How COVID-19 Fuels Mental Health Issues And Hurt African Economies

SINCE the irruption of the Coronavirus or COVID-19 in the twilight of 2019, the world has been thrown out off balance – the population has been decimated, lives and lifestyles seriously jolted, national economies stressed to snapping point, social relationships dislocated – all having serious debilitating consequences on mental health as individuals tried to adjust and re-adjust to the new normal in existential realism.

COVID-19 pandemic is reaping its grim harvest in human lives with unstoppable alacrity and comes in waves of destructive assaults on humanity. The pandemic is now in its third wave with a more deadly variant known as the ‘delta’. This strain has been confirmed in many countries, including Nigeria.

Mental health comes in different hues. It ranges from mild attacks to the most severe assaults, which can result in outright madness, dementia and amnesia. These mental conditions make the victims very incapable of contributing to the economic and socio-political development of their countries or communities.

Certainly, the full implications of the delta variant are still being studied and analysed, one inevitable take-home is that it is impacting very disastrously on mental health with its concomitant effects on the society and economy.

The pandemic exposed the soft underbelly of Africa’s Medicare System which caught pants down. The healthcare delivery systems in most African countries were dilapidated and dysfunctional.

Those who fell victim to the pandemic were therefore not well taken care of, resulting in the scandalous fatalities that trailed the epidemic. There were no good hospitals and adequate medical facilities and pharmaceutical equipment to cater for victims. No vibrators, lack of oxygen and virtually no quarantine and isolation infrastructure to contain the virus.

This scenario impacted negatively on the mental psyche of health workers, and the frontline workers among them shirked in their duty and refused to work.

Even the basic sensitization and awareness that ought to have been put in place to assuage the mental disposition of the populace to withstand the horrific and grim effects of the pandemic were either neglected or never implemented. Hence, the surge in mental cases is still on the increase.

African economies became, therefore, the worst hit. Individual African countries’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) took a nosedive. Post-pandemic efforts geared towards revitalising the economies have equally suffered a severe blow with the emergence of the delta variant of the pandemic which is deadlier.

It is hoped that the lesson learnt from the COVID-19 eruption and devastation will help humanity to guide against future pandemic irruptions. A strong and stable economy is a desideratum and an efficient healthcare delivery system in another.