A Reflection On The Pandemic
Over the course of the previous two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the development of the global landscape in irrevocable ways. The global fabric that binds the economy, society, and political systems of the world has been permanently changed, charting a new path for the future of humankind. The pandemic has divided the world further, creating new divisions based on race, wealth, laws, and most importantly, development. Those in MDCs have been affected much differently than those in LDCs, in a multitude of ways.
As a result of the pandemic, the global economic system was devastated, causing recessions in major MDCs such as the United States and the European Union, causing a succession of dependent states to fall as well. Domestic economies based on tourism, such as islands in the Caribbean and the Mediterranean Sea and to an extent, Brazil, collapsed due to travel restrictions.
These measures, taken by those at the top of the global power structure, were aimed to protect their own economic and social interests as well as domestic prosperity. By closing their borders and hindering trade, small countries whose exports are narrow and resource-based were hurt as the technology used to transport these goods was scarce. Regarding the Middle East, the reluctance and inability of clients was the major downfall that hammered their economy. With the price of oil being much lower, Gulf states lost billions of dollars; with many of their clients, such as China, being preoccupied with the social/medical effects of the pandemic, some of their biggest buyers disappeared. As a result, with the loss of demand and supply chains, the oil-rich states of the Arab World were vulnerable to economic recession. Outside of the expanse of trade and raw materials ( coffee, wheat, oil, etc. ), the retail industry was drastically hurt.
Supply chains that ran from Guangzhou to New York or Milan were especially vulnerable. These chains broke down, making retail sales skyrocket and those in LDCs producing these goods were isolated. Those in MDCs, though economically hurt, were able to survive due to greater technology and financial tactics. However, workers in LDCs such as China, Vietnam, Africa, and Bangladesh, who already worked under inhumane conditions and low pay, were put into far worse circumstances. The United Nations reported that more than 100 million workers were pushed into poverty by the pandemic, the vast majority in LDCs.
This wave of impoverished workers and homelessness was extremely detrimental to the economy and social/humanitarian fabric of not only these countries, but of the region that it destabilized. As global systems weakened and regionalism gained traction, these countries, dependent on MDCs, were left to survive on their own, seeing the brunt of the economic turmoil.
The economic differences between the more developed and lesser developed countries are vast, though, in the case of the BRICS, a coalition of LDCs poised to rise to the tier of world powers in the future, it is different. One of the most underrated effects of the pandemic are remittances, which funnel billions into LDC economies. The decrease in these payments due to unemployment crises and logistical obstacles hurt two of the most powerful BRICS countries, India and China, who have the most overseas citizens and migrant workers, with $83 billion and $66 billion, respectively, received in 2020 from remittances. Both of these countries, superpowers in their own right, were battered by the pandemic in other ways, especially through their manufacturing sectors, which are the backbone of their economies.
They recovered from the recessions and employment better than most LDCs. However, many economies in their region were not as lucky due to the scarcity of economic alternatives. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Nepal were among the most remittance-dependent countries and therefore were hurt the most by decreased remittances. MDCs, on the other hand, from where immigrants send remittances, were affected minimally by this, again showing the disparity between MDCs and LDCs regarding the effects of the pandemic. As the pandemic worsened, much of the world went online, which left many LDCs in the dark, hurting their status in the global economic hierarchy.
BRICS countries, which contain the vast majority of the lesser developed world’s internet users, were more connected and able to maintain relations with the developed world. Countries such as Brazil or Russia maintained much of their domestic economies through digital means and maintained links to the global economy when many other countries faltered. The Organisation for Cooperation and Economic Development ( OECD ) stated that “Digital technologies are the backbone of today’s economies, and digital tools and connectivity are essential in helping businesses and people to weather the COVID-19 crisis,”, adding that in the case of Brazil, “ Like the rest of the world, works to contain the COVID-19 crisis, stepping up the pace of digital transformation could hasten and reinforce a just and resilient recovery.” Though Brazil was hurt by the pandemic, the rise of coffee consumption provides a greatly positive outlook for the world’s biggest coffee-producing country. Consumption has doubled in the last decade, and with the pandemic, almost one trillion cups of coffee were drank across the world.
The appetite for particular resources has helped BRICS countries, namely Brazil and Russia, who capitalized on Europe’s oil needs and positioned themselves as the premier oil supplier due to their proximity to client states. BRICS countries, though in ways, share the situation of their lesser developed counterparts, had the allies and the resources to endure the pandemic better than their neighbors, whose economies collapsed. MDCs, though negatively affected by the economy, had much of the tools that helped them and their populations weather the pandemic, while LDCs were ill-equipped and faced the consequences.
Though the pandemic greatly exacerbated the global economic situation and every country’s domestic economy negatively, COVD-19 also had a variety of social impacts, most pronounced in lesser developed countries. The most obvious impact that the pandemic had on the world was the medical dilemma it put governments and people around the globe in. Two years into the pandemic, 5.4 million have died and over 280 million infected. The epicenters of the pandemic have gone from Asia to Europe to the Americas and back. The coronavirus has expanded across the globe, touching almost every corner. No country was exempt from the effects of the virus, even if governments had a contingency plan.
The pandemic overwhelmed the medical sector of even the most developed countries on the globe. The three countries with the most cases are the United States, India, and Brazil. These countries, which are among the most influential states in the global social fabric, had the most infected people. All these countries, though being the global epicenter of cases at one time or another have recovered greatly in contrast to those lesser developed states in Asia and Africa. Governments and supranational organizations prioritized the prosperity of MDCs and BRICS countries, which helped them recover faster.
However, many states were neglected, especially in sub-Saharan Africa where cases are drastically underreported and as a consequence, the situation is harder to handle. South Africa, one of the BRICS, was the hearth of the Omicron variant, the mutation that is currently sweeping the globe and imposing further lockdowns. The COVID-19 vaccine is another focal point that emphasizes the different situations that MDCs and LDCs face. When created, the vaccine was distributed unequally, going to MDCs such as the United States and Europe first.
These countries were the first to reach herd immunity, substantially decreasing the imminent risk of the virus on their society and economy. However, like food, distribution proved fatal. Africa and much of Asia did not receive vaccines from WHO or MDCs such as the United States, where most of the producers are based. Governments chose populist over globalist thought, and as a result, vaccination rates in these regions are extremely low. Furthermore, the facilities to administer these vaccines were not in a ready fashion, hindering the rate at which vaccinations were given. Two BRICS countries, South Africa and India, were battered by the Delta and Omicron variants.
Due to the vaccine shortage and the decreased efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which were given almost exclusively to lesser developed countries, experienced rapid and catastrophic surges that devastated their economies and societies. In the case of South Africa and the Omicron variant, unvaccinated populations ( especially in Africa ) were crippled, causing the current global surge in cases and deaths.
The humanitarian impact of homelessness and poverty has been detrimental to the development of global society and especially to LDCs, who were already grappling with the issues of poverty in their respective countries. Tens of millions were put out of work, causing a worker shortage and a wave of poverty to sweep across states such as India. The fight against poverty was weakened dramatically. When looking at data between MDCs and LDCs, it is apparent that LDCs faced a colossally bigger task with a large part of their workforce unemployed and homeless. Sanitary conditions were appalling in these states and exacerbated the spread of the virus, further deepening the humanitarian crisis many were already in. Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, proposed by the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ), which the United Nations was working toward achieving has been greatly set back. Millions have experienced famines and food shortages caused by broken supply chains. UNICEF reported that, “atleast 463 million were unable to access remote learning”, setting whole generations of countries back in their education.
During the pandemic, violence against women reached all-time highs due to the scarcity of care and lockdowns that trapped vulnerable populations. Millions in Sub-Saharan Africa and South America were unable to access clean water, which worsened their fight against humanitarian crises unrelated to the virus. Millions of migrant workers were forced either into poverty or into hellish working conditions under almost non-existent pay, bordering or crossing the line on what the world sees as modern slavery.
The social and physical infrastructure of countries was exposed and damaged due to the exhaustion of resources and the human toll of COVID-19, especially in the health care sector and hospitals. These problems are those faced by LDCs alone, which shows how different MDCs and LDCs fared through one of the 21st century’s most catastrophic events.
As the world finds a way to navigate through the pandemic and chart a new path forward, the economic and social fabric of the globe will be renewed, distributing power and wealth to new players. The world will have to repair the damage that has been done, especially on LDCs, which are the future of the global power structure in an aging and technological world.
