Abstract
Background: The economically vulnerable population, mostly black, especially those who are residing in precarious informal settlements are most susceptible to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Aim: To determine the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the socio-economic condition of the vulnerable groups in South Africa. It also attempts to reflect the government’s response strategies to provide help and services for the vulnerable communities who are considered to be most susceptible to the existing pandemic. Lastly, the response strategies of civil society groups and the challenges they are encountering in providing humanitarian assistance to indigent communities are explored.Setting: This is a reflective study where secondary data has been analysed and intertwined with the researchers’ experiences and insights of the South African informal settlements’ welfare.Methods: This article followed a reflective approach where the experiences of the vulnerable communities are strategically reflected upon.Results: This fascinating study unearthed the effects of the coronavirus disease on the socio-economic conditions of vulnerable communities, the economy of the informal sector, the brutal enforcement agencies during the lockdown period, criminality, the fragmented government response and the marginalisation and frustration of civil society groups in providing humanitarian assistance to those in need.Conclusion: The South African government’s fragmentations, bureaucratic, maladministration and corruption in public departments have adversely impacted the welfare of the vulnerable groups who are living in the informal settlements. The human rights violations by the security agencies which are directed to the indigent people, and the centralisation of the humanitarian efforts by government had a negative effect on their wellbeing.
Highlights
The outbreak of the silent killer coronavirus disease 2019 (SARS-CoV-2) was declared to be a public health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO 2020c) on 30 January 2020, following this on 11 March 2020, confirmed it to be a global pandemic
South Africa is a water-scarce country, which in the recent past has been prone to reduced and recurring droughts. This reality has been echoed by Engineering News (2020), which indicated that the country http://www.apsdpr.org has been susceptible to extreme water scarcity since 2014, with the resultant water restrictions still in place in many parts of the country. This stance is supported by the Budget Justice Coalition (BJC), which has described the economic measures implemented by government during the lockdown as punitive to the working class, the poor and the marginalised in the country including women, children and foreign nationals (Corruption Watch 2020)
This reflective study explored and espoused the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on vulnerable communities that are mostly living in informal settlements
Summary
The economically vulnerable population, mostly black, especially those who are residing in precarious informal settlements are most susceptible to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Aim: To determine the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the socio-economic condition of the vulnerable groups in South Africa. It attempts to reflect the government’s response strategies to provide help and services for the vulnerable communities who are considered to be most susceptible to the existing pandemic. The response strategies of civil society groups and the challenges they are encountering in providing humanitarian assistance to indigent communities are explored. Setting: This is a reflective study where secondary data has been analysed and intertwined with the researchers’ experiences and insights of the South African informal settlements’ welfare
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