Sosyal Güvensizlik ve Kayıt Dışılık Bağlamında Afrika’da COVID-19

Abstract

This article addresses the reasons why African governments' COVID-19 responses cannot be inclusive and deepen social inequalities. In this regard, it is argued that these measures are insufficient to slow the spread of the disease, alleviate the effects of the economic crisis caused by the epidemic, and provide social support to citizens. The fact that the neoliberal policies that have been implemented in Africa since the 1980s weakened the social security systems of the states and that informal employment has emerged as the driving force of economic growth in Africa are considered as the two main factors that are effective in the inadequacy of the pandemic measures. In this context, the article focuses on postcolonial Nigeria and post-apartheid South Africa, which show examples of neoliberalization on two different grounds. It also examines the social and economic effects of the COVID-19 responses of these two countries, where agricultural and urban informal economic activities are intensely observed. In this perspective, the article is based on reviewing the international news and the reports of particularly WHO and the other UN Specialized Agencies, the African Union and its specialized agency, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the non-governmental organizations, in addition to overviewing the literature developing immediately after the pandemic declaration. In this way, it is understood that most of the employees have difficulty in accessing public services, cannot benefit from the support provided against the pandemic, therefore worse affected by COVID-19. Also, the governments give these inadequate supports through donations instead of public funding and the corruption problem reveals in the supporting process. For these reasons, public opposition to the responses and management strategies has emerged, and the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, has the risk of turning into social unrest.