IDRC-COVID-19 Response for Equity Initiative Project - Intersectional inequalities during Covid-19 in Nigeria;

This finding shows that with this kind of digital polarisation, the majority of the Nigerian population were left behind and further exacerbating the inequalities between the rich and the poor and the marginalised and un-marginalised societies. [...] Those at the bottom of the pyramid and at the intersection of multiple inequalities - the poor, those working in low-paying jobs, those in the informal sector, children living in women-headed households and those living in rural areas - were less likely to be able to digitally substitute their daily activities. [...] The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the early months of 2020 amplified the challenges that the Nigerian economy has been facing. [...] Indeed, the results support the findings of the 2017 RIA After Access Survey which shows that the majority of women, who are often in the lower economic pyramid of the society, cannot afford a smartphone. [...] When analysing the age groups that used these services during the Nigerian lockdown, the majority of them (52%) were between the ages of 16 and 34, followed by those between the ages of 35 and 65, who accounted for 36%, and those over the age of 65, who accounted for 12%.