Women, Children and the elderly suffer Most during Pandemics, a case study in Africa

When calamities strikes Nations especially in third World countries where there are no proper arrangements for the vulnerable groups, Women, Children and the aged face the sharpest axe. This is a result of their nature - they're simply weak.

Today as I write hundreds of thousands of families here in Africa are facing hardest moments in their lives. Majority of communities in Africa, women carry huge burdens of household responsibility; taking care of their children, husbands and the entire community whether in blissful or tough moments. They do menial jobs to make sure their families are well fed at the same time meet other family needs. 

Men chauvinism has exposed women to hardships by taking bigger roles because we all believe women are more compassionate than their counterparts. In times of epidemics and pandemics like what the world  is going through, women find themselves wobbling in the jaws of hardships; from securing their families and belongings to ensuring that their families are taken care of in terms of feeding them. 

Majority of men tend to ran away from such responsibilities - only a few have a heart for the family. Today the World is facing the hardest tragedies ever. The novel Corona Virus pandemic, natural calamities like floods in some parts of the world among other life threatening vices.

Floods sweep away homes especially those lying around River banks, low lands and riparian lands. The heavy rains like those experienced in Western part of Kenya posed a threat to contraction of waterborne diseases like Cholera, Diarrhea among other related diseases. Because Women, children and the elderly are mostly found in homes, they stand a higher chance of being vulnerable to the situations. 

Majority of them loose lives by being carried away by floods, injuries, those who survive death contract to diseases like malaria due to use of contaminated water from the floods etc. 

Today, Covid-19 pandemic is posing the greatest threat to the lives of Kenyans. Majority of Africans lead hand to mouth economy, some lack essential information on how to curb spread of various mishaps should their strike them. Such a lifestyle emerges as a big headache to the wellbeing of citizens. The current problems facing Africans supersedes any promising problems. From natural calamities to emerging diseases, persisting poverty to insecure nation among other vices. Some Africans will say they're used to suffering.

What can the Governments do to protect the Vulnerable families?

As I earlier wrote, the three classes of people who suffer most during tragedies are Women, Children and the elderly. These people undergo psychological torture due unending suffering. Since some calamities are predictable for instance drought, floods etc, the governments through  Meteorological Departments ought to be issuing prior Social preparedness to the possible to help them prepare to evacuate and seek for safer settlements before calamities knock on their doors. Our governments and other humanitarian organizations should be swift in containing situations before they worsen - provide shelter, drugs, food stuffs among other necessities to the affected families. This process should be treated as emergency. 

Families should shun away from old stereotypes; the elderly tend to struggle to refuse to leave their homes to safer places because of cultural ties on the ancestral lands. This situation makes it harder for them to survive in the subsequent tragedies. 

Women and children cannot make personal decisions, men who majority stay far away from homes (major towns) tend to confine their families within homesteads hence rendering them not to make independent decision making; taking up of other decisions like moving away families to safer places during calamities like floods. Women and children too have no manpower (financial incapability) to find new homes. 

Some men should be encouraged to support and protect their families. Some men tend to divert various aids from humanitarian support programmes like relief food programme. 

Governments ought to find long lasting solutions in the curbing of some tragedies by finding her citizens safer places to stay. In response to Covid-19 pandemic, the governments should ensure that their from all walks of life have necessary facilities and precautions to curb the spread and contraction of the contagions. 

Some security officers should be warned against mistreating Women among other vulnerable groups in such crisis. Sometimes women undergo further mistreatments during tragedies. They raped and exposed to other humiliations. By so doing the world will be a better place for everyone.