Great Lesson from Covid-19

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By Nkwazi Mhango

Almost everything under the Sun's two fasciae either good or bad. Put it this way. There’s nuanced dichotomy almost in everything, principally the way humans do and interpret things. I’ll use this dyadic tactic to reconnoiter all good and subtle things methinks covid-19 has engendered despite its obvious looming corollaries, idiosyncrasies, and jeopardies to humankind. I say this because Covid-19 is still around and will be there for unknown time. Too much or little of everything is dangerous; whereas everything poised is good. After the novel coronavirus broke in 2019, it’s been doom and gloom for the world almost in everything. The manner in and hustle at which the pandemic whelmed the world like bushfire were verily nerve-wracking. The self-promoted high and mighty of the world started to sound a death knell for Africans that they’ve always deemed gloomy. 

    Ironically, before long, the pandemic turned tables on them and proved them wrong up until now. The pangs and twangs the pandemic’s dispatched are bigger and more palpable in the west than Africa. Here's where you wonder neglected countries such as the CAR, DRC, Somalia and Zimbabwe among others would do better than the might west.

However, as the things go, there seems to be a silver lining to it. There are some positive things attributable to this pandemic. The Swahili sage’s it that every calamity’s its blessings. Considering some new findings, there are chances that Covid-19–––if well studied and utilized–––is likely to help us to usefully change the world.                               Environmental activists, ecologists, and futurists are happy with the ablution of air that comes with Covid-19.  Similarly, rare and imperiled animals, in some place, are coming back. Josiane Plante of Montreal, Canada's quoted  (CTV News, April 19, 2020) as saying that she was surprised to see a pair of bare-headed wild turkey in downtown swaggering in the sidewalk, which is a rare sight.

Further, according to James Page of the Canadian Wildlife Federation, there were 15,000 new sightings reported in the first days of April of the same year. This might be seen as something negligible.

            Arguably, the bigger picture one gets from eco-friendly changes such as air and water quality improvements speaks to the fact that our consumerism is something that’ll one time extinguish us. It further speaks to how we can apply the good lessons from Covid-19 to take on the global warming; we, humans will easily avert the looming dangers we are collectively facing. In this way, we’ve an opportunity to make sense of and reconcile Covid-19 science with global warming science. 

         I’m sure. If research is conducted on how trees, our forests have improved during the lockdown in China and Europe, chances are that much will be learned and gained from Covid-19. There can be a silver lining in this cloud of pandemic if humans become creative and avant-garde seeking to make opportunities out of what seems to be a colossal menace. Yes, one’s garbage might become another’s treasure.

            Apart from ecological goodies, there are some socio-economic goodies. For example, the husbands who used to come home in the middle of the night under various ruses so as to become rare genera to their progenies were always home during the lockdowns thanks to the Covid-19. The movements of such creatures were curtailed either for the fear of endangering their families or obeying the lockdown laws. The kismets they used to burn on liquor and prostitutes can now help their families to live better. Consider this. The used to be lonely housewives were then happy for what Covid-19 has awarded them.  The lockdowns that Covid-19 ushered in can’t be negated so to speak or being treated as fishing expedition. For, it has informed us about our preparedness as countries and as peoples. Many governments were caught off guard; something that allowed corrupt officials to rob public coffers under the pretext[s] of urgency in tackling the pandemic. The lesson learned is that countries and governments need to have emergency funds and laws altogether.

 Consider the lock out many went through; some to end up taking to streets to oppose the move. Similarly, kids who had already forgotten how their fathers look like were then happy to see them around toying with parenthood. Conflict over parenting, not to mention infidelity, must have fallen sharply despite the fact that there have been negative side whereby girls have been on a receiving end as far as premarital pregnancies are concerned. 

For example, according to the Global Citizen (August 19^th, 2022), in Kenya alone, “over a period of three months in lockdown due to COVID-19, 152,000 Kenya teenage girls became pregnant—a 40% increase in the country's monthly average.”  What's the lesson today? This is not good. However, it provides a lesson on how to avoid this to recur. The good side of this is the fact that it alerts us to do things differently shall we go back to the lockdown to see to it that we seal the loopholes that enabled this crime to be committed.

            Another goodie that Covid-19 shows as a lesson for Africa is technological divide. While many students globally were online learning, ours were struggling for various reasons such as lack of internet connectivity, electricity, and the general programs, and infrastructure that would have enabled us to address this anomaly. The upshot is that Africa needs to start thinking about technological and power interconnectivity.                         Dependency on others to help proved to not help, especially during the pandemic in which it was everybody on his own. African sage has it that when spiders unite can tie a lion. We, too, despite being made to believe we are poor, together, we can bridge the orifice we're having now as a people and a continent.

More importantly, as was with HIV/AIDS and Ebola in Africa, humans have proved to be resilient. Maybe, it is time to learn the model African countries used to thwart the two pandemic singlehandedly while the west’s just ringing the death knell as if it wasn’t their duty to help other humans.  Africa needs to come forth and teach the others how it survived the above two perils. For, apart from its experience from the two pandemic, up until now, Africa still faces lesser of the pandemic compared to others. Why while Africa’s accused of having feeble health services compared to the west that's now huffing and puffing without underscoring its role in this.

Another good thing that Covid-19 ushered in is the fact that our health and social systems are wanting and gouged. Who’d think that the so-called developed countries would lose the battle to Covid-19 as it happened?  Refer to the hecatomb of many of its elderly. 

Apart from our health and social systems, in western countries, their wellbeing, especially that of elderly, is but shambolic. That’s why many elderly died compared to Africa and Asia where they are taken care of by their families instead of interning them in care homes.

In sum, Covid-19, despite its perils, presents challenges and opportunities to humankind shall we become creative and resilient, especially in preparing ourselves for the postcovid-19 time. Despite being a menace, Covid-19 can be a wake-up call for us to reconsider how we use our resources and the way we treat Mother Earth with myopia flaunted by our consumerism, greed, and self-centeredness as people and society. Africa and the west have a lot to learn and share from Covid-19 experience and resilience.

Source: Independent (Zimbabwe).