The COVID-19-pandemic-related economic and social crises are leading to huge challenges for all spheres of human life across the globe. Various challenges highlighted by this pandemic include, but are not limited to, the need for global health cooperation and security, better crisis management, coordinated funding in public health emergencies, and access to measures related to prevention, treatment and control. This systematic review explores health, economic and social development issues in a COVID-19 pandemic context and aftermath. Accordingly, a methodology that focuses on identifying relevant literature with a focus on meta-analysis is used. A protocol with inclusion and exclusion criteria was developed, with articles from 15 December 2019 to 15 March 2022 included in the study. This was followed by a review and data analysis. The research results reveal that non-pharmaceutical measures like social distancing, lockdown and quarantine have created long-term impacts on issues such as changes in production and consumption patterns, market crashes resulting in the closure of business operations, and the slowing down of the economy. COVID-19 has exposed huge health inequalities across most countries due to social stratification and unequal distribution of wealth and/or resources. People from lower socio-economic backgrounds lack access to essential healthcare services during this critical time for both COVID-19 and other non-COVID ailments. The review shows that there is minimal literature available with evidence and empirical backup; similarly, data/studies from all countries/regions are not available. We propose that there is a need to conduct empirical research employing a trans-disciplinary approach to develop the most effective and efficient strategies to combat the pandemic and its aftermath. There is a need to explore the social and ecological determinants of this contagious infection and develop strategies for the prevention and control of COVID-19 or similar infections in future.

Coastal hazards, particularly cyclones, floods, erosion and storm surges, are emerging as a cause for major concern in the coastal regions of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India. Serious coastal disaster events have become more common in recent decades, triggering substantial destruction to the low-lying coastal areas and a high death toll. Further, women living in informal and slum housing along the Vijayawada coastline of Andhra Pradesh (CAP), India, suffer from multiple social, cultural and economic inequalities as well. These conditions accelerate and worsen women’s vulnerability among this coastal population. The existing literature demonstrates these communities’ susceptibility to diverse coastal disasters but fails to offer gender-specific vulnerability in urban informal housing in the Vijayawada area. Accordingly, the current study developed a novel gender-specific Women’s Coastal Vulnerability Index (WCVI) to assess the impact of coastal disasters on women and their preparedness in Vijayawada. Field data was collected from over 300 women through surveys (2) and workshops (2) between November 2018 and June 2019, and Arc-GIS tools were used to generate vulnerability maps. Results show that women are more vulnerable than men, with a higher death rate during coastal disaster strikes. The current study also found that gender-specific traditional wear is one of the main factors for this specific vulnerability in this area. Furthermore, the majority of the women tend to be located at home to care for the elders and children, and this is associated with more fatalities during disaster events. Homes, particularly for the urban poor, are typically very small and located in narrow and restricted sites, which are a barrier for women to escape from unsafe residential areas during disasters. Overall, the research reveals that most of the coastal disaster events had a disproportionately negative impact on women. The results from this present study offer valuable information to aid evidence-based policy- and decision-makers to improve existing or generate innovative policies to save women’s lives and improve their livelihood in coastal areas.

Across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the lives of people. The mental health of the students of higher educational institutions (HEIs) was worst hit by the coronavirus’ multiple waves and further induced by the great lockdown. Among the students, the impact of COVID-19 depends on various vulnerability factors such as current age, educational status, low economic status, pre-existing mental health problems, and fear of infection. The systematic search was conducted on PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and other databases from January 2020 to September 2022. A total of 80 articles were included in the review based on the eligibility criteria. High prevalence rates of anxiety (3.82–87.7%), depression (21.2–82.4%), and stress (11–81.2%) were reported by the HEI students during the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States of America, Ethiopia, Egypt, Greece, Kosovo, Jordan, China, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, and India. A variety of risk factors were also associated with psychological distress such as female gender, young age group of 18–19 years, low socio-economic status, academic delays, history of medical/psychiatric illness, fear of infection, and excessive exposure to COVID-19-related news via social media. The psychological impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of HEI students is higher in magnitude. The review highlights the mental health issues of HEI students and also presents interventions and strategies to help HEI students at various levels.