FRI, JUN 05 2020-theG&BJournal- 42% of poorest households (from the lowest consumption quintile) who were working before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic are no longer working for reasons related to COVID-19, but the rate was also high for the wealthiest households (39%), according to findings from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) COVID-19 Impact Monitoring survey published today.
The NBS launched the survey to track the impacts of the pandemic and implemented the Nigeria COVID-19 National Longitudinal Phone Survey (COVID-19 NLPS) on a nationally representative sample of households.
The findings reflect research from the Living Standard Measurement Study and the World Bank Group, showing also a high rate of reported income loss for households since mid-March. Overall, 79% of households reported that their total income decreased.
Income from all sources were affected by the pandemic and reported to have decreased, since mid-March. However, the rate was highest for income from non-farm family business (85%) compared to household farming, livestock or fishing (73%) and wage employment (58%).
Workers in all sectors were affected by the pandemic, but primarily those working in commerce, services and agriculture. 14% of respondents were working in the commerce sector before the outbreak but have since stopped working due to COVID-19. This is equivalent to 60% of all those working in the sector prior to the pandemic. In all sectors, respondents that stopped working reported that COVID-19 related economic impacts were the primary cause.
The survey highlights the financial pressure currently facing households in Nigeria, and particularly demonstrates the marked deterioration in household income since the COVID-19 induced lockdown nationwide.
A high percentage of households (35-59% of those that needed them) reported not being able to buy staple foods like yam, rice and beans during the 7 days prior to the inter-view when they needed them. Soap and cleaning supplies were reported by households to be the most commonly needed items, though most house-holds were able to purchase these items. 26% of households who needed medical treatment reported not being able to access treatment.
Summary of Findings:
-Respondents are generally aware of important preventative measures against coronavirus such as handwashing (97%), avoiding gatherings (90%) and social distancing (89%).
– Many in the country are concerned about the health and financial impacts of the pandemic. 78% of respondents were worried about themselves or their family members becoming seriously ill from the coronavirus, while 92% saw the coronavirus as a threat to their household’s finances.
-Some households struggled to purchase staple foods like yam, rice and beans during the 7 days prior to the interview with 35-59% of households who need to purchase these staple foods reporting that they were not able to buy them. 26% of households reported not being able to access medical treatment when they needed it during the same period.
-Experience of economic shocks in the few months after the outbreak of coronavirus far exceeds shocks experienced between 2017 and 2019. The most widely reported shock experienced by households was an increase in prices of major food items faced by 85% of households since the outbreak compared to only 19% between January 2017 and January 2019. Many households have struggled to cope with these widespread shocks with 51% of all households resorting to reducing food consumption.
-The pandemic has also affected children’s education. Among households with children attending school prior their nationwide closure in March, only 62% reported that their children had engaged in any learning/educational activities since the closure.
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