Strengthening a Nation’s Resilience in Times of Adversity

It has been two tremendously difficult years for the world over, and we are not quite out of the woods. As South Africans, our fragilities and vulnerabilities continue to be laid bare. We emerged from the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and July 2021’s looting, only to be hit by the punitive effects of the Russia-Ukraine war. South Africa’s unemployment is at its worst levels yet, the state of politics does not inspire confidence, and there’s no end in sight to the anxiety-inducing loadshedding. Not to mention the recent mass shootings and the concerns about potential grey-listing of the country – the resultant hardship is not yet known. We are clearly taking strain as a nation. Through this dialogue, we wish to explore what the likely impact of all this negativity is on a country’s psychological and social wellbeing? How should we expect this to manifest itself? And perhaps more importantly, how do we collectively strengthen the nation’s resilience to mitigate psychological and socio-economic threats; and whose responsibility is this?