Worst Hit Research Articles

Understanding the habitat vulnerability of Slums to COVID 19: Case of two megacities of India.

Urban slums are hotspots of infectious diseases like COVID-19 as was seen in the waves of 2020 and 2021. One of the primary reasons why slums are disproportionately affected is their location in inaccessible and uninhabitable zones, crowded and poorly ventilated living spaces, unsanitary conditions and common facilities (water taps, common toilets, etc.). Staying at home during pandemics is hardly an option for slum dwellers as it often means giving up work and even basic necessities. This paper aims to understand the habitat vulnerabilities of slums in the two Indian megacities of Pune and Surat which were the worst hit during both waves. The study is done at the level of wards, which is the smallest administrative boundary, taking the habitat vulnerability (congestion and access to basic services). To identify the explanatory variables which increase the vulnerability of slums to infectious diseases, literature study is done on the triggering factors which affect habitat vulnerability derived from common characteristics and definitions of slum. The aim of the research is to categorize the slums into 3 levels of risk zones and map them subsequently. This study will help in formulating a model to prioritize the allocation of sparse resources in developing countries to tackle the habitat vulnerabilities of the slum dwellers especially during health emergencies of contagious diseases like COVID-19.

Applications of satellite data for rapid inundation assessment - A case study in Thua Thien Hue province

Floods are one of the most significant devastating natural hazards around the globe. Recent development in remote sensing technology supports faster and low-cost analysis of flood hazards. This study used the Sentinel-1 SAR data for flood mapping and damage assessment. We selected the October 2022 flood event in Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam. The Change Detection and Thresholding (CDAT) method was adopted to detect the inundation areas. The results showed that The flood event affected to several districts with Quang Dien being the worst hit, followed by Phu Loc and Huong Tra. Phu Vang had the smallest flooded area. The total inundated area was up to 33,384.08ha. The derived flood map was overlaid onto the current land cover map to conduct an initial evaluation of the potential flood damage corresponding to each land use category. The damage to the land cover was estimated that most of the affected areas were in the cropland and accounted for 77.07% of the total inundated area. The results can assist decision-makers in monitoring and assessing flood damage in Central Vietnam

THE INCOMPATIBILITY OFGLOBAL WARMING AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

Global warming signifies an undesirable geographical status of the planet and highlights the alarming trend of the extinction of the planet due to this unprecedented phenomenon. It is mostly caused by the gradual increase in world temperature, deforestation, emission of greenhouse gases, the melting of ice, glaciers and other adverse climatic conditions. This negative trend carries a portent for the future - a future that looks bleak and alarming. Extreme and harsh weather conditions have become common in India and other Asian countries. India has been the worst hit due to frequent occurrence of floods and heatwaves. This alarming trend should force us to think of better planning and optimum utilisation of resources without their ruthless violation. The miserable conditions of contemporary life can be, in retrospect traced to the beginning of industrialisation and capitalist economy. The evils that plague our lives have been mostly caused by the ruthless exploitation of natural resources.

Contribution to Informal Economy; Voice of Women Artisans of India

Art is not just a part of life; for some, it’s life itself! and this life is being lived to the fullest by the women artisans who not only nourish the art like their own kin but also help in promoting the GDP and shaping the economy of the country. According to the International Trade Centre, women make up for 70% of the global handicraft workforce. Here, through this exhaustive research, we shall analyze the contributions, challenges, solutions and outcomes of the voice of women artisans in India and how In- dia’s GDP has got a boost indirectly with women artisans taking the center stage. A KPMG study estimated that approximately 7.3 million people depend on handicraft and allied activities for livelihood. The handicraft and handloom sector in India is a Rs 24,300-crore industry and contributes nearly Rs 10,000 crore annually in export earn- ings. Women Artisans of India and the tribal communities gearing up with their act is tru- ly inspiring amidst the brand market of the world where handmade threads and knots are giving a run for the money to the machine made and robotic assembled goods. Vocal for local and its impact which not only promotes self reliability in the tourism sec- tor but even sustainability and is environment friendly is another feature that is touched upon with reference to Indian handicrafts and emergence of new startups promoting an-cient Indian techniques is another interesting feature. Self help group and NGOs sup- porting the economic development especially during the COVID pandemic times where this industry was the worst hit has been he life savior of this massive Industry. Digital empowerment ensuring higher market reach and faster market capture is the tool that does the trick with women artisans voicing in their concerns and asking for a leading hand not for their support from the masses but an indirect upliftment via awareness generated in the market. This awareness is the gateway to Education.

Epidemiological study of pediatric nutritional deficiencies: an analysis from the global burden of disease study 2019

BackgroundNutritional deficiencies (ND) continue to threaten the lives of millions of people around the world, with children being the worst hit. Nevertheless, no systematic study of the epidemiological features of child ND has been conducted so far. Therefore, we aimed to comprehensively assess the burden of pediatric ND.MethodsWe analyzed data on pediatric ND between 1990 and 2019 from the Global Burden of Disease study (GBD) 2019 at the global, regional, and national levels. In addition, joinpoint regression models were used to assess temporal trends.ResultsIn 2019, the number of prevalent cases of childhood malnutrition increased to 435,071,628 globally. The global age-standardized incidence, prevalence, and DALY rates showed an increasing trend between 1990 and 2019. Meanwhile, the burden of child malnutrition was negatively correlated with sociodemographic index (SDI). Asia and Africa still carried the heaviest burden. The burden and trends of child malnutrition varied considerably across countries and regions. At the age level, we found that malnutrition was significantly more prevalent among children < 5 years of age.ConclusionPediatric ND remains a major public health challenge, especially in areas with low SDI. Therefore, primary healthcare services in developing countries should be improved, and effective measures, such as enhanced pre-school education, strengthened nutritional support, and early and aggressive treatment, need to be developed.

Effects of banditry security risk on livelihood of cattle herders in Katsina State, Nigeria

Livestock enterprise is an important source of livelihood to many people in Nigeria. Vulnerability of livestock business to insecurity risk is a major threat to the livelihood of stakeholders in the livestock value chain (cattle herders and marketers). Insecurity risk among livestock herders has a ripple effect in the economy of Nigeria. Empirical information is scanty for the clarification and development in security risk control model especially with the emergence of banditry in Nigeria. This study broadly examines the effect of insecurity risk on the livelihood of livestock herders in Katsina State, Nigeria. Primary data obtained with the use of structured questionnaire from randomly selected 200 respondents were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistical tools (mean, frequency distribution table, probability and multiple regression). The result shows that the probability of banditry attack was 20%. The major benefit derivable from livestock business by herders is income generation. The major cause of banditry insecurity was unresolved conflict between farmers and herdsmen (100%), unemployment/deliberate negative tendency of bandits to climb wealth ladder (93.5%) and corruption among government officials (93%). Test of hypothesis indicates that all the insecurity indicators (cattle rustling, theft, kidnapping and tax imposition) negatively and significantly (P &lt; 0.05) affected livelihood capital (asset) (income savings and herd size). There are sufficient evidence to conclude that livelihood capital of cattle herders is worst hit by banditry insecurity risk in Katsina State, Nigeria. It was recommended that government should adopt amnesty policy of disarmament, reintegration and rehabilitation of repentant bandits. This study has expanded the frontier of literature of the ripple effects of banditry insecurity on cattle value chain and implications for policy options.

Spatio-temporal epidemiology and associated indicators of COVID-19 (wave-I and II) in India

The spatio-temporal distribution of COVID-19 across India’s states and union territories is not uniform, and the reasons for the heterogeneous spread are unclear. Identifying the space–time trends and underlying indicators influencing COVID-19 epidemiology at micro-administrative units (districts) will help guide public health strategies. The district-wise daily COVID-19 data of cases and deaths from February 2020 to August 2021 (COVID-19 waves-I and II) for the entire country were downloaded and curated from public databases. The COVID-19 data normalized with the projected population (2020) and used for space–time trend analysis shows the states/districts in southern India are the worst hit. Coastal districts and districts adjoining large urban regions of Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Goa, and New Delhi experienced > 50,001 cases per million population. Negative binomial regression analysis with 21 independent variables (identified through multicollinearity analysis, with VIF < 10) covering demography, socio-economic status, environment, and health was carried out for wave-I, wave-II, and total (wave-I and wave-II) cases and deaths. It shows wealth index, derived from household amenities datasets, has a high positive risk ratio (RR) with COVID-19 cases (RR: 3.577; 95% CI: 2.062–6.205) and deaths (RR: 2.477; 95% CI: 1.361–4.506) across the districts. Furthermore, socio-economic factors such as literacy rate, health services, other workers’ rate, alcohol use in men, tobacco use in women, overweight/obese women, and rainfall have a positive RR and are significantly associated with COVID-19 cases/deaths at the district level. These positively associated variables are highly interconnected in COVID-19 hotspot districts. Among these, the wealth index, literacy rate, and health services, the key indices of socio-economic development within a state, are some of the significant indicators associated with COVID-19 epidemiology in India. The identification of district-level space–time trends and indicators associated with COVID-19 would help policymakers devise strategies and guidelines during public health emergencies.

Deconstructing the Culture of Silence: Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in IDPs’ Camps of North East Nigeria

Sexual and gender-based violence is a global phenomenon that is affecting women, girls and boys with devastating and long-lasting consequences. The Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS, 2013) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS, 2016) reports show that 28% and 7% of women of reproductive age have experienced physical or sexual violence while 25% of married women have reported emotional, physical and sexual abuse from their spouse. These figures are high in the north-eastern part of the country, with 29.5% and 15.7% of women reporting physical and sexual abuse, respectively (NDHS, 2013). This pandemic is destroying the lives of many women and girls affected by conflict in Nigeria. Although the Nigerian government has made some efforts to create a legal framework outlawing SGBV, the menace still persists. The paper adopts descriptive and analytical method as framework of analysis in examining the drivers of sexual and GenderBased violence in the internally displaced persons‘ camps. The research focussed on the BAY (Borno, Adamawa and Yobe) states as they are the worst hit, coupled with the highest number of IDPs who have been displaced as a result of the conflict. The paper argued that, persistence of harmful cultural norms, poverty, and paucity of infrastructure are the drivers of SGBV in internally displaced camps. It further demonstrates that empowering survivors to voice out, effective monitoring mechanism and punishment for state actors and non-state actors will no doubt change the narratives.

Perceived Stress and Coping Strategies among B.Sc. Nursing Students in Mizoram during COVID-19 Pandemic

ABSTRACT Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, the education system was among the worst hit. The online education system was introduced, and students have to stay home surrounded by uncertainty of their future, leading to various levels of stress and the need to somehow cope with it. Materials and Methods: An online cross-sectional descriptive study involving 417 B.Sc. Nursing students were conducted between March 2, 2022 and March 8, 2022 to assess the perceived stress and coping mechanisms among Mizoram’s B.Sc. nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic and to ascertain the association between stress and coping with specific demographic variables. To assess the level of stress and coping strategies, respectively, Pandemic-Related Perceived Stress Scale of Covid-19 (PSS-10-C) and Modified Brief-Coping orientation to problems experienced Scale were used. Results: The majority of the participants 89% were female, whereas 10.1% were male. Most of the participants 89.2% resided in a hostel. A high level of stress is seen among 2.15% of the participants. The majority 83.7% have moderate stress levels and a low level of stress is seen among 14.15% of the participants. Perceived stress is higher among the females significantly at 0.02 and also among those who reside in the hostel at 0.02 level. Among the participants with high perceived stress levels, avoidance coping is most adopted by a mean value of 25.00 (5.61). Conclusions: The findings suggest that there is a need for appropriate intervention for assisting the B.Sc. nursing students in stress management to adopt healthy coping strategies.

DEVELOPMENT OF A MULTI-PISTON BINDERLESS BRIQUETTING MACHINE

Cooking and heating fuels needed for everyday survival is experiencing either dwindling supply, fluctuating prices or difficulty in accessing it, with developing countries being the worst hit, so the poor and low income earners rely greatly on fuelwood to meet their everyday energy needs. Agricultural waste residues can be a reliable alternative to fossil fuels and fuelwood when converted into solid fuels called briquettes, whose quality is determined by the production factors. In this research, a multi-piston binderless briquetting machine was designed, fabricated and tested by producing briquettes from selected biomass wastes (corn cob, sugarcane bagasse, groundnut shell, sawdust and rice husk) and polyethylene wastes (sachet water wastes), using the machine. Experimental run was designed via Taguchi fractional factorial using Minitab 17 software, for 27 runs orthogonal array. Input factors; moulding temperature (250, 270 and 290 0C), Moulding pressure (46, 56 and 66 MPa), composition of polyethylene (10, 20 and 30%) and dwell time (60, 180 and 300 seconds) were varied. From the analysis of the materials and briquettes produced, highest bulk density of the mixed material was 250kg/m3, highest compressed density of the briquettes was 587 kg/m3, highest relaxed density was 545 kg/m3 while highest calorific value was 26.3162 MJ/kg. For proximate analysis, lowest moisture content of the briquettes was 0.04%, lowest volatile matter was 71.63%, lowest ash content was 2.77% and highest fixed carbon was 20.40%. Fuels produced from these selected materials were fuels of good qualities that can provide alternative to fossil fuels and fuelwood.

Projected changes in heatwaves and its impact on human discomfort over India due to global warming under the CORDEX-CORE framework

Due to climate change, rapid warming and its further intensification over different parts of the globe have been recently reported. This has a direct impact on human health, agriculture, water availability, power generation, various ecosystems, and socioeconomic conditions of the exposed population. The current study thus investigates the frequency and duration of heatwaves, human discomfort, and exposure of the human population to these extremes using the high-resolution regional climate model experiments under two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP2.6, RCP8.5) over India. We find that more than 90% of India will be exposed to uncomfortable warm nights by the end of the 21st century with the highest rise over western India, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Uttar Pradesh (UP), Punjab, and the Haryana region. States like Odisha, Chhattisgarh, eastern parts of MP and UP, and some parts of J&K will be the worst hit by the intense and frequent heatwaves and human discomfort followed by the densely populated Indo-Gangetic plains under RCP8.5. Strict enforcement of the stringent policies on stabilization of population growth, improvement of local adaptive capacities, and economic status of the vulnerable population along with enforcing effective measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions are important to reduce human exposure to future heat stress. We demonstrate that a proper mitigation-based development (RCP2.6) instead of a business-as-usual scenario (RCP8.5) may help to reduce 50–200 heatwave days, 3–10 heatwave spells, and 10–35% warm nights over the Indian region. Consequently, this can avoid the exposure of 135–143 million population to severe discomfort due to extreme heat conditions by the end of the 21st century.

Financial Strain, Covid-19 Anxiety and Suicidal Ideation Among Wage Workers During the Pandemic Crisis 2019

The global lockdowns owing to the Covid-19 pandemic have sparked attention in the relationship between financial strain, anxiety and suicidal thoughts among wage workers in India, the worst hit. This study was inspired by the lack of data on wage labourers’ financial strain, Covid-19 anxiety and suicidal ideation during the pandemic. This study is supported by the General Strain Theory, which states that economic or financial stress causes dissatisfaction, sadness and anxiety, which can lead to suicide ideation ( Agnew, 1992 ). Wage labourers from Jammu and Kashmir (India) in the informal sector were studied. However, the sample frame was unavailable. Thus, the researchers used convenience sampling to choose respondents from all Kashmir valley districts. Questionnaire item count determined sample size. According to Hair et al. (1998) , the sample size should be 10 times the questionnaire items. A sample of 395 wage workers was selected. Path analysis showed that financial strain causes suicidal ideation and anxiety (Covid-19), while wage workers’ worry leads to suicidal ideation. Financial stress and suicidal ideation are partially mediated by anxiety (Covid-19). These findings imply wage workers take specific steps to improve themselves and prepare for future crises like Covid-19. The survey found wage employees were hardest harmed by the pandemic. This experience shows that government, non-government organizations and religious communities are necessary and supportive. The government should provide food security and health insurance to wage earners in emergencies. For schemes, compensation and other benefits, the government should help workers to register with labour and employment organizations. Future studies would seek to identify other pandemic-related factors that drive wage workers to suicide. In a crisis, revealing additional factors might help create wage-earning programmes. Further investigations in diverse situations are needed to derive context-specific findings to validate this study.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)-associated mucormycosis (CAM): The unholy triad of COVID-19, diabetes mellitus, and corticosteroid therapy.

The whole world has battled with multiple waves of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus. However, the second wave of COVID-19 had caused a worldwide havoc in terms of disease transmissibility, severity, and mortality. India has been among the worst hit countries during the second wave, which substantially overburdened and overwhelmed the Indian health care system. While secondary infections and co-infections among COVID-19 patients were increasingly being reported, COVID-19-associated mucormycosis (CAM) emerged as a new challenge particularly from India and became a matter of immediate concern. The most common causes attributed to the rise of CAM were undiagnosed/uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, excessive use of corticosteroids, and prolonged hospital stay, all of which create a perfect environment for mucormycosis infection to set in.

Evaluation of the artemisinin content of Artemisia annua L. grown in different Agro ecological zones of Cameroon

Artemisinin and its derivatives are potent antimalarials that have become essential components of Artemisinin Based Combination Therapies (ACTs) for malaria treatment. Production of artemisinin is less compared to its world demand and access to ACTs is still limited in worst hit countries. Secondary metabolite production in plants depends on a number of factors including agro ecology. This work sought to evaluate the growth characteristics and artemisinin content of Artemisia annua grown in four agro ecological zones of Cameroon. Experimental fields comprising of A annua were set up in the different agro-ecological zones, for growth and artemisinin assessments. Artemisinin detection and quantification was compared in leaves/flowers and stems of Artemisia annua from these agro-ecological zones, using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography. Soil provenance and other agro ecological factors significantly affected the growth parameters of A. annua as there were significant differences (p&lt;0.05) in plant height, leaf area, number of branches, stem girth and number of leaves across the different study areas. There was significant variation (P&lt;0.05) in the content of artemisinin from the plant in the different agro ecological zones. The mean levels of artemisinin in the samples was 0.34-0.80% in stem samples, and 0.18-0.61% for leaves/flowers. The highest artemisinin yield in leaf/flowers samples (0.61%) was recorded in samples from Bamenda, while that of stem samples (0.80%) was recorded in samples from Ngaoundere. The study confirms the effect of agro ecological factors on artemisinin content of A. annua in Cameroon and reveal that A. annua grown in most regions of the country contain commercially viable levels of artemisinin which can further be exploited for pharmaceutical purposes.

Assessing the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Aviation Sector and Exploring Strategies for Industry Recovery

One of the most impacted industries among all, is the Airlines industry. Airlines need to study the consequences of a pandemic, what is important is that they adapt to the uncertainty and complex changes. Companies must understand how to manage their capabilities, strategy, mission, and vision, with a fast and changing environment. Each airline can get the benefit of having a low-cost strategy and use the cargo shipment strategy that makes it easy to ship different products. Basically, reaching efficiency and effectiveness to lead the uncertain changes. For the research report it considers the highly affected industry in covid era. Qatar airways operated in a high premium business model but in covid times, demand of the luxury segment got affected. Indigo does their business mainly in India, so they are the worst hit in these times since India shows the second highest number of covid cases in the world. Due to the resurgence of Covid-19, Cathay Pacific have struggled with staff rostering due to Hong Kong’s strict quarantine rules.

Who are the Poor Farm households' in Nigeria and is this Population Changing Over Time?

ABSTRACT: Reducing poverty in developing economies is a major challenge faced by the development stakeholders. Although poverty is a worldwide phenomenon, it has been observed that Nigeria is one of the countries that is worst hit by the poverty with biting effects more on the rural dwellers where the bulk of the population lives. Using the nationally representative household survey panel data by the World Bank/National Bureau of Statistics, from the 2012 to 2016 period to provide answers to what are the household demographic, farm, and geospatial characteristics that drive the likelihood of farm households entering, exiting, and re-entering poverty using the costs of basic needs approach as a marker of poverty. Four poverty levels were used in analyzing the household survey data. The two waves of poverty mobility in Nigeria approximately revealed 51.2 percent of poor farm households' in wave 1, and 42 percent in wave 2 were at risk of spending their entire lives in poverty. The probability of existing and entering two-year poverty mobility which started at 25 percent rose to 45 percent for four-year poverty mobility indicating that over time more farm households, have experienced changes in the status of their consumption expenditure relative to the poverty line. Close to households who begin poor, those who moved out of poverty in any of the other years had better endowments in terms of land and livestock ownership, urban residence, and involvement in non-farm income portfolios. It is concluded that older heads, higher educational attainment, engagement in crop/livestock production, and non-farm livelihood activities, strongly reduce the likelihood of farm households' poverty entry. Therefore, policy strategies aimed at dealing with poverty mobility should be heterogeneous across the poor farm households. Also, as the chronically poor lack physical assets and earning endowments, policy efforts should focus on education or other forms of skills acquisition programs in order to raise their livelihood portfolios and boost their earning capacity.

Government policy interventions during COVID-19 pandemic and economic performance

This paper examines the impacts of government policy interventions during COVID-19 pandemic on economic performance. The study pooled daily data from 108 countries across 5 regions based on World Bank classification from March 22, 2020 to July 31, 2020. These regions are East Asia and Pacific; Europe and Central Asia; Latin America and the Caribbean; Middle East and North Africa as well as sub-Saharan Africa. The study employs Autoregressive Distributed Lagged (ARDL) model. This study uses STATA 15.0 to estimate error correction-based Pooled Mean Group (PMG), Mean Group (MG) and Dynamic Fixed Effect (DFE) model for analyzing dynamic heterogeneous panel data. The empirical result from each region of the World is as follows: (1) Result from PMG on East Asia and Pacific region reveals that government policy of debt/contract relief towards cushioning the effects of COVID-19 pandemic has positive impact on economic performance in the short run while none of the government policy measure is statistically significant in the long run. (2) Result from MG on Europe and Central Asia shows that in both the long run and the short run, number of confirmed cases and school closure policy have negative impacts on economic performance and statistically significant at 1 percent level while in the long run, international travel control and public information campaign have negative and positive impacts on economic performance in the region respectively. Both International travel control and public information campaign are statistically significant at 1 percent and 10 percent levels respectively. (3) Result from PMG on Latin America and the Caribbean shows that the number of confirmed cases and debt/contract relief are statistically significant and have negative and positive impacts on economic performance respectively in the short run. The former is statistically significant at 5 percent level while the latter is statistically significant at 10 percent level. In the long run however, only international travel control imposed by government is significant at 5 percent level and has negative impact on economic performance in the region. (4) Result from PMG on Middle East and North Africa shows that only number of confirmed cases is significant and has positive impact on economic performance at 10 percent level in the short run. No robust impacts is found in the long run. (5) Result from PMG on sub-Saharan African region shows that number of confirmed cases has positive impact, which is statistically significant at 10 percent level on economic performance while in the long run, income support package has negative impact on economic performance at 5 percent level of significance. The study therefore, concludes that, the relative economic potency and effectiveness of government interventionist policy measures towards putting COVID-19 pandemic under control vary across regions of the world. Economically, Europe and Central Asia is the region that is worst hit by the pandemic when compared with other regions.

COVID-19 and the adoption of digital marketing by micro and small enterprises in Nigeria

This study aims to analyze digital marketing adoption among micro and small enterprises (MSEs) operating in Lagos State, Nigeria. This state was chosen because it was the worst hit by the COVID-19 pandemic regarding the reported number of infections and it has a large concentration of MSEs. There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic brought changes to how businesses operate. It succeeded in pushing business owners into adopting new business strategies, all in the bid to adapt to the reality of the pandemic and the associated changes. The cross-sectional survey design was adopted; data were collected through an online survey of 240 MSEs operating in Lagos State. The results show no substantial increase in digital marketing adoption during the pandemic relative to the pre-pandemic era. The findings, however, reveal that digital marketing use differed significantly according to sector and size before and during the pandemic. No changes were found in digital marketing adoption in the information technology and finance sectors, while a decline in digital marketing adoption was reported in the hospitality sector. On the other hand, there was a rise in the use of digital marketing during the pandemic in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. These findings provide an empirical managerial perspective establishing the link between reality and theoretical business underpinnings.

Through Local Wisdom: A Policy Road for Bali's Post Pandemic Economic Recovery

As a tourist area where most of its income comes from the tourism sector, Bali is the worst hit area as a result of Covid-19 pandemic. Mobilization restrictions eliminate tourists who come to Bali, both domestic and foreign. Bali’s economy declined drastically, and its government inevitably tried to adapt through leading sectors other than tourism. Economic strengthening is then carried out through a number of policies that prioritize local wisdom in managing regionally superior products in various sectors, especially in the local industrial sector and the creative economy. Endek’s traditional fabric industry is considered the ‘savior’ of Bali’s economy in the pandemic era. Those who lost their jobs in the tourism sector turned into craftsmen or marketers of Endek products. This research analyzes the efforts of Balinese Government in revitalizing the economy after Covid-19 pandemic. This research uses a qualitative approach with descriptive data obtained from statements, written words, and observed behavior. The data used consist of primary and secondary data obtained through research in the field. The result of the study shows that Bali’s economic recovery policy by highlighting Endek cloth is in line with the Bali Government’s vision. Through “Nanung Sat Kerthi Loka Bali” all policies should maintain the sanctity and harmony of Bali’s nature. The vision focuses on three main aspects, namely nature, manners, and culture, which implement the value of Tri Hita Karana (three causes of prosperity). It consists of six pillars of leading sectors targeting the industrial sector, SME sector, the creative and digital economy sector and also the tourism sector. The Balinese Government has also succeeded in creating an ecosystem that supports the Endek fabric industry. Bali is expected to be economically independent by utilizing its local potential. This is shown by the policy on the use of traditional cloth and the IKM Bali Bangkit Expo, which was held this year. The recommendation offered is the implementation of priority development programs carried out by the Balinese Government based on the concept of custom-based on local wisdom, tradition, and cultural arts. In addition, there is a need for further policy strengthening by involving the Bali Provincial Government, Dekranasda Bali, relevant ministries, the private sector, and Endek actors/craftsmen.&#x0D; Keywords: Local wisdom, Endek, economy recovery, economy policy, sustainable communities

Impact of Three Waves of the COVID-19 on Students of Higher Education Institutions—Challenges and Way Forward

Across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of people. The mental health of the students of higher educational institutions (HEIs) was worst hit by the coronavirus’ multiple waves and further induced by the great lockdown. Among the students, the impact of COVID-19 depends on various vulnerability factors such as current age, educational status, low economic status, pre-existing mental health problems, and fear of infection. The systematic search was conducted on PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and other databases from January 2020 to September 2022. A total of 80 articles were included in the review based on the eligibility criteria. High prevalence rates of anxiety (3.82–87.7%), depression (21.2–82.4%), and stress (11–81.2%) were reported by the HEI students during the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States of America, Ethiopia, Egypt, Greece, Kosovo, Jordan, China, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, and India. A variety of risk factors were also associated with psychological distress such as female gender, young age group of 18–19 years, low socio-economic status, academic delays, history of medical/psychiatric illness, fear of infection, and excessive exposure to COVID-19-related news via social media. The psychological impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of HEI students is higher in magnitude. The review highlights the mental health issues of HEI students and also presents interventions and strategies to help HEI students at various levels.