Global Rapid Gender Analysis for COVID-19

|by and

||||

This Rapid Gender Analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic, based on secondary data analysis undertaken between 12-20 March 2020, explores the current and potential gendered dimensions of COVID-19 and highlights the ways in which women, girls and other marginalised people are likely to suffer from the pandemic.   Download

Read more

Do Authoritarian or Democratic Countries Handle Pandemics Better?

|by and

||||

China has declared victory over the new coronavirus and begun to close its temporary hospitals. Singapore’s coronavirus chief wept while thanking healthcare workers for their efforts. Meanwhile, Spanish officials have requisitioned an ice rink as a makeshift morgue, and nurses in the United States are begging for hand-sewn masks. The stark contrasts raise a pointed question about governance: Are authoritarian countries doing a better job than democratic ones in arresting the coronavirus?   Read more

Read more

Four Lessons from Outbreaks in Africa for the Age of Coronavirus

|by

, , ||, ||, ,

As the coronavirus pandemic continues and new behavioral practices—from social distancing to avoiding handshakes and hugs—become expected norms overnight, there are crucial policy lessons to be learned from struggles against previous outbreaks of disease in Africa. Despite widespread poverty, weak infrastructure, and relatively few health professionals, there is an encouraging, long record of African countries—often with significant international assistance and cooperation—eventually managing to overcome dire health challenges. For non-African countries already facing large numbers of…

Read more

Why we need gender perspectives in our global solutions to COVID-19

|by

, ||||

COVID-19 is indiscriminate. It has made us aware that regardless of race, sex, religion and status, we are all vulnerable to contracting the virus. Governments and populations are taking precautions to protect populations with higher fatality rates. Although containing the virus is the key priority, measures should be considered on how to combat the ways in which COVID-19 is likely to aggravate the already existing social political and economic inequalities in society. In this article,…

Read more

Key considerations: online information, mis-and disinformation in the context of COVID-19

|by

|, |||

This brief sets out practical considerations relating to flows of information, misinformation and disinformation though online media, particularly social media networks, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It details various types of online media, key players and influencers on social media, and strategies for ensuring good information and disrupting mis- and disinformation. It is important to analyse different types of information across different channels, how it is spread and to whom, in order to…

Read more

Epidemics, pandemics and humanitarian challenges: Lessons from a number of health crises

|by and

||, ||, ,

For more than 20 years, Groupe URD has been evaluating humanitarian response and crisis management, which almost always has a ‘health’ component. In all of these contexts, from Afghanistan to Colombia, by way of the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean, they have observed how health systems react to crises, whether it be in terms of war and disaster medicine, regular public health systems, or the management of major health crises, such as cholera and…

Read more

ePROTECT Respiratory Infections

|by

, |, ||, ,

All personnel responding to outbreaks of Acute Respiratory Infections (ARIs) need to have the basic knowledge and skills to mount an effective response. They need to understand what ARIs are, how they are transmitted, how to assess the risk of infection and to understand basic hygiene measures to protect themselves. This learning package consists of 4 modules with videos and downloadable presentations. Visit site

Read more

Emerging respiratory viruses, including COVID-19: methods for detection, prevention, response and control

|by

, |, |

This course provides a general introduction to COVID-19 and emerging respiratory viruses and is intended for public health professionals, incident managers and personnel working for the United Nations, international organizations and NGOs.   Watch video

Read more

The next calamity: The coronavirus could devastate poor countries

|by

|, , |, ||

The new coronavirus is causing havoc in rich countries. Often overlooked is the damage it will cause in poor ones, which could be even worse. Official data do not begin to tell the story. As of March 25th Africa had reported only 2,800 infections so far; India, only 650. But the virus is in nearly every country and will surely spread. There is no vaccine. There is no cure. A very rough guess is that,…

Read more

COVID-19 and the Core Humanitarian Standard: How to meet our CHS commitments in the coronavirus pandemic

|by

||||

The Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability (CHS) sets out the humanitarian sector’s core commitments to the people they assist. It guides humanitarians in taking a principled and people-centred approach to the way they manage the response and adaptation to COVID-19.  This is a guide to how the CHS commitments can inform a humanitarian response to the pandemic, along with some useful resources. Read more

Read more