The world is now in panic mood with over millions of people locked down in most countries. China, Europe, USA and Africa all have locked down their countries in an effort to control the spread of Covid-19, the pandemic has stretched medical resources of most countries and has also led governments to redirect their budgets to support their health systems.

Most countries who already have an insufficient budget for their health services have been caught with their pants down. The little they had allocated for National Health is now not enough for the crisis at hand. In fact National budgets are being revised to virament funds to health services. One does not need to be a genius to see the strain this has put on the countries resources. To add to the situation of lack of resources countries have been locked down.

The lockdown through a good measure to prevent the spread of Covid-19 has also had adverse effects on the economies of the countries of the countries concerned. The impact of the lockdown in the economies is very huge. Production in most countries has actual ground to a halt. In Africa which is a third world control continent, with has industries as compared to the likes of Europe and America has found itself with a thriving informal sector. It is this informal sector which has been hard hit by the measures taken to control the spread of covid-19. The informal sector which comprises of small scale enterprises, street vendors vegetable stalls, second hand clothing sellers etc., in one day seized overnight. Presidential decrease brought industries to a hold. The retail business also was brought to its knees with only those entities dealing with retailing of food staffs and pharmaceuticals spared. Transport ground to almost a halt with only those in essential services allowed to operate.

In the United States of America the Covid-19 pandemic saw stocks on the New York Stock Exchange take a knock to an unprecedent levels. Overnight over 7 million people in the USA filed for unemployment benefit. In the recession of 2008 only 3 million people filed for the same.  You can imagine the strain this has put on the American economy. In order to meet this demand the US senate voted that federal government be allocated with almost 3 trillion dollars to fund this exercise and provide for the fight against covid -19.  The UK has made an undertaking to pay up to eighty per cent of its citizen’s salary apart from unemployment benefit. Currently economic activity in most of the world are at a low ebb. Millions of people are not at work locked down at home .The European Union announced that it has set aside 800 billion dollars to assist countries in distress. They have called this fund (SURE) Support for unemployment Relief Effort. Its member countries can apply for this fund. This is an attempt to cushion member countries from the economic effects of Covid-19.

Countries with weaker economies are bound to be impacted heavily. In short we are heading for a recession .New Delhi in India for the first time is breathing clean air after all factories stopped functioning because of the lockdown. Millions of people have been confined to their homes with no significant economic activity taking place. Currently the focus is on the prevention of this dreadful disease but at the same time it is destroying economies.

In Africa South Africa was one of the first countries to implement a lockdown. With the exception of essential services everything else is not working. Firms are closed, retail outlets not functioning and millions of people sitting at home. To cushion the elderly the South African government is paying out grants to all those who are vulnerable. This has seen a rise in those seeking government assistance. As of now the South African Rand has taken a blow from major currencies trading below its January levels. Unemployment is set to rise which might lead to crime going up.

Zimbabwe on the other hand whose economy is already crippled by the sanctions imposed upon it by the USA government is on a worse state. With almost 85% of unemployment, the situation has been made unbearable by the lockdown which has condemned the informal sector to their homes. The majority of the people in the country hustle in the streets, a term which means they work on the streets and other jobs to earn money. This is the money which has been funding the economy. For a country without a solid currency the going is tough .Just before the lock down thirty Zimbabwe dollars were equivalent   to USA Dollar. The lockdown has increased the level of inflation with prices shooting up on the first day of the lockdown. Companies have closed down with the government asking them to pay their workers. Faced with this pandemic the country is at the mercy of the world .Dilapited medical facilities are in need of hard cash in order for them to be refurbished, a thing government does not have. Unlike South Africa were food is in abundance. Zimbabwe is forced to import most of its food draining out of the, the country much needed foreign currency. The effects will be felt after the lockdown. With its striving black market totally shutdown, this has impacted heavily on those who relied on it for cheaper commodities. Zimbabwe has no plan in place to cushion its people from the impact of the lockdown.

Currently countries worldwide are endeavoring to import test kits and personnel protective equipment from those countries who produce them. Most African countries cannot compete with their western counterparts in this regard. The cost of these essential lifesaving products is beyond the reach of many African government. It is my hope that logic will take over and funds earmarked for defense be viramented for this purpose.

I foresee countries in Africa coming out worse than most countries. After their self-imposed lockdown, business will need financial injections to allow them to operate optimally and to go back to their pre lockdown states. Job cuts will be the only option until the impact of this lock down is past. In terms of finance, trillions of dollars are needed to support African economies in order to sustain them. It does not matter which country in Africa. It could be the economical giants like South Africa and Nigeria they will need financial Aid. The World Bank and The Inter Monetary Fund should brace themselves for calls for Aid from most African countries. In short if the core of the world is shaken what about the periphery which depends on the core. Some countries like China might pull through but the rest of the world is falling into recession. One has to look at the economic effects Covid-19 has caused in both Spain and Italy. For the them to recover will need billions of dollars in support relief. As can be seen Covid -19 has not only affected us in health but economical as well which is more adverse than what we are seeing now.