Abstract:

Global infectious diseases such as COVID-19, SARS, and Ebola have caused huge negative impacts on Nigeria’s population health and socio-economic development. This research discusses the socioeconomic impact of these global infectious diseases on Nigeria to provide a better understanding to government and practitioners of why improving the management of infectious disease outbreaks response is so important for a nation’s economy, its society, and its place in the global community. The research aims to provide the results of an analysis of the impacts of COVID-19, Ebola, and SARS based on feedback from literature reviews, document analysis, and events during the COVID-19, Ebola, and SARS outbreaks. All outbreaks of COVID-19, Ebola, and SARS have had socioeconomic impacts on Nigeria, causing significant negative impacts on health, the economy, and even national and international security. Findings indicate that global infectious diseases have presented a global epidemic threat, but their social and economic impacts Ebola and SARS in Nigeria were not as serious as in the case of COVID-19 because, though the response to COVID-19 was swifter, the coronavirus has lingered the longest and management has not been as effective. Findings show that beyond the public health impacts of regional or global emerging and endemic infectious diseases, events lay wider socio-economic consequences that are often not considered in risk or impact assessments. With rapid and extensive international travel and trade, such events can elicit economic shock waves far beyond the realm of traditional health sectors and the original geographical range of a pathogen. While private sector organizations are impacted indirectly by these disease events, they are under-recognized yet effective stakeholders that can provide critical information, resources, and key partnerships to public and private health systems to help them respond to and prepare for potential infectious disease events and their socio-economic consequences.