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Search within Central and East Africa, Epidemic preparedness and response,
159 results found
Research paper
Covid-19 Riskscapes: Viral Risk Perceptions in the African Great Lakes
In this article we explore Covid-19 riskscapes across the African Great Lakes region. Drawing on fieldwork across Uganda and Malawi, our analysis centers around how two mobile, trans-border figures – truck drivers and migrant traders – came to be understood…
Research paper
Contesting the crisis narrative: epidemic accounts in Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Democratic Republic of the Congo
Scientists and global commentators watched African countries closely in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, predicting an impending disaster: the virus was projected to overwhelm already weak health systems. These expectations were informed by imaginaries of Africa as an…
Research paper
Identifying transferable lessons from cholera epidemic responses by Médecins Sans Frontières in Mozambique, Malawi and the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2015–2018: a scoping review
Cholera epidemics occur frequently in low-income countries affected by concurrent humanitarian crises. Evaluations of these epidemic responses remains largely unpublished and there is a need to generate evidence on response efforts to inform future programmes. This review of MSF cholera…
Working paper
Indigenous lockdowns: a historical exploration of epidemic containment in Arua District, West Nile sub-region, Uganda
This working paper explores histories of containing epidemic diseases in West Nile, North West Uganda. It focuses particularly on strategies devised since the colonial period among Lugbara-speaking populations in present-day Arua and Maracha Districts to contain disease outbreaks. The paper…
Working paper
An enquiry into the use of Covid-19 herbal medicines in Uganda
This working paper explores the use of herbal medicines as reported prevention and cures for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). We focus particularly on interviews with residents of Arua City, West Nile sub-region, Northern Uganda.
Working paper
A retrospective assessment of Covid-19 viewed from Arua Regional Referral Hospital, West Nile Sub-Region, Uganda: Emmanuel Candia in conversation with Solomon Kamurari
The following paper is an interview with Dr Emmanuel Chandia, a Medical Officer at Arua Regional Referral Hospital. He is the emergency care coordinator for the West Nile sub-region and has coordinated the response to COVID-19 at Arual Regional Referral…
Article
Borders areas should be used, not feared, in pandemic responses
This report moves beyond abstract assumptions and global-level debates to understand the reality of the struggles and strategies of local and national organisations during complex emergencies. We focus on the histories, politicoeconomic dynamics and everyday realities of South Sudanese NGOs…
Research paper
Integrated disease surveillance and response in humanitarian context: South Sudan experience
This paper reviews the progress and outcomes of rolling out IDSR in South Sudan, using epidemiological and program data for 2019-20 to provide detailed assessments of surveillance priorities, core and support functions, and surveillance system structure and quality. Progress has…
Research paper
Urban Refugees’ Digital Experiences and Social Connections During Covid-19 Response in Kampala, Uganda
This article draws on key informant interviews with refugees and refugee-led organizations to examine the diverse ways through which social capital within refugees and host communities in Kampala enabled and shaped digitally mediated responses to sustain livelihoods, social wellbeing, and…
Research paper
All I was Thinking About was Shattered: Women’s Experiences Transitioning Out of Anti-Trafficking Shelters During the COVID-19 Lockdown in Uganda
The long-term harms to survivors’ physical, psychological and social wellbeing are profound and well documented, and yet there are few studies exploring how to best promote resilience and holistic healing. This is especially true within shelter programs (where the majority…
Research paper
Motorcycle Taxis, Extended Lockdown and Inequality at Work in Kampala, Uganda
In this article, we draw on in-depth qualitative data from interviews with riders, carried out at different stages of the pandemic, to show how the composition of labour within the sector has been reworked by a series of ‘selective exits’…
Research paper
Intensified inequities: Young people’s experiences of Covid-19 and school closures in Uganda.
Uganda had the longest period of school closures worldwide as a response measure during the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing on longitudinal qualitative data from the Contexts of Violence in Adolescence Cohort Study (CoVAC) (2018–2023), we examine how this has affected the…
Research paper
Conflict, epidemic and faith communities: church-state relations during the fight against Covid-19 in north-eastern DR Congo.
The present article seeks to go beyond such oft-documented instrumentalization of churches for public health purposes. It discusses a more fundamental and general dynamic: the relationship between religious denominations, the State, and health authorities in a fragile context marked by…
Research paper
Communities’ Perception, Knowledge, and Practices Related to Human African Trypanosomiasis in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Community members see their role more in terms of vector control than participation in screening, referral, or accepting treatment. We propose recommendations for achieving sustainable community engagement, including development of an information and communication strategy and empowerment of communities to…
Research paper
Data flows during public health emergencies in LMICs: A people-centered mapping of data flows during the 2018 ebola epidemic in Equateur, DRC
In infectious outbreaks, rapid case detection and reporting, coordination, and context-specific strategies are needed for rapid containment. Data sharing between actors, and the speed and content of data flows, is essential for expediting epidemic response. In this study, researchers mapped…
Research paper
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare access and utilisation in South Sudan: a cross-sectional mixed methods study
Indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities in fragile and conflict-affected settings may be severe due to reduced access and use of healthcare, as happened during the 2015 Ebola Virus Disease outbreak. Achieving a balance between short-term emergency response…
Research paper
Using Population Mobility Patterns to Adapt COVID-19 Response Strategies in 3 East Africa Countries
The COVID-19 pandemic spread between neighboring countries through land, water, and air travel. Since May 2020, ministries of health for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Uganda have sought to clarify population movement patterns to improve their disease…
Research paper
Evaluation of public health surveillance systems in refugee settlements in Uganda, 2016-2019: lessons learned
Civil wars in the Great Lakes region resulted in massive displacement of people to neighboring countries including Uganda. With associated disease epidemics related to this conflict, a disease surveillance system was established aiming for timely detection of diseases and rapid…
Research paper
Engaging faith communities in public health messaging in response to COVID-19: Lessons learnt from the pandemic in Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo
This qualitative participatory research (using a workshop methodology) sought to understand challenges faced by faith leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (Ituri and Nord-Kivu) in engaging with current public health strategies for the COVID-19 pandemic; to explain why…
Research paper
A Qualitative Evaluation of COVID-19 Preventative Response Activities in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
In this evaluation of COVID-19 preventative response programs in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), we aimed to explore community understandings of COVID-19, assess operational successes and challenges of COVID response activities, and identify barriers to practicing COVID-19…
Research paper
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) in the Republic of Congo: why the Congolese population is reluctant to screening?
Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) is a neglected tropical infection, and surveillance of the disease relies on community participation in screening. This study aimed to identify the main factors associated with low community uptake of HAT screening in endemic districts in…
Research paper
Not for us, without us: examining horizontal coordination between the Ministry of Health and other sectors to advance health goals in Uganda
Little is known about the coordination relationship between Ministries of Health and other sectors to advance health and development goals in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Our study examined the coordination relationship between MoH and other government ministries, departments and…
Research paper
Private sector engagement in the COVID-19 response: experiences and lessons from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Senegal and Uganda
Private entities play a major role in health globally. However, their contribution has not been fully optimized to strengthen delivery of public health services. The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed health systems and precipitated coalitions between public and private sectors to…
Research paper
Effect of COVID-19 on older adults 50 years and above living with HIV in a less-developed country
In Uganda, as soon as the first case of COVID-19 was identified, strict lockdown measures were enforced, including a ban on all public and private transport, night curfew, closure of schools, and suspension of religious and social gatherings and closure…
Research paper
Operational challenges and considerations for COVID-19 research in humanitarian settings: A qualitative study of a project in Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan
We conducted a qualitative study to explore the barriers and enablers of a COVID-19 cohort study conducted in South Sudan and Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, to inform future research on COVID-19 and infectious diseases in humanitarian settings. We…
Research paper
Health system resilience during COVID-19 understanding SRH service adaptation in North Kivu
There is often collateral damage to health systems during epidemics, affecting women and girls the most, with reduced access to non-outbreak related services, particularly in humanitarian settings. This rapid case study examines sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services in the…
Research paper
Cash, COVID-19 and aid cuts: a mixed-method impact evaluation among South Sudanese refugees registered in Kiryandongo settlement, Uganda
In this paper, we estimate the impact after 4–8 months of a large one-off unconditional cash transfer delivered to refugees in Kiryandongo settlement, Uganda during a time of dual shocks: the COVID-19 pandemic and cuts to monthly aid. We focus on…
Research paper
‘Where are the dead flies!’: perceptions of local communities towards the deployment of Tiny Targets to control tsetse in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The National Programme for the control of human African trypanosomiasis in Democratic Republic of Congo includes a large-scale vector control operation using Tiny Targets. These are small panels of insecticide-impregnated cloth that are deployed in riverine habitat where tsetse flies…
Research paper
A Situation Assessment of Community Health Workers’ Preparedness in Supporting Health System Response to COVID-19 in Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda
This paper reports a mixed methods study to assess the preparedness of Community Health Workers (CHWs) in supporting health system response in prevention and management of COVID-19 in Kenya, Senegal, and Uganda. Interviews were conducted with policy actors, health care…
Research paper
Clinical trials as disease control? The political economy of sleeping sickness in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1996-2016)
Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), commonly known as sleeping sickness, is closer than ever to being eliminated as a public health problem. We analyse archives and in-depth interviews to explore the role the national HAT programme played in the Democratic Republic…
Research paper
‘Writing budgets for meetings and teas?’: a multitheoretical analysis of intragovernmental coordination for multisectoral action for health in Uganda
Coordination across policy domains and government agencies is considered critical for addressing complex challenges such as inequities, urbanisation and climate change. However, the factors influencing coordination among government entities in low-income and middle-income countries are not well known and theory-based…
Research paper
Vaccine anxieties, vaccine preparedness: Perspectives from Africa in a Covid-19 era
Global debates about vaccines in the era of Covid-19 currently focus on questions of supply, with attention to unjust global distribution. At the same time, vaccine demand and uptake are seen to be threatened by hesitancy, often attributed to a…
Research paper
Treatment-seeking and uptake of malaria prevention strategies among pregnant women and caregivers of children under-five years during COVID-19 pandemic in rural communities in South West Uganda: a qualitative study
Despite efforts to avert the negative effects of malaria, there remain barriers to the uptake of prevention measures, hindering its eradication. This qualitative case study explored factors influencing uptake of malaria prevention strategies among pregnant women and children under-five years…
Policy document
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Preparedness and Readiness Update for South Sudan
This Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Preparedness and Readiness Update from late 2022 was jointly presented by the Ministry of Health of South Sudan, and the WHO and details EVD alerts, and emergency preparedness activities in the country in response to…
Briefing
Key Considerations for Epidemic Response and Preparedness in Uganda
This technical brief was prepared by IDS in December 2020 to support the embedding of social science and anthropological perspectives in UK AID-supported Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa (TDDA) technical assistance and its Early Response Mechanism. It draws on a…
Research paper
Anxiety, Anger and Depression Amongst Low-Income Earners in Southwestern Uganda During the COVID-19 Total Lockdown
On 18th March 2020, the President of Uganda announced the first total national lockdown which included the international border closures; the closing of schools, private offices and banned public gatherings at places of worships/social events, initially for a period of…
