Refugee women in Africa, COVID-19 and multisystem violence: when it rains it pours

The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic to hit Africa (February–September 2020) was not particularly virulent either in terms of cases detected or lethality. However, the presence of the virus and the subsequent restrictions exacerbated pre-existing inequalities based on ethnicity, class and gender. This paper analyses the impacts of the pandemic on refugee women, who are subject to "structural vulnerability” and "multisystemic violence” in Africa. After analysing the ten African countries with the largest refugee populations, the different forms and levels of these impacts are systematised, along with the consequences and implications for refugee women in the long term, highlighting the need for strategies to be adopted towards this group at various levels © 2023, Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals.All Rights Reserved.

"It was bad, very, very bad."The effect of COVID-19 on informal street vendors in the city centre of Cape Town

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is currently reverberating throughout the formal and informal sector of the South African economy - including informal street vendors. The informal sector and key activities such as informal street trading play an important role in the South African economy and the unique socio-economic context of South Africa. Despite optimistic theoretical beliefs that the informal sector will mitigate the adverse effects of external shocks (as with the COVID-19 pandemic) by absorbing the job losses that occur in the formal sector, previous studies suggest the opposite. The informal sector is often disproportionately affected by external economic and health shocks, especially in southern Africa (Bassier et al., 2020;International Labour Organisation (ILO), 2020c;Rogan & Skinner, 2018;Skinner & Rogan, 2019). Against this background, the aim of the study was to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives and livelihoods of informal street traders. A qualitative research approach in the form of a descriptive case study was used to conduct an in-depth investigation of the effect of COVID-19 on the lives and livelihoods of street vendors in Cape Town's city centre. A qualitative approach provides the opportunity to conduct a more comprehensive and in-depth analysis around the research question. The specific area in which the study was conducted was chosen to be close to transport infrastructure such as railway stations and bus stops and other public transport routes, as the literature suggests that these are the areas preferably frequented by street vendors. Before the fieldwork started, a pilot study was done to identify possible challenges and shortcomings in the interview guide. The necessary adjustments were made and the fieldwork took place between 6 and 8 May 2021. In-depth interviews, by means of a semi-structured interview guide, were conducted with 19 different street vendors, after which data saturation was achieved. Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse and describe "trends or themes" (Bryman & Bell, 2014:439). Guided by the protocol of Du Plooy-Cilliers et al. (2014:230) and Guest et al. (2012:7), the researchers revisited the data numerous times, simultaneously identifying the themes several times in order to refine the analysis. The researchers consistently adhered to the "Code of Conduct for Researchers" as stipulated by the North-West University. The empirical component of the study only began after the researchers had obtained ethical approval from the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences' Research Ethics Committee. All relevant ethical principles were adhered to during the interviews with informal street vendors and COVID-19 protocol was strictly observed. The demographic and business characteristics of the respondents serve as a precursor and background to the rest of the thematic analysis on the impact of COVID-19 on street trading as a sector of the informal economy. Interviews were conducted with 19 informal enterprises. During two of the 19 interviews, there were two respondents from the same stall participating in the interview. This means that the researchers engaged with 21 informal street traders, representing 19 informal enterprises. Most respondents were men (12 out of 21) and nine had completed matric. Although four (20%) of the respondents possessed a tertiary qualification, seven (35%) respondents had not completed their schooling. The respondents, who were mostly foreigners from Cameroon, Somalia and Malawi, were mainly between 35 and 64 years old;the youngest retailer was 23 years old and the oldest retailer 74. At the time of the interviews, clothing and/or footwear were the main products sold, followed by fruit and vegetables, jewellery, accessories and handbags. Some product offerings (such as flowers and fruit and vegetables) mainly have a local customer base, while traders selling arts, crafts or curio's and some selling jewellery or accessories and bags are largely supported by tourists. The respondents'experience as informal street traders ranged from about one year to 56 years. In general, 14 (67%) of respondents had been working as informal traders for more than five years. A thematic analysis of the data showed that all the respondents' businesses closed for between one and five months in 2020 due to the national lockdown and associated regulations. Inventory losses, lack of income, depletion of their savings, layoffs of employees and significant food shortages were on-going themes. It was also not possible for the foreign respondents to make significant remittances to family in their countries of origin. Declining tourism numbers and local customers who lost their jobs are a constant threat to the livelihoods of informal street vendors. Furthermore, most of their local clients work from home and avoid public spaces to comply with social distancing regulations. In addition, several respondents said that tourists had had a positive impact on their profit margin because tourists bought more expensive products compared to the local customers. Most respondents said that their average monthly profit since the initial Level 5 lockdown in 2020 was about half of the average monthly profit the enterprise could generate before COVID-19. In addition, there were three businesses that could show only a third of the profits they had enjoyed before COVID-19, with another two businesses even reporting less than a third of their average profit prior to COVID-19 - one vendor's profit was about 20-30% less than before COVID-19. More specifically, three of the businesses made an average monthly profit of between R6 000 and R10 000 before COVID-19 and two of the businesses made an average daily profit of between R250 and R300. In the last year since the pandemic, however, three of the businesses generated an average monthly profit of between R2 000 and R5 000 and several businesses generated an average daily profit of between R100 and R200. Street vendors use various strategies, such as good customer service, efforts to obtain the best possible location, the acquisition of fresh stock, and the use of social media and electronic payment instruments in an attempt to deal with the adverse consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite their best efforts, several respondents had no choice but to reduce their employees' working hours and/or remuneration. The challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic presents to informal street vendors in Cape Town's city centre are therefore an on-going daily reality. Continuous state support and follow-up studies with the same group of respondents to examine the impact over the medium and longer term are necessary. An important example of this is action research with respondents on the impact of the existing assistance measures on their lives and living conditions. These research results may help to develop action plans that will enable the city, province and country to deal with future exogenous shocks in a manner that would ensure some mitigation of the adverse effects of similar shocks on the structurally vulnerable sections of the society and the economy.

Structural vulnerability among patients with HIV and SARS-CoV-2 Co-infection: descriptive case series from the U.S. Midwest.

HIV and COVID-19 disproportionately impact marginalized populations, especially racial and ethnic minorities. This descriptive case series from an HIV clinic in the U.S. Midwest explores the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of 37 individuals with HIV and SARS-CoV-2 co-infection. All 37 had suppressed viral loads prior to diagnosis with COVID-19, and all 37 survived. Relative to our overall HIV clinic population, over twice as many Hispanic patients, three times as many undocumented patients, and four times as many refugee patients contracted COVID-19, highlighting the structural vulnerability of these sub-populations.

Emotional response patterns, mental health, and structural vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: a latent class analysis.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to increases in negative emotions such as fear, worry, and loneliness, as well as changes in positive emotions, including calmness and hopefulness. Alongside these complex emotional changes has been an inequitable worsening of population mental health, with many people experiencing suicidal ideation and using substances to cope. This study examines how patterns of co-occurring positive and negative emotions relate to structural vulnerability and mental health amid the pandemic. METHODS: Data are drawn from a cross-sectional monitoring survey (January 22-28, 2021) on the mental health of adults in Canada during the pandemic. Latent class analysis was used to group participants (N = 3009) by emotional response pattern types. Descriptive statistics, bivariate cross-tabulations, and multivariable logistic regression were used to characterize each class while quantifying associations with suicidal ideation and increased use of substances to cope. RESULTS: A four-class model was identified as the best fit in this latent class analysis. This included the most at-risk Class 1 (15.6%; high negative emotions, low positive emotions), the mixed-risk Class 2 (7.1%; high negative emotions, high positive emotions), the norm/reference Class 3 (50.5%; moderate negative emotions, low positive emotions), and the most protected Class 4 (26.8% low negative emotions, high positive emotions). The most at-risk class disproportionately included people who were younger, with lower incomes, and with pre-existing mental health conditions. They were most likely to report not coping well (48.5%), deteriorated mental health (84.2%), suicidal ideation (21.5%), and increased use of substances to cope (27.2%). Compared to the norm/reference class, being in the most at-risk class was associated with suicidal ideation (OR = 2.84; 95% CI = 2.12, 3.80) and increased use of substances to cope (OR = 4.64; 95% CI = 3.19, 6.75). CONCLUSIONS: This study identified that adults experiencing structural vulnerabilities were disproportionately represented in a latent class characterized by high negative emotions and low positive emotions amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Membership in this class was associated with higher risk for adverse mental health outcomes, including suicidal ideation and increased use of substances to cope. Tailored population-level responses are needed to promote positive coping and redress mental health inequities throughout the pandemic and beyond.

Harmful by Design-a Qualitative Study of the Health Impacts of Immigration Detention.

BACKGROUND: The USA has the largest immigration detention system in the world with over 20,000 individuals imprisoned by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) daily. Numerous reports have documented human rights abuses in immigration detention, yet little is known about its health impacts. OBJECTIVE: To characterize how the US immigration detention system impacts health from the perspective of people who were recently detained by ICE. DESIGN: Qualitative study using anonymous, semi-structured phone interviews in English or Spanish conducted between July 2020 and February 2021. PARTICIPANTS: Adults who had been detained by ICE for at least 30 days in the New York City metropolitan area within the previous 2 years, and that were fluent in English and/or Spanish. APPROACH: We explored participants' health histories and experiences trying to meet physical and mental health needs while in detention and after release. We conducted a reflective thematic analysis using an inductive approach. KEY RESULTS: Of 16 participants, 13 identified as male; five as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer; and four as Black; they were from nine countries. Participants had spent a median of 20 years living in the USA and spent a median of 11 months in immigration detention. Four themes emerged from our analysis: (1) poor conditions and inhumane treatment, (2) a pervasive sense of injustice, (3) structural barriers limiting access to care, and (4) negative health impacts of immigration detention. CONCLUSIONS: The narratives illustrate how structural features of immigration detention erode health while creating barriers to accessing needed medical care. Clinicians caring for immigrant communities must be cognizant of these health impacts. Community-based alternatives to immigration detention should be prioritized to mitigate health harms.

Mental Health Inequities Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings From Three Rounds of a Cross-Sectional Monitoring Survey of Canadian Adults.

Objectives: Adverse mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are well documented; however, there remains limited data detailing trends in mental health at different points in time and across population sub-groups most impacted. This paper draws on data from three rounds of a nationally representative cross-sectional monitoring survey to characterize the mental health impacts of COVID-19 on adults living in Canada (N = 9,061). Methods: Descriptive statistics were used to examine the mental health impacts of the pandemic using a range of self-reported measures. Multivariate logistic regression models were then used to quantify the independent risks of experiencing adverse mental health outcomes for priority population sub-groups, adjusting for age, gender, and survey round. Results: Data illustrate significant disparities in the mental health consequences of the pandemic, with inequitable impacts for sub-groups who experience structural vulnerability related to pre-existing mental health conditions, disability, LGBTQ2+ identity, and Indigenous identity. Conclusion: There is immediate need for population-based approaches to support mental health in Canada and globally. Approaches should attend to the root causes of mental health inequities through promotion and prevention, in addition to treatment.

Indigenous Border Migrants and (Im)Mobility Policies in Chile in Times of COVID-19.

The commodification of healthcare and the structural violence towards the migrant population in the Chilean system materialize in a series of structural barriers to accessing healthcare. In the face of this structural vulnerability, cross-border health mobility is one of the primary resources of indigenous border migrants living in the Tarapacá region (Chile). This involves crossing the border of both people (specialists/patients) and objects (such as ritual supplies or biomedicines), which play a crucial role as, in many cases, it is the only way to satisfy their healthcare needs. The security-orientated geopolitics of border closure (Plan Frontera Segura) has been reinforced by immobility policies linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. While doing so leaves people without the fundamental resource of healthcare mobility or obliges them to cross the border via unauthorized crossings, exposing them to criminalization and abuse by different agents of violence (the military, people smugglers, etc.). In this paper, we will offer a description of these processes of (im)mobility, analyzing their conformation both by the current policies of the Chilean State and by the notorious deficiency in indigenous and migrant rights, denouncing the material impact they have on the health/illness/care process of indigenous migrants.

“It was bad, very, very bad.” The effect of COVID-19 on informal street vendors in the city centre of Cape Town.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is currently reverberating throughout the formal and informal sector of the South African economy – including informal street vendors. The informal sector and key activities such as informal street trading play an important role in the South African economy and the unique socio-economic context of South Africa. Despite optimistic theoretical beliefs that the informal sector will mitigate the adverse effects of external shocks (as with the COVID-19 pandemic) by absorbing the job losses that occur in the formal sector, previous studies suggest the opposite. The informal sector is often disproportionately affected by external economic and health shocks, especially in southern Africa (Bassier et al., 2020;International Labour Organisation (ILO), 2020c;Rogan & Skinner, 2018;Skinner & Rogan, 2019). Against this background, the aim of the study was to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives and livelihoods of informal street traders. A qualitative research approach in the form of a descriptive case study was used to conduct an in-depth investigation of the effect of COVID-19 on the lives and livelihoods of street vendors in Cape Town’s city centre. A qualitative approach provides the opportunity to conduct a more comprehensive and in-depth analysis around the research question. The specific area in which the study was conducted was chosen to be close to transport infrastructure such as railway stations and bus stops and other public transport routes, as the literature suggests that these are the areas preferably frequented by street vendors. Before the fieldwork started, a pilot study was done to identify possible challenges and shortcomings in the interview guide. The necessary adjustments were made and the fieldwork took place between 6 and 8 May 2021. In-depth interviews, by means of a semi-structured interview guide, were conducted with 19 different street vendors, after which data saturation was achieved. Thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse and describe “trends or themes” (Bryman & Bell, 2014:439). Guided by the protocol of Du Plooy-Cilliers et al. (2014:230) and Guest et al. (2012:7), the researchers revisited the data numerous times, simultaneously identifying the themes several times in order to refine the analysis. The researchers consistently adhered to the “Code of Conduct for Researchers” as stipulated by the North-West University. The empirical component of the study only began after the researchers had obtained ethical approval from the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences’ Research Ethics Committee. All relevant ethical principles were adhered to during the interviews with informal street vendors and COVID-19 protocol was strictly observed. The demographic and business characteristics of the respondents serve as a precursor and background to the rest of the thematic analysis on the impact of COVID-19 on street trading as a sector of the informal economy. Interviews were conducted with 19 informal enterprises. During two of the 19 interviews, there were two respondents from the same stall participating in the interview. This means that the researchers engaged with 21 informal street traders, representing 19 informal enterprises. Most respondents were men (12 out of 21) and nine had completed matric. Although four (20%) of the respondents possessed a tertiary qualification, seven (35%) respondents had not completed their schooling. The respondents, who were mostly foreigners from Cameroon, Somalia and Malawi, were mainly between 35 and 64 years old;the youngest retailer was 23 years old and the oldest retailer 74. At the time of the interviews, clothing and/or footwear were the main products sold, followed by fruit and vegetables, jewellery, accessories and handbags. Some product offerings (such as flowers and fruit and vegetables) mainly have a local customer base, while traders selling arts, crafts or curio’s and some selling jewellery or accessories and bags are largely supported by tourists. The respondents’ expe ience as informal street traders ranged from about one year to 56 years. In general, 14 (67%) of respondents had been working as informal traders for more than five years. A thematic analysis of the data showed that all the respondents’ businesses closed for between one and five months in 2020 due to the national lockdown and associated regulations. Inventory losses, lack of income, depletion of their savings, layoffs of employees and significant food shortages were on-going themes. It was also not possible for the foreign respondents to make significant remittances to family in their countries of origin. Declining tourism numbers and local customers who lost their jobs are a constant threat to the livelihoods of informal street vendors. Furthermore, most of their local clients work from home and avoid public spaces to comply with social distancing regulations. In addition, several respondents said that tourists had had a positive impact on their profit margin because tourists bought more expensive products compared to the local customers. Most respondents said that their average monthly profit since the initial Level 5 lockdown in 2020 was about half of the average monthly profit the enterprise could generate before COVID-19. In addition, there were three businesses that could show only a third of the profits they had enjoyed before COVID-19, with another two businesses even reporting less than a third of their average profit prior to COVID-19 – one vendor’s profit was about 20–30% less than before COVID-19. More specifically, three of the businesses made an average monthly profit of between R6 000 and R10 000 before COVID-19 and two of the businesses made an average daily profit of between R250 and R300. In the last year since the pandemic, however, three of the businesses generated an average monthly profit of between R2 000 and R5 000 and several businesses generated an average daily profit of between R100 and R200. Street vendors use various strategies, such as good customer service, efforts to obtain the best possible location, the acquisition of fresh stock, and the use of social media and electronic payment instruments in an attempt to deal with the adverse consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite their best efforts, several respondents had no choice but to reduce their employees’ working hours and/or remuneration. The challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic presents to informal street vendors in Cape Town’s city centre are therefore an ongoing daily reality. Continuous state support and follow-up studies with the same group of respondents to examine the impact over the medium and longer term are necessary. An important example of this is action research with respondents on the impact of the existing assistance measures on their lives and living conditions. These research results may help to develop action plans that will enable the city, province and country to deal with future exogenous shocks in a manner that would ensure some mitigation of the adverse effects of similar shocks on the structurally vulnerable sections of the society and the economy. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Die impak van die COVID-19-pandemie op informele ekonomiese aktiwiteite soos straathandel kan selfs relatief groter en meer skrikwekkend as die gevolge vir die formele ekonomie wees. ’n Kwalitatiewe navorsingsbenadering in die vorm van ’n beskrywende gevallestudie is gebruik om ’n diepgaande ondersoek na die effek van COVID-19 op die lewensomstandighede van straathandelaars in die middestad van Kaapstad te onderneem. Die spesifieke gebied waar die studie gedoen is, is gekies om naby vervoerinfrastruktuur soos byvoorbeeld treinstasies, bushaltes en openbare vervoerroetes te wees. Volgens vorige studies is dit die soort omgewing waar die meeste straathandelaars te vinde is. Diepgaande onderhoude, deur middel van ’n semigestruktureerde onderhoudsgids, is met 21 respondente (wat 19 verskillende straathandelaars verteenwoordig) gevoer waarna dataversadiging bereik is. ’n Tematiese ontleding van die data het getoon dat al die respondente se ondernemings in 2020 tussen een en vyf maande weens die grendelstaat en gepaardgaande regulasies gesluit was. Voorraadverliese, gebrek aan inkomste, uitwissing van hul spaargeld, afdanking van werknemers en wesentlike voedselnood was deurlopende temas. Dit was ook nie vir die buitelandse respondente moontlik om beduidende oorbetalings aan familie in hul lande van herkoms te maak nie. Dalende toerismegetalle en plaaslike kliënte wat hul werk verloor het, is ’n voortdurende bedreiging vir die lewensbestaan van die informele straathandelaars. Straathandelaars gebruik verskeie strategieë, soos goeie kliëntediens, pogings om die beste moontlike ligging te bekom, die verkryging van vars voorraad, en die gebruik van sosiale media en elektroniese betaalinstrumente, in ’n poging om die gevolge van die COVID-19-pandemie die hoof te bied. Volgehoue staatsondersteuning en opvolgstudies met dieselfde groep respondente om die impak oor die medium en langer termyn te ondersoek, is dringend noodsaaklik. (Afrikaans) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe is the property of Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap & Kuns and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

The COVID-19 Pandemic: Health Impact on Unaccompanied Migrant Children.

From the point of apprehension by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the U.S.-Mexican border to their reunification with sponsors in U.S. communities, unaccompanied children (UC) face political, social, and economic conditions, heightening their risk for mental and physical health burdens that may be exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Such risk underscores the importance of social work practice and advocacy for the improved treatment and experiences of UC. This article uses a structural vulnerability conceptual lens to summarize the existing literature regarding UC and argues that UC's liminal immigration status, economic precarity, and lack of healthcare access place this group at high structural vulnerability during the pandemic. Further, this article identifies and describes three contexts of structural vulnerability of UC that are important points of social work intervention: (1) at the border, where migrant children are denied their legal right to seek protection; (2) in detention and shelter facilities; and (3) during reunification with sponsors. This article concludes with important practice and policy opportunities for social workers to pursue to obtain social justice for an important and highly vulnerable migrant child population.

Using a structural vulnerability framework to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of Medicaid beneficiaries receiving substance use treatment in New York City.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted low-income individuals with substance use disorder (SUD) in New York City (NYC) during the beginning of the pandemic, using a structural competency and structural vulnerability theoretical framework and a qualitative research approach. DATA SOURCES: Primary qualitative data were collected from racial/ethnic minority adults enrolled in Medicaid receiving outpatient substance use treatment (e.g., medication, counseling) in NYC. STUDY DESIGN: Semi-structured in-depth qualitative interviews (N = 20) were conducted during "stay-at-home" orders in NYC, the first epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Interviews were conducted over the phone during the earlier stages of the pandemic, between April 2020 and June 2020. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted and audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Three themes were yielded from our thematic analysis: (1) COVID-19 heightened food insecurity and housing conditions increased risks of infection; (2) stay-at-home orders limited access to resources but had positive impacts in strengthening social relationships and reducing substance use triggers; and (3) although COVID-19 created challenges for treatment, most described that SUD care improved during the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: While COVID-19 exacerbated numerous structural vulnerabilities among low-income individuals with SUD, programmatic adaptations to COVID-19 SUD care, including telehealth and loosening restrictions around medications for opioid use disorders mitigated past difficulties that patients had faced. Reducing structural vulnerabilities for Medicaid patients will require continuation of telehealth treatment delivery, retaining flexible medication regulations, and mobilizing community resources to mitigate economic disparities.

Mexican Migrant Farmworkers in Canada: Death, Disposability, and Disruptions during COVID-19

This essay focuses on Mexican migrant farmworkers employed in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program (SAWP) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. During this time, Mexican workers became essential yet expendable while their agricultural employers reaped the material rewards as an essential industry. Through the lens of racialization and structural vulnerability, I explicate how the Mexican and Canadian states facilitated the continuation of capital accumulation in agriculture through the subjugation of Mexican workers. I seek to contribute to the nascent literature on the pandemic in relation to temporary-labor migration programs, Mexican migrant workers, and the racialization of workers to produce a tractable and cheap labor force.

COVID-19 and day labourers in the South African economy: The impact on their lives and livelihoods

COVID-19 and day labourers in the South African economy: The impact on lives and livelihoods The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is currently reverberating throughout the South African economy -- including the informal economy and those on the brink of the formal economy, such as day labourers. Even before the start of the pandemic, the South African economy was already in an extremely vulnerable position due to a number of multidimensional factors, for example the global financial crisis of 2008 as well as a decade of corruption and looting of state resources. Day labourers are particularly vulnerable to exogenous shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Against this background, the aim of the overview study was to place the possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the living conditions of informal workers such as day labourers on the research agenda. The methodology was twofold. Firstly, the only available nationally representative database from a study by Blaauw (2010) on activities of day labourers in South Africa was used as a summary starting point with regard to the socio-economic position of day labourers. Secondly, in the second part of the analysis we used the latest available research information on changes in the day labour market to identify the factors that have changed the socio-economic conditions of day labourers in South Africa in the last decade. The possible short-, medium- and long-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was discussed against this background. The results of the starting point analysis among day labourers in South Africa confirm that in 2008 the day labourers in the Western Cape and Gauteng were comparatively better off than the day labourers in some of South Africa's less prosperous provinces. Their wages were higher in all the income variables that were part of the study. Despite this relatively better situation, even day labourers in the strongest possible position were still vulnerable with low and uncertain income levels, the risk of not always being able to provide for them and their dependants' needs, and an inability to plan ahead as a precaution against future exogenous economic shocks. These shocks did indeed come. Since 2008, macroeconomic shocks such as the global financial crisis and a declining mining and construction industry have put the day labour market under further pressure. A decade of looting and mismanagement of the South African economy as well as a third wave of cross-border migration led to a further deterioration of the day labour market's ability to meet the material needs of tens of thousands of day labourers in South Africa. Increased unemployment as well as declining real and reservation wages among day labourers occurred across all provinces in South Africa, and studies in East London, Tshwane, Emalahleni, Mbombela, Cape Town and Paarl clearly show the deteriorating socioeconomic conditions of day labourers in the last decade (Theodore, Pretorius, Blaauw & Schenck, 2018;Mapendere, 2019;Xweso, 2019;Schenck, Blaauw & Matthee, 2020;Smith, 2020). Day labourers' vulnerability has therefore deteriorated dramatically since 2008 and the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic has created the perfect storm in the day labour market. The COVID-19 pandemic has left tens of thousands of day labourers facing the real prospect of economic hardship and starvation and a desperate need for help. Day labourers are in fact worse off than the informal self-employed, such as informal reclaimers, who have at least a voice through industry organisations such as Plastics SA, the South African Waste Pickers Association or the African Reclaimers Organisation. The South African Government has announced measures to mitigate the socio-economic impact of the pandemic. Theoretically, many of the day labourers could have benefited from the COVID-19 Social Emergency Relief Grant of R350 per month that has been paid to the unemployed since President Ramaphosa's announcement on 21 April 2020. However, this payment came to an end in April 2021. The short-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on informal workers and day labourers was therefore nothing short of catastrophic. In the medium term, further pressure is likely to be put on the day labour market due to the many people who have lost or are about to lose their formal jobs because of the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A resultant oversupply of day labourers will have a further devastating effect on day labourers' lives and livelihoods -- even after the pandemic has been brought under control. Day labourers' reservation wages will be pushed even lower due to day labourers' desperation to be able to work at all. This negative impact could be further exacerbated in the long run as thousands of pupils, who are currently dropping out of school in the midst of the pandemic, will have no choice (other than crime) but to turn to the informal day job market. The situation in the day labour market is therefore already critical and can only have further devastating consequences for the social order and social cohesion in South Africa. South African society urgently needs to reflect on these issues. The riots and looting in July 2021 are prima facie proof that the social order is already under tremendous pressure. Academics also have a role to play in the process of reflection and reconsideration. There is an urgent need for nationwide research on the day labour market and other forms of informal employment and self-employment. New nationwide data (using a similar methodology), as well as other forms of participatory research, are needed to gain an understanding of the impact of the events of the past ten years on the lives and livelihoods of informal wage earners. A crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic has once again highlighted the plight of the marginalised and vulnerable in South Africa's unequal society. (English) [ FROM AUTHOR] Die Suid-Afrikaanse ekonomie was reeds voor die COVID-19-pandemie in 'n benarde posisie. Dagloners en andere in die informele ekonomie was struktureel selfs meer kwesbaar vir so 'n eksogene skok. Die doel van hierdie oorsigstudie was om die impak van die COVID-19- pandemie op die lewensomstandighede van dagloners op die navorsingsagenda te plaas. 'n Oorsig van tersaaklike elemente uit die enigste nasionaal verteenwoordigende databasis van dagloners, afkomstig vanuit die Blaauw (2010) studie, in Suid-Afrika, was die vertrekpunt. Daarna is die jongste beskikbare navorsingsinligting oor veranderinge in die daglonermark gebruik om die moontlike kort-, medium- en langtermynimpak van die pandemie te bespreek. In 2008 was die dagloners in die Wes-Kaap en Gauteng se loonvlakke hoër as dié van die dagloners in die res van Suid-Afrika. Selfs dagloners in hierdie twee provinsies was steeds kwesbaar met lae en onsekere inkomstevlakke. Sedert 2008 het makro-ekonomiese faktore en 'n derde golf van oorgrensmigrasie 'n verdere verswakking in dagloners se posisie meegebring. Die vraag na hul arbeid het verminder en reële lone het in verskeie stede gedaal. Die COVID-19-pandemie het dagloners op die kort termyn voor hongersnood te staan gebring. Die talle mense wat vanweë die pandemie hul formele werk verloor het of nog gaan verloor sal die daglonermark onder verdere druk plaas. Die minimum loonvlak waarvoor dagloners bereid is om te werk, sal selfs verder daal. In die lang termyn kan duisende van die leerlinge wat hul skoolopleiding te midde van die pandemie staak ook dagloners word, met rampspoedige gevolge vir die maatskaplike bestel in Suid-Afrika. (Afrikaans) [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Tydskrif vir Geesteswetenskappe is the property of Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap & Kuns and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

A portrait of the early and differential mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada: Findings from the first wave of a nationally representative cross-sectional survey.

Evidence on the population-level mental health impacts of COVID-19 are beginning to amass; however, to date, there are significant gaps in our understandings of whose mental health is most impacted, how the pandemic is contributing to widening mental health inequities, and the coping strategies being used to sustain mental health. The first wave of a repeated cross-sectional monitoring survey was conducted between May 14-29, 2020 to assess the mental health impacts of the pandemic and to identify the disproportionate impacts on populations or groups identified as experiencing increased risks due to structural vulnerability and pre-existing health and social inequities. Respondents included a nationally representative probability sample (n = 3000) of Canadian adults 18 years and older. Overall, Canadian populations are experiencing a deterioration in mental health and coping due to the pandemic. Those who experience health, social, and/or structural vulnerabilities due to pre-existing mental health conditions, disability, income, ethnicity, sexuality, and/or gender are more likely to endorse mental health deterioration, challenging emotions, and difficulties coping. This monitoring study highlights the differential mental health impacts of the pandemic for those who experience health, social, and structural inequities. These data are critical to informing responsive, equity-oriented public health, and policy responses in real-time to protect and promote the mental health of those most at risk during the pandemic and beyond.

COVID-19 Pandemic among Latinx Farmworker and Nonfarmworker Families in North Carolina: Knowledge, Risk Perceptions, and Preventive Behaviors.

(1) Background: The COVID-19 pandemic poses substantial threats to Latinx farmworkers and other immigrants in food production and processing. Classified as essential, such workers cannot shelter at home. Therefore, knowledge and preventive behaviors are important to reduce COVID-19 spread in the community. (2) Methods: Respondents for 67 families with at least one farmworker (FWF) and 38 comparable families with no farmworkers (nonFWF) in North Carolina completed a telephone survey in May 2020. The survey queried knowledge of COVID-19, perceptions of its severity, self-efficacy, and preventive behaviors. Detailed data were collected to document household members' social interaction and use of face coverings. (3) Results: Knowledge of COVID-19 and prevention methods was high in both groups, as was its perceived severity. NonFWF had higher self-efficacy for preventing infection. Both groups claimed to practice preventive behaviors, though FWF emphasized social avoidance and nonFWF emphasized personal hygiene. Detailed social interactions showed high rates of inter-personal contact at home, at work, and in the community with more mask use in nonFWF than FWF. (4) Conclusions: Despite high levels of knowledge and perceived severity for COVID-19, these immigrant families were engaged in frequent interpersonal contact that could expose community members and themselves to COVID-19.