Niger

Niger’s distressed socioeconomic condition shaped its pandemic response. Restrictions due to the pandemic in urban areas had ramifications for rural areas, although many of the compensatory measures targeted the organized sector, which is urban-based. More importantly, even within sectors, sector players’ impacts and coping mechanisms differed depending on their formality and unionization status. The compliance and responsiveness of the populace centred on mistrust and proximity to the Government, with the middle classes more amenable to the pandemic measures. Contradictions in state responses shaped some of the reactions from the religious leaders and subsequently led to the relaxation of some measures. Structural biases resulted in discrimination in emergency measure application and compensatory scheme access. Negotiation and persuasion instead of coercive policies in pandemic governance and deployment of technology in the unorganized sectors are recommended as some of the solutions to the complex political economy question of pandemic management.