COVID-19 Induced Changes on Lifestyles Education and Socio-Economic Activities in West African States: Recovery Strategies for Post Pandemic Era

Abstract

The outbreak and subsequent spread of COVID-19 to the West African sub-region have brought significant changes to the different aspects of our lives and grounded educational and socio-political and economic activities of ECOWAS member states. The pandemic has exposed the poor state of the health systems and shortage in medical supplies and protective gears to cope with the health emergency. In response, strict restrictions were put in place to curb the spread of the virus and these have drastically affected peoples’ lifestyles. However, there has been huge increase in the use of technology in business, education, religion and other activities as people adapt to the changing times in the sub-region. It is the argument of this paper that things cannot return to the way they were before the pandemic, but West African states must strategically plan for the Post COVID-19 era to survive the massive wave of unemployment, socio-economic meltdown and changes in lifestyle. The paper concluded that while the fight against the virus in the sub-region was not collective, post-pandemic recovery must be coordinated, strategically plannedamong member states. It was recommended that the governments should be flexible enough to retain the use of ICT and technology alongside the conventional ways of doing things in the post-pandemic era.