Managing Pandemic Diseases and Food Security in Africa

Purpose: This review paper considered three of the most widespread pandemics, including Covid-19, HIV/AIDS and Spanish Influenza with regards to their coverage, management methods and their generic effect on food security in Africa. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper adopted content analysis with specific reference to a systematic review, based on manifest content. A twenty-two-year period of documents was extensively scrutinized; from 2000 to 2021 using the Google scholar database. Manifest contents of 20 out of the 90 documents were finally selected. After manually coding the documents, they were eventually reviewed and analyzed. Findings: The paper indicates that hundreds of thousands have perished in Africa due to these pandemics, nevertheless, several interventions have been sought to control them. The interventions include quarantine; hand-washing; face masking; social distancing; disinfection; lockdowns; personal distancing; lockdowns; lockdowns; and vaccination among others. The paper also indicates that though these interventions, including knockdowns, could be advantageous, they might contribute to unfavourable consequences including food insecurity in many countries on the continent. Implications/Research Limitations: The study period also dwelt on only twenty-two years, spanning between 2000 and 2021. Depending on a longer period might have contributed to scrutinizing relatively more documents as might be required by studies of this sort. Practical Implication: The paper intends to present a document that shall guide both industry players and researchers in the management of pandemic diseases regarding the most suitable procedures, methods and techniques in the prevention and treatment of such diseases. Social Implications: The information in this paper could be relied upon to help in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Agenda 2030) by facilitating the accessibility of information concerning the management of contemporary and future pandemics. Additionally, the paper implies that the most widespread management technique of pandemics is to employ knockdowns. However, vaccinating as many individuals as possible to attain herd immunity among the people is the most potent management technique within countries on the African content. Originality/Value: This study is unique based on the fact that it portrays the characteristic features of pandemics of recent history to the sphere of influence, mode of transmission, management techniques, commonalities, differences, externalities and challenges. The study further portrays that interventions such as knockdowns and quarantines are advantageous, as they could bring about food insecurity in Africa.