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The African Sahel countries are inherently fragile, environmentally insecure and economically weak. This paper underscores the compounded impacts brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic on resource supply security and, hence, the long-term development of the region. It outlines the Sahel-specific COVID-19 scenario by firstly highlighting the underly...
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... A decade later, the COVID-19 pandemic posed a serious threat to regional 5,6 and global food security 7,8 . In doing so, it disproportionately impacted low-and middle-income populations 9 and societies already grappling with environmental fragility and economic insecurity, such as those in the Sahel region 10 . Further, regional food security was jeopardized in recent years by pests and plagues, including the locust infestation in the Horn of Africa in 2019 and 2020 11 , and extreme weather events like the devastating floods and droughts experienced in Nigeria 12 . ...
The Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 triggered a global wheat price spike and food insecurities in import-dependent countries. We combine an analysis of the global wheat supply network with an agricultural commodity price model to investigate national impaired supplies and the global annual wheat price hike, respectively, for the trade year 2022. Using a scenario analysis, we show that international cooperation manifested in the Black Sea Grain and Solidarity Lanes initiatives and the removal of export restrictions may have mitigated the 2022 price hike by 13 percentage points. In a worst case scenario – characterized by multi-breadbasket harvest failures, escalating export restrictions, and blocked Ukrainian exports – wheat price increases by 90% compared to the 2000–2020 average. Coping strategies – such as food-secure countries dispersing stocks, reducing wheat as feed, or boosting wheat production – are effective at mitigating the price spike in simplified scenarios. Our findings underscore the imperative of coordinated policy responses to avoid global food supply disruptions.
... Among these challenges, the spotlight on sustainability and resilience prompts strategic reflection, emphasizes the importance of risk management, and gathers valuable lessons for future preparedness. Henceforth, this philosophy is based on the supply chain issue that has been recently documented in the literature [24][25][26][27] and tabulated as follows (Table 1): Therefore, the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a profound impact on supply chains, exacerbating poverty in underdeveloped countries and fostering challenges like malnutrition [28]. Limited resources and opportunities in these regions contribute to widespread malnutrition, hindering individual and social progress [29]. ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for a paradigm shift in supply chain and logistics operations to respond to myriad disruptions. However, this paradigm shift has changed the supply chain to be more resilient, agile, flexible, and adaptable to upcoming disruptions. Hence, a comprehensive guide to understanding, implementing, and harnessing the power of digitization in the face of disruption, leading to a more resilient and adaptive global community, is greatly appreciated. Thus, this study aims to identify the strategies used in the complex and dynamic nature of the contemporary supply chain landscape for these disruptions. Among several strategies adopted and proposed, this systematic review examines overall efficiency and operational resilience, particularly supplier diversification, investment in digital supply chain technology, and adopting flexible manufacturing models. Following a rigorous four-step identification, screening, qualification, and inclusion process, this review focuses on real-time visibility, robust risk management, and data-driven decision making to determine whether future disruptions under digitization are conducive. Therefore, this systematic review, along with these enhanced resilience strategies, will provide a comprehensive resource for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers seeking to navigate and improve logistics and supply chain operations in the face of future disruptions.
... Epidemias como la del Ébola, el Síndrome Respiratorio Agudo Severo (SARS) y el Síndrome Respiratorio del Medio Oriente (MERS) han tenido impactos negativos en la seguridad alimentaria y nutricional, especialmente para los niños, las mujeres, los ancianos y los grupos desfavorecidos, incluidos los pobres (James et al., 2021(James et al., , p.1854. Para las regiones vulnerables que ya enfrentan hambre u otras crisis (como las langostas del desierto en el Cuerno de África o la inseguridad en el Sahel), los Estados que dependen en gran medida de las importaciones de alimentos se han visto especialmente afectados por la pandemia a este respecto (Al-Saidi et al., 2022). ...
La pandemia de la Covid-19 ha tenido un profundo impacto sobre la seguridad alimentaria mundial, al haber exacerbado los factores que impulsan el hambre, tales como la recesión económica, la inestabilidad política o la alteración y fluidez de la cadena mundial de suministro de alimentos. Ahora bien, el impacto negativo de la Covid-19 en la seguridad alimentaria refleja la difícil situación del actual sistema de gobernanza de la seguridad alimentaria mundial. En este trabajo nuestro objetivo general es analizar las vías a través de las cuales la pandemia de la Covid-19 ha afectado a la seguridad alimentaria mundial. Nuestro objetivo específico es estudiar y profundizar cómo el impacto de la Covid-19 sobre la seguridad alimentaria refleja problemas estructurales en la gobernanza de la seguridad alimentaria mundial, en aras de ofrecer recomendaciones sobre cómo debe responder la comunidad internacional para evitar que una crisis de salud pública desencadene una crisis alimentaria mundial.
... COVID-19 has resulted in serious disruptions to the food value chain, with grain export restrictions during the pandemic, together with locusts destroying crops and causing price hikes, and food insecurity across many regions including parts of the Middle East (26). Countries located in the Sahel region have been particularly vulnerable during the pandemic, with COVID-19 resulting in weakened food sectors (27). COVID-19 has forced a re-evaluation of the water-food-trade link within the water-energy-food nexus, and reignited debates regarding selfsufficiency and the expansion of the local food production, even in arid regions (28). ...
... (4) Baseline vulnerability to the COVID-19 pandemic: In some Middle Eastern countries such as Tunisia and Lebanon, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the states' capacity to weather the current crisis, either due to reduced state revenues or aggravated food insecurities (47,62). In other countries, evidence exists of indirect impacts through reduced yield (e.g., Egypt) (55), or the ramifications of regional political instability due to COVID-19; e.g., Sudan (27). ...
... At the same time, multilateral efforts such as the BSGI have eased some of the pressure from this crisis in some highly vulnerable countries. In the long run, the Ukraine war invokes some of the lessons from the COVID-19 crisis regarding the need for special aid programs, fewer trade restrictions, and more sustainable and resilient local agriculture (27,28,91). At the same time, with the Middle East unlikely and undesiring (due to impacts on water) to achieve self-sufficiency, it is important to invest in strategic storage and the strengthening of the supply chain through (regional) cooperation (e.g., on trade or aid) (29,30). ...
The Ukraine war has led to a severe global food crisis due to complex supply disruptions and price increases of agricultural inputs. Countries of the Middle East have been directly affected because of their high dependence on food imports from Russia and Ukraine. Furthermore, this food crisis comes at times of high baseline vulnerability due to the compound impacts of COVID-19, repeated food shocks, and weakened states due to political-economic difficulties. This paper provides a detailed analysis of the food-related vulnerability of Middle Eastern countries in the wake of the Ukraine war. It contextualizes the varying impacts of this crisis in the region, and highlights country-level response strategies. The analysis shows a concerning and deepened crisis in the case of highly exposed and politically fragile countries with weakened food sectors; e.g., Lebanon, Sudan, and Yemen. Political-economic instabilities, limited domestic agriculture, and the lack of reliable grain reserves have aggravated the current food crisis in some countries. At the same time, indigenous short-term responses related to regional aid and cooperation have emerged, particularly in the Gulf countries, which have witnessed soaring revenues from higher energy prices. Alongside more regional frameworks for collaboration on food security, future action to mitigate such food crises should include the strengthening of local sustainable agriculture, storage capacities, and grain procurement strategies from international suppliers.
African slavery and Diaspora are strongly interlinked and effectively impacted on whole of Africa. This research explores that with emphasis on the African Sahel based on data provided by relevant research. This revealed some forms of locally inherited slavery, millions of Africans were brought outside the continent by international slave trade which created African Diaspora world widely. African slavery implicated on incidence of underdevelopment in Africa, affected its social and political structures, impacted on its definition as areas inhabited by pagans, made major transformations in its political economy, impacted on the spread of Islam in it, and influenced the vast majority of its urban complexes. Similarly, African Diaspora impacted and created and recreated identities shaped by linkages to homelands, initiated an emerging reconstruction of its image and role, produced an increasingly powerful constellation of Disparate and related groups that operate in the Sahelian region under a political economy of violence, promoted domestic insurgencies and armed conflicts, made ghettos of migrants as naturalized "black spaces" in the Mediterranean, and made African Diasporas in Indian Ocean societies very different from those in Atlantic Ocean societies. The combined implications of African slavery and Diaspora, on view of the author, was argued as "both have inspired imperialism to build strong and rooted and infinite interests in Africa"s human and natural resources, since it was a source of slaves prior to colonialism and natural resources during and post colonialism, and boundlessly, views itself having the authority on exploiting and controlling of Africa"s resources by militarily interventions and via humanitarian aid". These interventions have adversely retarded development of Africa. The research recommends the need to hasten African integration and unity against imperialist tendencies, developing a framework that challenges the dominant assumptions of processes of globalization promoted by the WTO, and the correction of the image of Africa as merely a home of natural resources.
Discusses the Sahel Population development and conflict problems
The Sahel region is projected to be highly impacted by the more frequent hazards associated with climate change, including increased temperature, drought and flooding. This systematic review examined the evidence for climate change-related health consequences in the Sahel. The databases used were Medline (PubMed), Embase (Ovid), Web of Science (Clarivate) and CABI Global Health. Hand searches were also conducted, which included directly engaging Sahelian researchers and hand-searching in the African Journals Online database. Of the 4153 studies found, 893 were identified as duplicates and the remaining 3260 studies were screened (title and abstract only) and then assessed for eligibility. A total of 81 studies were included in the systematic review. Most studies focused on vector-borne diseases, food security, nutrition and heat-related stress. Findings suggest that mosquito distribution will shift under different climate scenarios, but this relationship will not be linear with temperature, as there are other variables to consider. Food insecurity, stunting (chronic malnutrition) and heat-related mortality are likely to increase if no action is taken owing to the projected impact of climate change on environmental factors and agriculture. Seventy-one per cent of manuscripts (n = 58) had first authors from institutions in North America or Europe, of which 39.7% (n = 23) included co-authors from African institutions.
Security is a sine qua non for development. The Sahel is a troubled region and is described as the hotbed of insecurity in Africa. This state of insecurity was compounded by the outbreak of Covid-19. This article examines the regional impact of the pandemic on insecurity and development. It uses a meta-analysis and reviews secondary data to underscore the security and development imbroglio in the Sahel within the context of Covid-19. It was found that Covid-19 exacerbated the insecurity threat in the region due to pre-existing weak governance, poor capacity, grievances and climate change, which had already resulted in fragility, food insecurity, displacement, loss of livelihood, poverty, unemployment, hunger and a humanitarian crisis. The study concludes that armed groups took advantage of the health crisis to prolong conflicts which, coupled with the pre-existing economic conditions, became anathema to development. The article recommends that governments in the region should increase their health budget and enhance their capacity to respond to health emergencies such as the Covid-19 outbreak. The article further recommends that governments in the Sahelian states should prioritise good governance, improved security and regional cooperation to combat poverty.
Contents Editorial Badar Alam Iqbal.........................................................................................v *** Can Africa Run? Industrialisation and Development in Africa Fiona Tregenna .................................................................................................. 1 [Revised Text of the Second Thandika Mkandawire Annual Memorial Lecture ] *** Selected Papers on Covid-19 Pandemic and African Economies Governance Issues and the Covid-19 Pandemic in West Africa: Are There Any Linkages? Félix Fofana N'Zue and Adjoua Math Komenan...................................................33 From Epidemic to Pandemic: Covid-19, Insecurity and Development in the Sahel Tope Shola Akinyetun ..............................................................................................61 Covid-19 Lockdown and the ‘Work-From-Home’ Approach: Effect on Nigerian Academics Tolulope Osinubi, Cleopatra Ibukun and Titus Ojeyinka..............................................87 Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Financial Performance of SMEs in Nigeria: A Study of the South East Geopolitical Zone Stella Ngozi Okoroafor.............................................................................107 Digital Learning Response in the Midst of the Covid-19 Pandemic: The Case of Mauritius Verena Tandrayen-Ragoobur, Boopen Seetanah, Sheereen Fauzel and Viraiyan Teeroovengadum...................................129 Covid-19 Social Relief Programmes and Distribution Mechanisms in East Africa: Lessons Learned Ivan Kagimu...............................................................................159 Are the Covid-19 Pandemic and Public Procurement ‘Strange Bedfellows’? An African Perspective Ismail Abdi Changalima..............................................................175 Effets de la Covid-19 sur les entreprises du secteur informel agricole au Sénégal Sidia Diaouma Badiane, Amadou Tandjigora, Thierno Bachir Sy, Yessoufou et Mamoudou Dème ...................197
Nigeria like other countries of the world had great expectations for year 2020. These hopes were cut short by the emergence coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its sudden spread. The resultant effect was the closure of national economies, imposition of lockdown in cities, boarder closure and many more. COVID-19 became a pandemic having adverse effect on human sustainability. Using qualitative approach through content analysis of secondary data, this study will consider the global pandemic and the spiral effect on the nation and spiritual leadership with particular reference to Nigeria. It will bring to light the preparedness, position as well as adequacy of the nation to tackle the pandemic. The study revealed that pandemic has permeated religious settings causing a disruption in order of services, and also has affected government finance, administration as well as demand on social service delivery. This paper therefore, recommended that government should promote indigenous research and adequately finance the health sector to aid in properly positioning the system towards sailing through similar occurrences.
