Corona's consequences in Ethiopia
Corona's consequences
As is well known, the immediate effects of the Covid-19 pandemic are adequately reported. Every day you are provided with current infection numbers and information on the spread as well as with concrete descriptions of the possible course of the disease. However, what about the consequences of the consequences of Corona; are you talking about the effects of the lockdowns? The effects on the local economy, especially on the catering and hotel industry, are widely discussed.
But what about the consequences of the lockdown in many African countries, especially in Ethiopia?
Deficiencies in the health sector:
Recently, Federal Development Minister Gerd Müller (CSU) announced with a view to Africa: “Far more people will die from the consequences of the lockdown than from the virus”. The main reason for this are bottlenecks in medical care. "On the African continent alone, we are expecting an additional 400,000 malaria and HIV victims this year and half a million more who will die of tuberculosis," said the minister. [1]
Deficiencies in the economic sector:
There are also considerable deficiencies in the supply of food.
Traders drive to rural areas less often to buy fruit and vegetables, for example. This then leads to a significant increase in the prices for this food in urban areas. [2] In addition, there are sometimes even absolute stops on the import of "western" products. The lockdown-related bottlenecks are even more drastic due to the consequences of the locust plague (we already reported on this in the last newsletter).
All these circumstances affect many Ethiopians at a time when they receive no or a much lower income anyway. Numerous residents from Addis Ababa (including parents, the children supported by KaJo) have a job that is not possible in the home office. But even if this is theoretically possible in individual cases, working from home is made considerably more difficult by the recurring and state-ordered capping of the Internet.
Those people who have worked in tourism are particularly hard hit; like our middleman Kibret. This branch of the economy has almost completely come to a standstill. "And there are (in some cases up to) ten family members attached to every employee in tourism, who make a living from them," says Professor of Human Geography Detlef Müller-Mahn. [3]
It is alarming here that Europe has decided on “trillion euro programs” to support its own economy, but no aid is planned to support the economy of African countries. Federal Development Minister Müller warns: “No additional support euro is planned for Africa. That will catch up with us ”. [4]
Deficiencies in the education sector:
Particular attention should be paid to collateral damage in schools. Because of the long-term closure of schools, the children we support are severely affected.
Distance learning, as he, inter alia. was practiced in Germany during school closings, is impossible due to a lack of capacity in Addis Ababa (poor internet access, missing end devices, etc.).
The education system, which is already limping in an international comparison, is experiencing a further setback as a result. The long-term effects of the associated deficits on the educational level can only be guessed at.
In addition to these purely educational consequences, the social consequences for all children affected by the school lockdown should not be disregarded. It can be assumed that numerous students are left behind, both emotionally and socially. It is also to be feared that they will lose more than just one school year of development. [5]
This crisis shows once again that the “weaker” suffer the most - seen globally and understood economically in the broadest sense.
However, this crisis also differs from others, because curiously, the effects are not to be seen as direct (natural) consequences, but to be assessed as indirect (man-made) consequences of the consequences.