By: Habtamu Girma Demiessie
(Assistant Professor of Economics at Jigjiga University.
Email: ruhe215@gmail.com)
The World in in deadlock
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Quiet unprecedented, currently the world is living in its shutdown following the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus outbreak a pandemic on March 3, 2020. A highly contagious viral disease, known by its scientific name as Cvid-19 has stopped virtually every human activity at global scale, as popular movement curbed by way of controlling the spread of the pandemic
Covid-19: An Economic Pandemic
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Expertise commentaries on Covid-19 dub the disease an economic pandemic, to signify counting the cost of the cure is getting dear than the problem itself. The economic cost of Covid-19 to the world is predicted to be close 2.5 trillion USD, a size of GDP of Britain.
The global financial market is also losing massively day by day.
As has been reported from the world stoke exchange markets, the three weeks of damages of covid-19 is even worse than the three years of great depression of 1930s, and the 2008 financial crisis (later economic crisis).
While those costs are incurred at the starting days of the outbreak, one can imagine how the cost would surge as corona-days count.
In the years after the pandemic, the world has to expect the biggest economic challenge ever. African economies already small enough to shake by the shocks of global economy, the continent should also prepare for the worst economic hit.
Coronavirus is changing our World. But, How?
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For many analysts, Covid-19 is dismantling not just the economy, but also changing the way all sorts of human transactions hold, locally and globally.
Indeed we are witnessing covid-19`s staggering impacts in changing the way political business functions; also in its effect of reshaping intra-personal & inter-personal communications too.
Scholars are also predicting for its impact in restructuring the global order by triggering for global actions forward, something the world has been missing in the past decades or so.
Ethiopia Struggling to Fight Covid-19
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Ethiopia announced the first case of coronavirus on March 13 2020. Since then Coronavirus has taken the single most topic grabbing the dialogue among the Ethiopian society. The government of Ethiopia has also considered the issue a number one national agenda, where a number of measures and actions taken to fight the spread of the disease.
In a bid to curb the spread of the disease thereby limiting the movement of people, the government announced for schools & universities to shut-down; also large portion of personnel in the public service were set to stay home.
Despites those steps, many still fear Ethiopia is yet to count the cost of this global pandemic.
With the tally of Covid-19 cases incessantly increasing, the problem is likely to surge and last longer. And the government of Ethiopia declared national calls in the fight against Covid-19, sending clear message to Ethiopians across the board to prepare for the worst.
Coronavirus Pandemic – An Evil but a Uniting Force for Ethiopia
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In response to this national call, Ethiopians from all walks of life and levels of economy are contributing in money and kinds to the national Corona emergency task force.
For many analysts on Ethiopian affairs, coronavirus pandemic has united an all divided Ethiopia. A country on the verge of fallout threatened by ethnic conflicts, coronavirus is an evil but a uniting force for Ethiopia on lines of humanity.
How Ethiopia Can Make for Post-Corona Days?
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As we note from history, deadly pandemics like Covid-19 have always tested human civilizations. History tells us disease outbreaks comes and go, not just at ease but with their legacies & scars to surmount generations.
However, at least at this point in time, Covid-19 is much a media issue and less a strategic topic to be subjected by the academia and the policy regimes. In fact, it may hold water arguing looking for such strategic response is premature. But that does not mean there is no scope for strategic interventions, in any way and means possible.
Today, when all actions and actors deployed to waging war against the deadly coronavirus, it is wise to look for life after Covid-19.
Hence, while Ethiopia is mobilizing massive resources to the inevitable war, it is also pretty important that the country has to act today to make life in the post-corona