Psychosocial Impacts of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Pandemic in Zimbabwe: Citizens’ Perspective

Abstract

The outbreak of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic altered the social, economic, and public health landscape across the world, and unleashed a plethora of negative psychosocial impacts on society. This qualitative study used an online based case study design to explore the psychosocial impacts of COVID-19 among a few selected citizens of Zimbabwe. The study was conceptualized around an orienting question stated as: What are the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe? Participants for the study were purposively selected, and data was collected through in-depth interviews, which were hosted online. The study returned findings that the COVID-19 pandemic in Zimbabwe was concomitant with a range of psychosocial impacts including inter alia, exposure of people to mental health problems such as severe distress, phobias, anxiety, development of psychosomatic symptoms, as well as increase in social ills such as poverty, and domestic and sexual violence perpetrated against women and children.

Impact of COVID‐19 measures on the health and healthcare of children in East‐Africa: Scoping review

“…Table 2 and Table 3 present the characteristics of these 70 studies 6,10–78 . Scale level: national ( n = 49), regional ( n = 21).…”

“…The 70 studies mention 7 indirect effects of COVID‐19 containment measures on the health and healthcare of children in 12 East‐African countries: economic damage ( n = 26), limited access to education ( n = 21), food insecurity ( n = 22), child abuse ( n = 12), limited access to healthcare ( n = 39), disrupted health‐programs (28), mental health challenges ( n = 13) 6,10–78 …”

The City of Harare's response to COVID-19: A case for international co-operation and solidarity

“…The national lockdown in the country was derived from section 68 of the Public Health Act aimed at managing the pandemic and the details of the regulations were spelt out in a Statutory Instrument 77 of 2020 entitled Public Health (COVID-19 Prevention, Containment and Treatment) (National Lockdown) Order. In the subsequent months, the government issued numerous other statutory instruments adjusting and changing the earlier orders ( Mbulayi, Makuyana and Kang'the 2020 , 567–568), as they communicate ‘to issues such as movement of persons, gathering of persons, required travel exemptions, exemptions for essential services among others’ ( Zimbabwe Peace Project 2021 , 4).…”

“… Makombe (2021) focused on how the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic affected Harare's high-density areas. In the same vein, Mbulayi, Makuyana and Kang'the (2020) discuss the psychosocial impacts of the coronavirus disease on society. Additionally, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the delivery of essential services, including in the health sector has also drawn the attention of scholars ( Katsidzira et al 2020 ; Murewanhema and Makurumidze 2020 ; Murewanhema et al 2020 ).…”

“…These range from its developmental potential and value ( Magam 2019 ; Nganje 2014a , 2016a , 2106b ; Corre and de Castro, 2016 ) to its foreign policy democratisation prospects ( Nganje 2014b ). On the other hand, while there is a nascent body of scholarly work on the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa in general ( Alhassan et al, 2021 ; Amadu et al, 2021 ; Haider et al, 2020 ; Umviligihozo et al, 2020 ; Wadvalla 2020 ) and Zimbabwe in particular (see for example, Hunter et al, 2020 ; Katsidzira et al 2020 ; Mbulayi, Makuyana and Kang'the 2020 ; Nyoni et al, 2020 ; Price 2020 ; Mackworth-Young et al, 2020 ; Muorwel and Vincent 2020 ), this contribution turns attention to how COVID-19 shaped paradiplomacy.…”