Table 5.

Infectious Diseases

The spread of infectious diseases in artisanal and small scale miners is facilitated due to lacking hygiene and sanitation facilities and insufficient water and food safety. This concerns not only miners, but also their families, especially children and women. In combination with dust, described above, and a high prevalence of silicosis, respiratory diseases such as COVID 19 and tuberculosis are extremely hazardous. The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic disproportionately affects miners and mining communities [59]. Prevention efforts, such as hand washing facilities and face masks are often not available in mining communities. Production of minerals in ASM mostly continued, however at a lower rate. Lower demand from the international community led to lower prices and the international measures implemented to control COVID-19 affect trade and, therefore, the socioeconomic conditions of miners. Prices of gold dropped by about 20%, diamonds and tanzanite prices by 60–70% [60]. The living and working conditions have, hence, worsened. Children were observed more frequently at mining sites because schools were closed. The supply of essentials, such as food and water, was disrupted in some places. Efforts of the governments to stop the virus from spreading shifted attention away from long-term programs, such as conflict prevention and peace-making efforts and the socioeconomic circumstances led to higher crime and robbery rates in some communities. In July 2020 international trade recovered to some extent and prices rose. The return to normal production, however, goes hand in hand with low availability of and compliance to COVID-19 prevention efforts, posing an additional risk to the vulnerable communities [60, 61].