Arabic (9.4%), though responses were recorded in all seven of the survey languages. The median age was 33 (IQ = 22) years, and 75.7% were female. Almost 60% indicated that their pre-pandemic diet was healthier than their current diet, and 25.2% indicated they had gained weight during the pandemic. The median Mediterranean diet score was 9 (IQ = 3). While the median General Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) score was 5 (IQ = 8), only 37.3% of participants reported at least mild anxiety (a GAD-7 score of 5 or more), while 10.7% reported moderate anxiety or greater (a GAD-7 score of 10 or more). In a multivariate logistic regression model of at least mild anxiety, being male and completing the survey in Hebrew significantly reduced odds of at least mild anxiety, while a worsening of diet quality during the pandemic, weight gain, and isolation significantly increased odds of at least mild anxiety. Conclusions During the COVID pandemic, changes in nutrition quality and habits were associated with greater anxiety. These findings suggest the need for routine and continuous surveillance of the nutritional and psychological consequences of outbreaks as part of healthcare preparedness efforts. Organizations responsible for community-based health services (such as Israeli health plans) should adopt specific interventions to improve case finding and support individuals at increased risk of anxiety and declining nutrition status within primary healthcare settings. These interventions should include the provision of appropriate diagnostic instruments, training of medical staff, feedback to physicians and nurses, and raising awareness among the relevant patient population and their caregivers. Primary care physicians should refer people with high anxiety or substantial weight gain during the pandemic to appropriate mental health and dietetic treatment, as needed. Trial registration NCT04353934.

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“…In this regard, it has been indicated that unfavorable events have a greater effect on women and also that they tend to exaggerate the possibility of the occurrence of threatening situations [ 32 ]. A study, which assessed the impact of the COVID-19 crisis among the inhabitants of a South African informal settlement, showed that some female participants are afraid of not having enough money to buy food for their families due to the loss of income, while others fear for their children’s education because schools are closed and they can not do this remotely [ 33 ]. Hence, it is quite likely that women in informal settlements across Peru are confronted with similar stressful situations, which results as well in the high levels of fear we have observed within this group (mean score of 25.9 ± 4.3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, it has been warned that in Brazilian slums, or favelas, keeping proper hygiene practices is very difficult; this is due to scarce access to water and poor sanitation [ 18 ]. Moreover, studies in Bangladesh and South Africa have pointed out how cramped living conditions abound in their disadvantaged communities (i.e., informal settlements and slums) [ 19 , 20 ]. Hence, in informal settlements of the Latin American region, the possibility of a rapid spread of the coronavirus is very high and as a consequence, fear of COVID-19 infection is greater.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fear of COVID-19 among Peruvian People Living in Disadvantaged Communities: A Cross-Sectional Study

Sotomayor-Beltran¹,

Matta-Solís²,

Perez-Siguas³

et al. 2021

CPEMH

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Background: The COVID-19 crisis is fuelling a state of fear among the human population at global level. Especially, those living in informal settlements and slums worldwide have been profoundly impacted by this pandemic. Individuals living in these places are already leading underprivileged lives. Thus, the economic and mental health problems caused by the COVID-19 crisis have further exacerbated their living standards, which has resulted, for instance, in tragedies such as suicides. Objective: In this study, we have sought to identify those individuals most at risk of displaying high levels of fear of COVID-19 in an informal settlement located in the capital city of Peru. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to 449 inhabitants living in the Carmen Alto informal settlement. The questionnaire was made up of two parts: the first one inquired about demographic data and the second part consisted of the Fear of COVID-19 Scale. Results: The demographic variables of age, gender, marital status, educational level, occupation, whether a relative from the household was infected with COVID-19, and whether one of them died of this showed significant differences. It could be observed as well that the groups of females, stable workers, unemployed and those having completed a workforce education are at higher odds of displaying high levels of fear of COVID-19. As expected, the groups that had either a relative infected with COVID-19 or a relative death by this had the highest levels of fear towards the virus. Conclusion: The female participants are more likely to display higher levels of fear of COVID-19 due to the terrible effect that unfavorable events have on them. In the cases of the unemployed and stable workers, their proneness to show high levels of fear towards the virus is because they have lost their incomes, due to the loss of their jobs, and because of fear of infection, respectively. Hence, we hope that this work serves Peruvian (and other) health authorities to develop strategies that help individuals living in informal settlements and are in urgent need of mitigating mental health problems.

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Exploring the impact of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on informal settlements in Tshwane Gauteng Province, South Africa

Cited by 85 publications

References 29 publications

Health and economic imperatives for households in the context of the anti-Covid-19 strategy in Cameroon. The case of Yaounde

Health and economic imperatives for households in the context of the anti-Covid-19 strategy in Cameroon. The case of Yaounde

Multinational dietary changes and anxiety during the coronavirus pandemic-findings from Israel

Fear of COVID-19 among Peruvian People Living in Disadvantaged Communities: A Cross-Sectional Study

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