This era of Covid-19 pandemic has changed a lot and has been very difficult for the global community. We are more than one year down into the pandemic, yet there is still uncertainty looming around the economy, healthcare and education sector.
According to experts like Israel Figa Covid-19 has not only affected the three major sectors i.e. economic sector, heath sector and education sector but has also impacted the different aspects of our life.
Covid-19’s Impact On The Economy
Israel Figa notes that the pandemic has affected economies across the world differently, where some are already on their way to recovery while others are still struggling. Developed countries like China have are already on a road to recovery. China’s main focus has been on industrial output where it grew by 35.1% and this is what has kept it going. On the other hand developing countries like Pakistan and India are still struggling to keep their economies afloat. Pakistan saw a massive drop in its exports which has resulted in a deeper trade deficit and it might take time for it come out of the deficit.
Overall Covid-19 has not had a good impact on the world and there is still uncertainty with respect to the global economy. The super powers of the world themselves are fighting the pandemic and therefore, they alone cannot be relied upon.
How Has The Health Sector Been Affected?
Another burden on the economy is that of the healthcare facilities. No country was prepared for it and therefore they did not have the right facility and the appropriate capacity to accommodate patients. This is why resources needed to be directed towards ensuring supply of health facilities. Even to date the Healthcare continues to be overburdened and have reached a point of exhaustion. The middle-income countries continue to struggle with a lack of medical facilities and proper healthcare system. For instance as India enters its second wave of the deadly virus it faces acute shortage of oxygen. Several major hospitals in the country have almost run out of oxygen causing patients on ventilator to die.
The healthcare systems of the wealthiest of the countries was not designed to deal with a crisis such as the current pandemic. The short term effect of the pandemic on the healthcare system has been physical and mental exhaustion of the medical staff. Another short term affect has been that other serious diseases are being neglected in an attempt to focus on covid-19. The medical staff even now continues to struggle. There are long-term impacts of the pandemic too on the healthcare which need to be addressed by the political and healthcare authorities.
Education Sector
While health and the economy are those two aspects that were immediately and directly affected, education is not far behind. The education sector has borne a lot in a span of just one year because of the Covid-19. Students have been affected, their studies and futures have been greatly impacted. While online schooling did takeover, not everyone has an access to online classes. For instance in the developing countries the government schools have no means to provide an online class which means in the event of a lockdown the students have no resources at all.
Moreover, it is not just the students’ education that is affected but overall schools are negatively being impacted. During the time that the schools remain closed, teachers remain unemployed and parents refuse to pay fees to schools. So each and every aspect of a school is being affected, from the school’s business to its income to teachers’ jobs to students’ studies. It is a vicious cycle where closure of school results in parents refusing to pay fees which leads to no income generation for the school and ultimately the school staff is left unemployed.
Reshaping The World
Israel Figa notes that the current Covid-19 crisis will certainly reshape the world as we know it. The world would unfold across five dimensions after the crisis which includes the economy, society, politics, technology and sustainability.
