Social work expert asks whether Covid-19 is an ‘equal opportunity disease’

Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Dr Sweta Rajan-Rankin notes how the Covid-19 pandemic has brought an ‘interconnectedness’ across the globe, but asks whether this actually means that we are “all in it together.” She comments:

‘After all, this is a disease that has claimed as victims, both the wealthy and the poor. If Prince Charles and Boris Johnson can both contract Covid-19, then surely this is an equal opportunity disease?’

Her findings however severely challenge this assumption and show quite clearly that BAME communities have been worst hit by the Covid-19 crisis since its emergence in the UK. Why? In order to understand how and why minority communities are disproportionately affected by Covid-19, Dr Rajan-Rankin explores a series of interconnected issues, starting with analysis of ‘the stripping of NHS funds on the one hand, and the deepening of social inequalities among BAME groups on the other.’

Read the full article online.

Dr Sweta Rajan-Rankin is Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Kent. Her interests are in anti-racist social work interventions, race and racialisation, migration and belonging.

 

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