African intellectuals are calling for a different discussion about how to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Isn’t this the right time to propel changes that have often been postponed? African leaders fall easily into response mode, not to the crises they face but to the advice they receive. Perhaps COVID-19 can herald structural transformation in the continent. Admitting this is too good a crisis to be allowed to go to waste, here are five reasons…

COVID-19 is not only a health issue, just as HIV never was. It impacts on a wide range of human rights, and although it affects all people, it does so unequally. Women and girls in all their diversity are experiencing the greatest impact of the crisis. COVID-19 has highlighted the stark inequalities across societies, with a lack of pandemic preparedness and fragile or non-functioning institutions posing graver impacts.   Download

As the world faces an unprecedented public health crisis in living memory in the form of COVID-19, this special feature examines the current and likely impacts of the pandemic – the “Great Lockdown” – with a focus on international food markets. Such markets are not insulated from changes in the wider economy, therefore emphasis is placed on how broader economic shocks have, and can be, transmitted to food markets, notwithstanding the direct transmittable effects of…

Evidence-based policy generation is an aspiration more than reality at the best of times. With COVID-19 generating extreme uncertainty and urgency of action across the world, it has become harder than ever. This blog considers three areas where both researchers and policymakers need to engage more effectively: asking better questions; being clearer about how well we can answer them; and broadening collaboration and challenge. It concludes with four propositions for better decision-making under great uncertainty:…

COVID-19 has had an immediate impact on UN peace operations. Troop rotations have been frozen, and interactions with local populations minimized. Yet the long-term economic and political consequences for peacekeeping look more severe.   Read more

This briefing paper was commissioned by the East Africa Research Hub in collaboration with DFID’s Research and Evidence Department’s Science Cell, in partnership with the African Academy of Sciences. This is a follow up to their briefing paper on the risks of physical distancing measures in LMICs. Physical distancing measures are important to reduce COVID-19 transmission. However, when stringently applied, they can result in negative health and socio-economic impacts. This report draws on a rapid…

This blog post argues that as Africans, in order to circumvent the on-going global health crisis, must begin to transform their understanding and appreciation of the role and value that their indigenous knowledge systems has played in the past and can still play in this process.   Read more

Control of epidemic diseases relies on public compliance with government decisions and scientific advice. What does trust have to do with it? According to Danielle Resnick, a lot: Changing the behavior of citizens depends upon it. She highlights multiple gaps in trust in different pandemic responses around the world, and outlines the factors underlying them—and offers insights into how politicians and scientists might build the trust needed in leading ongoing mitigation responses to COVID-19 and…

As global health leaders, governments, civil society and NGOs grapple to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, the voices of women and girls remain largely unheard. The Coronavirus Global Response launched by the European Commission has raised €9.8 billion to date to combat the pandemic; however, allocations explicitly for the protection and continued provision of routine services for women, adolescents and children have not materialised (the majority of funds are earmarked for vaccines development, deployment and diagnostics)….

The virus, and the impacts of national responses to it, have magnified existing inequalities in access to healthcare, safety, and economic security. However, according to the UN brief, they also present the international community with an opportunity to “reimagine human mobility for the benefit of all”. Around the world, a number of local and national governments have responded to the virus by taking steps to protect the health and human rights of irregular migrants and…