If Covid-19 is not beaten in Africa it will return to haunt us all

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In this opinion piece, Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed argues that only a global victory can end this pandemic, not a temporary rich countries’ win. Read more

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COVID-19 and Africa’s Displacement Crisis

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The spread of the coronavirus in Africa is intersecting with the continent’s population displacement crisis. Protecting displaced persons and migrants will be key to reducing the overall rates of transmission. The author therefore argues that governments must emphasize that this pandemic requires a community-wide focus on public health and human security—one that includes the most marginalized and vulnerable. This includes forcibly displaced and economic migrants, as well as the impoverished communities that host them. Stigmatization,…

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From cholera to corona: The politics of plagues in Africa

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Like any other disease, the coronavirus COVID-19 has in itself no meaning: it is only a micro-organism. It acquires meaning and significance from its human contexts, from the ways it infiltrates the lives of the people, from the reactions it provokes, and from the manner in which it gives expression to cultural and political values. The danger of the coronavirus and its attendant illness, coronavirus disease, is best understood as the product of a particularly…

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COVID-19 Threatens South Sudan’s At-Risk Populations

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South Sudan has issued measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, notably a ban on inbound and outbound flights, self-paid mandatory quarantines, and a ban on mass gatherings. While important, these measures do not address the complex reality in South Sudan, a country with limited health services struggling to emerge from six years of civil war and with many population groups at heightened risk – including displaced people and prisoners. The author of this article,…

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Key considerations: COVID-19 in informal urban settlements

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This brief sets out key considerations for protecting informal urban settlements from the spread and impacts of COVID-19. There is heightened concern about these settings because of the combination of population density and limited infrastructure. This briefing discusses what is known about vulnerabilities and how to support local action.   Download

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Interim guidance: Scaling-up COVID-19 outbreak readiness and response operations in humanitarian situations including camps and camp-like settings

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People affected by humanitarian crises, particularly those displaced and/or living in camps and camp-like settings, are often faced with specific challenges and vulnerabilities that must be taken into consideration when planning for readiness and response operations for the COVID-19 outbreak. They are frequently neglected, stigmatized, and may face difficulties in accessing health services that are otherwise available to the general population. In the context of this Interim Guidance, the people in humanitarian situations affected by…

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What Might Africa Teach the World? Covid-19 and Ebola Virus Disease Compared

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In this blog post, Paul Richards compares Ebola to COVID-19 and argues that Africa’s experience of Ebola has something to offer when it comes to responding to COVID-19. Communities experiencing Ebola in West Africa in 2014-15 rapidly learnt from scratch how to cope with a deadly new infection, and this provides the rest of the world with important information on strategies to address novel disease threats more generally.   Read more

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Key Considerations: Cross-Border Dynamics Between South Sudan and DRC

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This brief summarises key considerations concerning cross-border dynamics between South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the context of the outbreak of Ebola in North Kivu and surrounding provinces. In light of the DRC outbreak, South Sudan began preparedness activities in August 2018 with the development of the first South Sudan National Ebola Preparedness Plan (August 2018 – March 2019) and the formation of the National Ebola Task Force (NTF) and Technical…

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Civil War & the Global Threat of Pandemics

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This essay confronts the collision of two potential global threats: the outbreak of infectious pandemics and the outbreak and protraction of civil wars. Specifically, it addresses the potential that civil wars can elevate the risk that an infectious outbreak will emerge; the possibility that civil wars can reduce the capacity to identify and respond to outbreaks; and the risk that outbreaks in areas of civil conflict can generate political and security challenges that may threaten…

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The Security Sector and Global Health Crises: Lessons and Prospects

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The recent Ebola outbreak in Western Africa has had serious implications for human security and economic development in the affected countries. The economic, security and humanitarian dimensions of such a health crisis call for action in different sectors and at several levels – global, regional, national and local. The challenges that emerged to assist affected nations in managing and containing the Ebola outbreak raise the question as to which contributions local and international security institutions…

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