BRICS and Economic Development: A multidisciplinary perspective the impact of Coronavirus on the BRICS and beyond

The Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) is an established socio-economic and political partnership among major emerging economies which originated from a top-down cooperation and moved towards one which recognises a bottom-up participation (of the grassroot) through developmental projects of potential positive economic impact. Amid the 2008/2009 global economic crisis the BRICS outperformed the leading economies thus giving hope to the populace of those member countries.  China as the leading economy of the BRICS also played a major role in the financing and supporting of the National Development Bank (also known as the BRICS Bank) the aim of which is to fund capital intensive developmental projects in regions surrounding the BRICS (as opposed to only helping BRICS partners) [1]. So far, the BRICS have been doing well on trade and cooperation as they coped with the many challenges in and among them. However, the novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) adds to the challenges that were yet to be overcome in and among the BRICS countries, namely poverty, unemployment, human rights abuses (including environmental and linguistic rights infringements) and corruption.  This editorial seeks to also bridge the gap created by papers barely addressing the impact of COVID-19 to the BRICS economy (of which Africa is concerned through South Africa, as a gateway to the continent). COVID-19 causes the BRICS States to discontinue efforts that meant regional integration. This could be accelerated as visa constraints are added and several travel restrictions beyond the partnership are imposed. The health crisis will slow the progress of seeing the BRICS projects realised in time and this is a matter of concern.