9 Amazing Things That Happened Despite the 2020 Scare

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The year 2020 is finally wrapping itself into a close and there’s no doubt that it had been overshadowed by a lot of unprecedented happenings. From the disastrous consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, the global call to end Police brutality, the heightened reports of rape assaults, insurgency, social vices, and economic unrest, it is gratifying to say 2020 was objectively depressing and full of dreary headlines.

The world for the first time had to be put on hold for the Coronavirus. If we had to take a metaphoric description of the year, it would be a what-I-ordered Vs what-I-got scenario. If only we had known that the better part of 2020 would be spent indoors, we’d have been less excited about the new year.

But, oh well! It happened and many individuals had to cancel their plans for the year. A lot of us had to adjust to a new way of living, (virtual) working, and even dieting. Some of us had to stay away from our families, and many individuals were put out of their jobs. We lost some of our dearly beloved ones, and even most nations are struggling with an economic recession. while many would agree that the year was probably one of the worst years in the history of the world, like we’ve said before, 2020 would not be taking any prize at the Grammys for the best behaved year for many reasons.

The pandemic was undoubtedly the largest grey cloud in the sky. We do not forget the death of our all-time favorite, Chadwick Boseman, or the demise of Jerry Rawlings to the coronavirus amongst many others.

But amongst all this, a new year is here already, and most importantly, we have decided to focus on some of the good things (yes, many good things) that did happen in the year 2020 as well.

By doing this, I do not attempt to act oblivious to the heavy clouds that had pervaded the better parts of the year. But why focus on the bad, when there’s good to look upon? Although we’re still very much in a battle against the coronavirus, there are some things to be thankful for, especially with the new update of a Covid-19 vaccine.

For most individuals, the pandemic provided the help they required to discover their purpose and true passion, resurrect dead hobbies, quit toxic jobs, and even spend more time with their families and loved ones. While the events of the pandemic surely helped individuals focus on things that truly mattered, the earth was not left out too.

Without ignoring the bad and the ugly, I’m without a doubt here to help you remember some good that you may have forgotten.

There’s an endless list of great things that happened this year, let’s find out in the list below.

Kamala Harris Got Elected as the First Female, Black-American, and First Indian-American Vice President

Talk about women and winning power. This was one of the most refreshing news for the black community and women all over the world. A reassurance that the stereotypes can and would be broken, even if it means one step at a time. One woman at a time, making it a major win for black women and women of other colors all over the world. Indeed Joe Biden was nominated as president, refreshingly Kamala Harris made unforgettable history for the world to celebrate.

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2. Scotland Signed a Free Period Product Bill for Everyone

Thanks to the bill passed by labor MSP Monica Lennon, women and girls would no longer have to suffer a lack of period products in Scotland. This historic move is a major thing to celebrate as Scotland had contributed actively to the global conversation to end period poverty in the world. The authorities have enforced that period products such as tampons and pads should be made available to anyone who needs them. Average periods last up to five days, and it can cost a lot for women, especially girls living in low-income environments to afford suitable period products.

While this is majorly a huge problem for girls and women across the world, there’s been enormous neglect on the matter for the longest time.

According to research, about 10% of girls in the UK have been unable to afford period products; 15% have struggled to afford them, and 19% have changed to a less suitable product due to cost. In Africa, one in 10 girls miss school because they don’t have access to sanitary products. In Kenya, 50% do not have access to sanitary products, while in India 12% of 355 women cannot afford menstrual products.

This is one of the numerous reasons why Monica Lennon who has been campaigning to end This form of poverty since 2016, calls it a “practical and progressive piece” of legislation.

This was one good news that greeted us in 2020. While the Scotland government may have taken the first step forward to tackle this problem, we hope that other nations of the world would take a bold step forward in the right direction as well.

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3. The App, TikTok, changed the Lockdown Game

The app TikTok helped change the lockdown game for a lot of users across the world. 2020 and the lockdown brought TikTok into the limelight unlike any app to break the Internet like ever before. While Helping a lot of people survive the lockdown TikTok was the most downloaded app in 2020. Despite its many controversies including Donald Trump’s threat to ban the Chinese app, we cannot help but admit that teenagers thrived and made creative use of their time during the pandemic, all thanks to this app.

Shockingly, screen time engagement escalated during the pandemic, because a lot of people could only stay connected with others virtually, which put social media on the high front of increased human participation and communication online.

With a majority of its users within the age range of 13- 29, the social network app surged to fame with a skyrocketing number of over 45.6 million active users in the US alone. Debunking traditional method of content creation, where anyone could become the next internet sensation by actively posting videos of themselves talking, lip-syncing, making weird faces, or dancing. Tik Tok is spontaneous and your mobile stop for short-form fun videos, and we’ve got 2020 to thank for this.

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4. Africa is Now Free of Polio

While the world was being ravished by Covid-19, Africa had something to be hopeful about following the announcement in August by the independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) for Polio Eradication officially declaring that the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region is free of wild poliovirus. This pronouncement was made after countless field verification, laboratory processing, immunization, and surveillance was carried out in over 47 member states.

According to the World Health Organization, the last case of wild poliovirus in the region was detected in 2016 in Nigeria. Since 1996, polio eradication efforts have prevented up to 1.8 million children from crippling life-long paralysis and saved approximately 180,000 lives.

Polio is a viral disease that is easily transmissible through contaminated water, food, or fecal-oral route. It has no cure, but the disease can be prevented through an effective vaccine. Thanks to the dedication of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, polio cases have reduced by 99.9% since 1988, bringing the world closer than ever before to ending polio. And 2020 saw the emergence of that victory in Africa.

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Nigerians React to the New National Anthem Enforced by President Bola Tinubu

5. Covid-19 Helped Heal The Earth (Even if For a Little While)

While humans were getting sick from the coronavirus, Our planet got a minute to breathe as carbon dioxide emissions declined massively. The global lockdown resulted in a massive drop in air pollution seen across the world. The pandemic put millions of people off the streets, made people work remotely from home, and dwindled high business attendance and participation to minimal, virtual, or nothing. While this was a grim situation for many, on the bright side, it automatically meant that less gas had to be emitted into the air from companies and cars.

The reductions in economic activities took us back to an era of clean and breathable air, but we’re yet to fully beat climate change. There’s still a lot of work to be done in that regard.

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6. ‘Black Lives Matter’ #BLM Became the Largest Mass Movement in History

2020 saw the rise and brought the social movement Black lives matter into the limelight as thousand of individuals took to the street to protest against existing police brutality, racial discrimination, and the numerous stereotype prevalent across the world largely affecting members and individuals of the black community.

A large estimate of about 26 million people participated in the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in the United States alone. In Nigeria, a social movement to END SARS sparked the largest protests of young people taking to the streets to address issues of police brutality and police reformation in the country.

7. A Record Number of Individuals Learnt New Skills (Even if it Was Out of Boredom)

Covid -19 saw the highest number of individuals learn new skills during the heat of the pandemic. From digital skills to social skills. Covid-19 was the excuse a whole lot of us needed to pick up new habits, new knowledge, new expertise, new career paths, and even new hobbies.

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8. Scientist Discovered The Coronavirus Vaccine

2020 saw the spread of the virus to major nations of the world, 2020 also brought hope with the sudden release of the Covid-19 vaccine. To date, over 74 million cases of Covid-19 have been reported worldwide, and it’s been estimated that by December 2021, a whole lot of people would have been vaccinated against the virus.

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9. A Lot of Individuals Learned to Eat Healthily

Covid-19 altered the better part of our lives, but most importantly food culture around the world witnessed a dramatic hit. Covid-19 influenced the way we eat, the way we shop, and even our grocery list preference. Many people had to rely only on a homemade meal to feed themselves and their family, as most recreational centers and restaurants were shut following the imposed restrictions.

People suddenly saw the need to take in exclusively balanced meals to stay in shape and remain healthy. The cooking game changed too as most individuals returned to healthy recipes to boost the immune system. Most restaurants released their secret recipes to their customers as well, sharing hope and balanced meal routines one step at a time.

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