Impact of COVID-19 Lockdown on the Economy of a Low-Resource Setting

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Public Health Department, Triune Biblical University Global Extension, NY, USA

2 Epidemiology Department, World Health Organization, Accra, Ghana

3 Research Department, African Health Project, Abuja, Nigeria

4 Administrative Department, Destiny Assurance Schools, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria

5 Postgraduate Residency Program, American Society of Hospital Pharmacists, USA

Abstract

Introduction: The lockdown policy imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has
restricted various businesses, including trading, inter-state travel for purchasing/selling and
supplying goods and services, hospitality industries, and state revenue generation. The study
assessed the impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on the economy of a Nigerian low-resource
community.
Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional survey conducted in Ado-Odo Ota
local government area (LGA) of Ogun State, Nigeria, using a structured questionnaire to
collect data on the economic impacts of COVID-19 lockdown on383 participants aged 20 to
60 years in January and February. Data analysis was done using IBM-SPSS version 25.
Results: During the lockdown, 26.1% of the respondents lost their jobs, 34.5% experienced
salary cuts, and only 6.5% got regular salaries. More than half (53.8%) of participants could not
meet their basic needs. All respondents (100.0%) stated that food prices and other necessities
were higher during the lockdown than before. The odds of losing jobs were 18.74 [95%CI:
6.20–56.60; P<0.001] and 4.32 [95%CI: 1.50–12.43; P<0.001] times higher among the staff of
private organizations and those doing personal businesses than among government workers.
The rate of clients/customers loss was 15.21 [95%CI: 7.59–30.51; P<0.001) and 7.07 [95%CI:
3.26–15.34; P<0.001] higher among self-employed and private companies than government
establishments.
Conclusion: Every worker should enjoy job security to mitigate the job and income loss
during a crisis. Loans and grants should be available for small businesses, particularly to
overcome the problem. Food security should be provided by subsidizing goods and providing
supports to help meet the daily needs of housholdsduring emergencies.

Keywords

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Health Management & Information Science
Volume 9, Issue 1
March 2022
Pages 9-15

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