Gendered Impacts of COVID-19 on Income, Coping Strategies and Food Stockpiling: The Case of Ethiopia

The COVID-19 pandemic is an international shock that affects, not only the global economy, but also livelihood of households and individuals in developed and developing countries alike. The rapidly evolving nature of the pandemic and subsequent preventive measures, such as movement restrictions, influence livelihoods in general and income of various segments ofthe population in particular. The pandemic has adversely affected poor households and individuals by pushing some households below the poverty line and further diminishing the living standards of already poor households. Specifically, the pandemic pushes about 40-60 million people into extreme poverty in which the sizeable portion of them live in developing countries (Mahler et al., 2020). Moreover, the pandemic has disproportionately affected female-headed households by reducing their employment opportunities and income levels. The first Coronavirus case was reported in Ethiopia on 13 March 2020, and the number of cases has continued to increase afterwards. Since the time COVID-19 case was identified, the Government of Ethiopia undertook various restrictions to contain the spread of the virus. Some of these measures include suspension/closure of schools, sporting events, public gatherings, regulation for anyone entering into Ethiopia to undergo a mandatory government supervised-quarantine for 14 days, and declaration of a five-month long State of Emergency (SoE) starting on 8 April 2020. These restrictions and lockdown measures have potential impacts on income of households and individuals, and could lead to substantial economic costs, especially forthe already poor segments ofthe population.