Analysing the social-economic implications of covid-19 pandemic and recovery strategies by urban poor communities of Kampala city suburbs

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented catastrophe taking on an enormous toll on humanity. There have been significant disruptions on the livelihoods with wider socio-economic impacts . Covid 19 pandemic has disproportionately affected the poorest communities with slum dwellers having the most vulnerable groups of people with low adaptive capacity. The current study therefore aimed at analyzing the socio-economic implications of Covid-19 in order to develop feasible measures in reducing these impacts especially on the vulnerable urban poor in Bwaise III. The study further established the socio-economic implications of Covid-19 on the urban poor and analyzed the strategies and measures adopted by the urban poor communities to recover from the covid-19 pandemic. A cross sectional research was undertaken using a mixed approach where simple random sampling was employed in selection of the households and purposive sampling on the key informants. Data was collected through field surveys, interviews and direct field observations; and then analyzed using thematic content analysis where descriptive statistics were generated in Microsoft excel spread sheets and then presented inform of tables, pie charts and bar graphs. The study findings revealed that 16.6% of the people had lost their jobs during the pandemic, 56.7% can no longer save because of the pandemic and its after effects. 33% reported to have encountered gender-based violence and 37.5 encountered unwanted pregnancies. Environmental impacts were prevalent with over 45% of the respondents reporting to increased poor waste management. A number of standard operating procedures were put in place that is wearing face masks, socio-distancing hand washing among others. There is need to build strong social relationships and capacities among such communities. A number of measures have been put in place to help communities recover. These include adoption of appropriate techniques to increase food security and formation of saving groups to increase chances of financial power. Key words: Covid-19, Impacts, Recovery strategies