COVID-19 and Forced Displacement in the Middle East and East Africa

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This background paper presents considerations on how the COVID-19 pandemic is accentuating existing vulnerabilities of populations forcibly displaced by war (refugees, asylum-seekers, internally-displaced and stateless persons), in settings across East Africa and the Middle East. In addition to the devastating health threat the pandemic poses, lockdown measures imposed by governments to reduce transmission are having outsized effects on forcibly displaced populations, further entrenching poverty, xenophobiaand creating new humanitarian protection issues. With the exceptional physical distancing…

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COVID-19 in the Horn of Africa: How can aid help mobile populations cope with restrictions on movement?

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Aid providers in the Horn of Africa have always struggled to adapt their systems and models to the simple fact that people move from place to place. Delivering aid in remote areas normally involves establishing long supply chains that rely on populations being in places where they can be relatively easily ‘accessed’. The refugee and IDP camps of the region, many of which were constructed as temporary locations for the provision of food or shelter,…

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COVID-19 from the Margins: What We Have Learned So Far

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COVID-19 from the Margins was launched at the beginning of May 2020 as a multilingual blog platform, with the aim to give voice to narratives on the pandemic from social groups and individuals invisibilized by mainstream coverage and policies. Two months down the line, the authors reflect on the core threads emerged so far, with a look to the future of South-based narrations of the first pandemic of the datafied society.   Read more

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Will the Coronavirus Fuel Conflict?

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The coronavirus pandemic has led to over 500,000 deaths and strained health care systems worldwide. But it has also had damaging knock-on effects for the global economy and governance. One increasing risk is that these effects will lead to more episodes of large-scale internal violence, including civil war.   Read more

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COVID-19 and resilience innovations in food supply chains

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Food supply disruptions in developing countries during the COVID-19 pandemic have been varied and often severe, especially in labor-intensive segments of supply chains. Tom Reardon of Michigan State University and IFPRI’s Jo Swinnen summarize early experiences in both international and domestic supply chains across various types of firms and commodities. They review a range of innovations developed to keep supply chains running, many implemented at a surprisingly rapid pace—and make recommendations on to facilitate continued…

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COVID 19 and conflict sensitivity: Rapid Operational Conflict Risk and Prevention Tool

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This operational tool aims to support Country Offices to do a rapid conflict analysis, identify potential conflict risks associated with the COVID-19 response and possible mitigation measures when designing and implementing activities.   Download

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Covid-19 in Africa: How Youth are Stepping Up

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The African continent has, thus far, fared comparatively well in the pandemic, with just under 400,000 confirmed infections and about 10,000 fatalities at the end of June 2020. Even so, the heavy economic, social, and emotional toll of the pandemic on the continent is already clear, and some analysts believe that the situation will worsen in the coming months. This blog post argues that although this pandemic will have devastating health and socioeconomic effects on the continent,…

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The fears and hopes of African youth during the COVID-19 pandemic

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It has been more than 130 days since the first reported case of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Africa. When many were still trying to comprehend the outbreak of COVID-19, the African Union (AU)  immediately adopted the ‘new normal’. The 13 consultations they convened with over 400 youth from 42 African countries were eye-opening on both the challenges and innovations by African youth in fighting the virus.   Read more

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COVID-19 Pandemic Through a Gender Lens

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The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to disruptions of both social and economic activities across the globe. While the early narrative described COVID-19 as the “great equalizer,” asserting that the virus is capable of infecting anyone, it is critical for policymakers to understand that the impacts of COVID-19 will not be the same for everyone. As experience from previous epidemics suggests, COVID-19 will impact groups who are most vulnerable and amplify any existing inequalities across…

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Ensuring Women’s Access to Cash Transfers in the Wake of COVID-19

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Governments around the world are implementing a variety of measures to dull the blow of mass income loss and unemployment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and recession. Cash transfers, whether targeted or universal, have been one of the most popular remedies used to date. While the design of individual cash transfer programs varies greatly by country and by context, all are an attempt to mitigate the economic shock caused by the ongoing pandemic. The design…

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