ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic is much more than a health crisis, given the number of human security threats, including economic, food, health, environment, personal community, and political. This study explores the economic impact of COVID-19 on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the use of local medicinal plants as a mitigation tool, and the relevance of the human security framework in response to the pandemic. The study used qualitative methodology, sourcing information from documents, interviews, observations, and on-site checks. The study drew on Giddens’s structuration theory, which argues that actors create social systems and vice versa. The findings show that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted most Zambian SMEs, although traders in herbs and spices claimed their profit increased as people turned to local remedies; the demand for local medicinal plants increased during the pandemic period. The findings also revealed gaps in the human security framework as the full implications of the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SMEs emerged.
