JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The COVID-19 pandemic has had disproportionate economic and health impacts on self-employed workers in Nigeria. Self-employed women and youth have been particularly affected. Though uniquely different, the COVID-19 pandemic shares similarities with life events such as childbirth, family emergencies and health emergencies. Self-employed young women lack adequate support structures to cope with disruptive life events and health emergencies, which have negative consequences for their wellbeing. This is a matter of great concern as 86% of women in the Nigerian labour force are self-employed.

Objective:

The project’s first objective is to conduct a gendered situational analysis to address the question of how the COVID-19 pandemic and other disruptive life events affect the paid and unpaid work and the physical, mental and social wellbeing of self-employed young women in Nigeria; their strategies for coping with such events, and how these compare with those of self-employed young men. Informed by this analysis, a second objective is to co-produce, with self-employed young women and policymakers, a gender-transformative intervention that integrates social protection and promotes wellbeing.

Methods:

This multi-method project has three components: 1. A situational analysis of the impact of the pandemic and other disruptive events on the work and wellbeing of self-employed young women vis-à-vis self-employed young men using qualitative interviews, a scoping review, secondary data analysis and digital storytelling 2. The co-production of interventions with self-employed young women using a systematic review, policy analysis, focus group discussions and theory of change workshops, to help them cope better with these events 3. The piloting and evaluation of the co-produced intervention packages.

Results:

This project was funded in October 2022. Data collection for the project commenced in May 2023 and will end in November 2025.

Conclusions:

This project will advance knowledge of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other significant disruptive life events on the work and wellbeing of self-employed young women and provide co-produced, actionable solutions to mitigate the effects of these disruptions on their work and wellbeing.