Southern African responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: A study of Botswana and South Africa

Africa's Public Service Delivery and Performance Review

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Southern African responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: A study of Botswana and South Africa
 
Creator Masiya, Tyanai Mandiyanike, David Molosiwa, Dintle Mazenda, Adrino
 
Subject Public Administration; Public Health Botswana; COVID-19; economic measures; health measures; South Africa; guidelines; policy response; socio-economic crisis.
Description Background: Southern African countries adopted diverse responses to the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, which manifested itself as both a health and economic disaster.Aim: Using a case study approach of two South African countries, namely Botswana and South Africa, the article assessed their response measures to the COVID-19 pandemic.Setting: Southern African countries applied ‘domesticated’ forms of responses thus, there has been no one-size-fits-all approach to managing the pandemic.Methods: The study adopted a qualitative approach. Two case studies namely Botswana and South Africa were used. Documentary evidence was drawn from these case studies.Results: To ensure that Southern African countries and indeed the world in general navigate the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed operational planning guidelines that had sought to balance the demands of responding effectively to COVID-19 and the need to serve economies from collapse. However, an analysis of the programmes of responses in South African countries such as Botswana showed the ‘domestication’ of the guidelines. Nevertheless, the guidelines, although having met with criticism in some cases had significantly contributed to the effective management of COVID-19 health and economic effects.Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic required the state and its institutions to exercise effective leadership and unified action. In South African countries such as Botswana and South Africa, this pandemic showed the importance of governments in shaping the effectiveness of national responses, strategies and approaches in tackling the crisis.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2021-05-04
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — qualitative research
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/apsdpr.v9i1.497
 
Source Africa’s Public Service Delivery & Performance Review; Vol 9, No 1 (2021); 11 pages 2310-2152 2310-2195
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://apsdpr.org/index.php/apsdpr/article/view/497/777 https://apsdpr.org/index.php/apsdpr/article/view/497/775 https://apsdpr.org/index.php/apsdpr/article/view/497/776 https://apsdpr.org/index.php/apsdpr/article/view/497/774
 
Coverage Southern Africa March 2020-September 2020 —
Rights Copyright (c) 2021 Tyanai Masiya, David Mandiyanike, Dintle Molosiwa, Adrino Mazenda https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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