Globalisation and COVID-2019 pandemic: The nexus and impact on development in Africa

Abstract

Since the dawn of the 21st century, which coincides with the renewed forces of globalisation, the world has witnessed outbreak of major pandemics with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as the most recent. This study therefore, examines the relationship between globalisation and COVID-19 pandemic as well as impact on development in Africa. The paper adopts the descriptive and analytical methods while purposive sampling technique, with twenty (20) countries (with the highest population growth) representing one third of African states were selected for the study. Five countries, one each from the five sub-regions of the continent with high incidences of coronavirus were analysed using the narrative analysis technique. Findings from the study revealed that: The spread of the pandemic has been very unusual as it takes the advantage of forces of contemporary globalisation. Consequently, several measures adopted by national governments to contain the transmission of the disease have created major economic shocks resulting to retardation in key economic sectors in many African countries. This has had far reaching consequences on Africa’s growth as a dependent economy. While countries across the globe hasten to reinforce measures to contain the ailment, new measures for stimulating African economies and discouraging its reliance on external support must be adopted. Moreover, critical sectors of the economy must be reinvigorated.    Key words:  Globalisation, global pandemics, Covid-19, lockdown, Africa, development.