Solomon Demissie
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic continues as a significant worldwide health threat. The pandemic affects everyone worldwide, but the magnitude and impact of the COVID-19 crisis are highly heterogeneous and vary from region to region and country to country. Undeniably, the pandemic has had a devastating impact on humanitarian aid operations in Northeast Nigeria.
Objective: This study aimed to systematically review published available literature, reports, and case studies on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on humanitarian aid programming and lessons learned throughout the pandemic period in the study area to avoid redundancy and to identify new problems and possibilities for further research.
Methods: We employed a systematic literature review approach. We employed a comprehensive and rigorous mixed research method for this systematic review. An extensive literature review was carried out from August to October 2021 by searching various online databases like Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, and PubMed using specific keywords related to SARS-CoV-2, the COVID-19 pandemic, impact, humanitarian aid, and Nigeria.
Results: The initial electronic search identified over 500 scholarly papers and potentially published articles, of which 44 met the inclusion criteria. Ultimately, this study included and reviewed 44 documents. Most of these studies noted a significant association or effects of COVID-19 on humanitarian aid operations in Northeast Nigeria, and most studies were descriptive in nature and reported. Overall, international humanitarian actors faced the double burden of increasing needs with limited access and a significant funding reduction, including massive cost-cutting and reallocation of funds. Also, COVID-19 has compounded the existing humanitarian crises in Nigeria with an increased need for foreign aid and access. In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted humanitarian aid operations in Northeast Nigeria.
Conclusions and recommendations: The result of this systematic review confirmed that the COVID-19 pandemic profoundly impacted humanitarian aid operations in Northeast Nigeria. There is a lack of research and information on the impact of COVID-19 on humanitarian aid operations, responses, and interventions in the study area. Therefore, it will be recommended that operational research be conducted to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on humanitarian operations and associated factors in Northeast Nigeria or a similar context to understand the full impact.