•  
  •  
 

Abstract

The outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis in early 2020 took the whole world by surprise. The world witnessed its horrific spread in Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Brazil in utter disbelief and helplessness. The Greater Middle East (GME) region too faced the pandemic-induced misfortune in no small measure. Governments and non-governmental organizations scrambled to articulate a response equivalent to the challenges. While the crisis clearly posed an unprecedented set of challenges in human history, it did provide some opportunities as well. If nothing else, the crisis brought home the importance of pandemic-preparedness, biosecurity, health security, food security, social cohesion, public compliance, and regional and international cooperation as succinctly as possible. While a few countries in the GME region did succeed in stepping up to the challenge in the early six months of the crisis well into the end of 2021, a few others fell considerably short in their response and are still struggling to provide even basic anti-virus measures. This article provides a general overview of the GME’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic and highlights some of the major challenges faced by the states and society in the region and the opportunities thereof. The article also touches upon the policies, efforts, opportunities, struggles, and challenges in the sub-regions of the GME: the Levant, the Gulf, North Africa, and Central Asia.

Download

Share

COinS