South Sudan has, up to the time of writing, avoided the worst effects of the global coronavirus pandemic. However, as the disease spreads further through the African continent, South Sudan—and other countries in the Greater Horn of Africa region—need to carefully calibrate their response to prevent a dangerous escalation. Of critical importance to this is the need to take into account local knowledge and expertise. Drawing on the Rift Valley Institute’s (RVI) network of South…

This policy brief elaborates on the impacts of COVID-19 and identifies both immediate and longer term policy and programmatic responses needed to protect older people.   Download

This article argues that within already vulnerable displaced communities, women and girls are at even greater risk. Cultural norms, underrepresentation, and a host of other challenges further marginalize them socially, politically, and economically. As a result, forced displacement uniquely and disproportionately affects women and girls, as does this pandemic. The article provides analysis and recommendations for Governments where IDPs, asylum seekers, refugees, and stateless people reside, and for INGOs, national NGOs and donors working with…

This Interim Guidance outlines how key public health and social measures needed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spread and the impact of the disease can be adapted for use in low capacity and humanitarian settings. The recommendations outlined here need to be adjusted to the scale of transmission, context and resources, in order to achieve the objective of managing COVID-19, namely to reduce transmission and facilitate the detection and management of infected and exposed…

In this article, the authors argue for a universal ultra basic income (UUBI) as a strategy for development countries to cope with the economic impact of COVID-19.   Read more

Strong, positive social bonds, both within and between communities, are a foundation for building peace. Ensuring that aid programmes do not erode these bonds is fundamental to conflict sensitive programming. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on South Sudan’s social networks is yet unknown. Drawing on research conducted by Mercy Corps and Tufts University in Unity State, this paper explores the role of social networks in South Sudan and how they could be impacted by…

In this report, the Partnership for Evidence-Based Response to COVID-19 (PERC), a consortium of global public health organizations and private sector firms, brings together findings from a survey conducted March 29-April 17, 2020 in 28 cities across 20 AU Member States, along with epidemiological measures of disease transmission and indicators of population movements and unrest, among others. Synthesized, these data provide a first-of-its-kind snapshot of baseline conditions in Africa during this rapidly evolving pandemic.  …

COVID-19 presents particular risks for many persons with disabilities and elderly around the world. Governments and partners should make extra efforts to protect the rights of persons with disabilities in responding to the pandemic, including ensuring that public health information is accessible to all. Persons with disabilities and elderly, potentially face higher exposure to the virus, are at risk of being discriminated against and face various environmental and attitudinal barriers to access critical information, including…

The Coronavirus COVID-19 is spreading globally. How can the Sphere Handbook guide our response? Sphere collates and disseminates emerging practice and evidence in the Coronavirus response and released a four-page document guiding you through the relevant parts of the Sphere Handbook. Why is Sphere relevant for COVID-19? Sphere offers a holistic, people-centred approach to humanitarian work, with the three foundation chapters – Humanitarian Charter, Protection Principles and Core Humanitarian Standard – supporting the four technical chapters. For the Coronavirus response, there are three…

This paper is stressing the importance of linking the responses of COVID-19 to Women, Peace and Security agenda. Women are at the frontline of facing the threat of COVID-19 pandemic. They are in a protective position of taking care of children and elderly in the community in comparison to their male counterparts. This is due to the different care giving roles that women and girls play as well as pre-existing gender inequalities that exist in…