ABSTRACT

COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown policy it engendered restricted the entrepreneurial freedom and skills promoted by the neoliberal market structure. It also undermined the strings of social networks and collective organisation which protect the individual informal workers, particularly women in the peri-urban areas. Using the qualitative dominant methods, this research probed into the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on informal women workers in peri-urban communities in Nigeria. The study argued that the COVID-19 pandemic and the accompanying lockdown devastated the informal economic activities of women in peri-urban areas due largely to lack of social protection programmes to support vulnerable populations. It also undermined Nigeria-Cameroon trade relation which is a major source of livelihood for most people, reduced the personal income of informal workers in the peri-urban areas and government revenue in Taraba State. The study concluded that providing financial capital, material palliatives and affordable social protection facilities to informal women workers in peri-urban communities is relevant for sustainable economic development in Nigeria.

摘要

COVID-19 大流行及其产生的封锁政策限制了新自由主义市场结构所促进的创业自由和技能。它还破坏了保护个体非正规工人，特别是城郊地区妇女的社会网络和集体组织。本研究使用定性主导方法探讨了 COVID-19 大流行对尼日利亚城郊社区非正式女工的影响。该研究认为，COVID-19 大流行和随之而来的封锁摧毁了城郊地区妇女的非正规经济活动，这主要是由于缺乏支持弱势群体的社会保护计划。它还破坏了尼日利亚-喀麦隆贸易关系，这是大多数人的主要生计来源，减少了城郊地区非正规工人的个人收入和塔拉巴州的政府收入。该研究得出的结论是，向城郊社区的非正规女工提供金融资本、物质姑息治疗和负担得起的社会保护设施与尼日利亚的可持续经济发展相关。