Covid-19: Key Considerations for a Public Health Response

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The Covid-19 pandemic is more than a health crisis. Its long-term economic and societal effects may well outweigh its initial public health impact. It is therefore essential that responses are socially sensitive and attuned to mitigating these secondary effects. This briefing draws upon lessons learned by development actors during previous epidemics. It considers the similarities and differences of the Covid-19 pandemic compared to other recent epidemics, casting a critical eye on the social and public…

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COVID-19: urgency for distancing from domestic violence

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Although COVID-19 is a major worldwide health threat, there is another global public health emergency that is becoming a growing challenge. Domestic violence is a public health and human rights issue that primarily affects women and children worldwide. Several countries have reported a significant increase in domestic violence cases since the COVID-19-induced lockdowns and physical distancing measures were implemented. The COVID-19 health crisis is exacerbating another pre-existing public health problem by increasing the severity and…

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Missing Datasets

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This article argues that African societies are failing to systematically capture the true impact of COVID-19.   Read more

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Coming together for refugee education

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Anyone looking for inspirational examples of dedication, perseverance, resilience and strength of character should look no further than the students and teachers featured in this year’s report on refugees and education. From Ecuador to Jordan, from Iran to Ethiopia, these young refugees and the adults who support them realize how much living a life in dignity and preparing for solutions depend on access to full and formal quality education. The gap between refugees and their…

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Building resilience in Africa’s food supply chain after Covid-19

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The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in unprecedented disruption to the global economy and world trade. Many countries have locked down their borders, or severely restricted freedoms in a bid to contain community transmission of the virus. Globally, 3 billion people depend on international trade for their food security; a huge number of them are in Africa. It is for this reason that markets must be kept open. Countries should refrain from export restrictions. Trade restrictions…

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COVID-19 and Child Marriage in West and Central Africa

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The COVID-19 pandemic may cause 13 million additional child marriages by 2030, and West and Central Africa will be severely affected unless multi-sectoral, comprehensive efforts to end child marriage are accelerated in the region. This joint brief from Girls Not Brides and Plan International outlines the impacts of the pandemic on child marriage. It provides recommendations and an urgent call for action for governments, regional bodies and humanitarian actors to ensure that girls and young women’s…

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Transparency, Accountability and Anti-Corruption Service Offer for COVID-19 Response and Recovery

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COVID-19 is not just a health, humanitarian or socio-economic crisis; it is a governance crisis, testing the resilience of governance systems and institutions during the pandemic. The lack of sufficient accountability and oversight mechanisms in crisis response and recovery significantly increases the risks of corruption and fraud. The most vulnerable and marginalised populations disproportionately suffer the most; and people lose trust in their governments, undermining the effectiveness of response and recovery measures to the crisis….

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From insight to action: Gender equality in the wake of COVID-19

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The impacts of crises are never gender neutral, and COVID-19 is no exception. While men reportedly have a higher fatality rate, women and girls are especially hurt by the resulting economic and social fallout. Impacts on women and girls have worsened across the board. Women are losing their livelihoods faster because they are more exposed to hard-hit economic sectors. According to a new analysis commissioned by UN Women and UNDP, by 2021 around 435 million…

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‘Building Back Better’: Youth, Risk, and Resilience in the coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

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The COVID-19 pandemic – as well as the governmental and societal responses to it – feed into, feed off, and trigger pre-existing local, national, and global patterns of inequality and exclusion. Unsurprisingly, these responses have also had generational and gendered manifestations. The profile of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, provides a powerful mirror image of the interconnected structural ‘violence of exclusion’ that young women and men described so powerfully through The Missing Peace: Independent Progress Study…

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Learning in a COVID-19 world: The unique risks of falling behind for children in humanitarian settings

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Whilst over one billion children worldwide have been affected by school closures as a result of the global pandemic, this analysis presents the unique ways in which children in fragile and conflict-affected settings have been further affected by the virus. By highlighting the existing challenges faced by school-age children in humanitarian settings, this analysis focuses on how these pre-existing vulnerabilities have been compounded by COVID-19, how approaches can be best adapted to ensure these children…

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