Worried of Not COVID-19 but Fear of Hunger and Starvation: Challenges of the Poor Nigerians

ABSTRACT

Purpose: Lack of social welfare programs for vulnerable households during the coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria caused severe pain and economic hardship to households as millions suffered hunger in Nigeria and Africa at large.

Method: To explore the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, a qualitative study was conducted with 70 participants from Lagos, Nigeria. We conducted 52 individual and 2 group interviews with 18 key stakeholders involved with enforcing lockdown orders. Responses were analyzed in themes using content and discourse analysis.

Result: The participants stated that the greatest challenge faced by many amidst the pandemic is hunger and starvation and described government palliatives as grossly insufficient. This is linked to the high population of Nigerians living below poverty line, who depends on daily earning for survival.

Discussion: Therefore, these viewpoints must be taken into account by the policymakers and social welfare providers when designing social welfare policies and interventions for poor/vulnerable Nigerians.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• hunger
• starvation
• economic challenges
• Nigeria

Acknowledgments

We thank our research assistants who played an invaluable role in this study. In a special way, we thank the Lagos state COVID-19 task force for giving out their time to attend to the interview questions out of their busy schedules.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).