COVID-19 vaccine has been framed as the ultimate solution needed to end the pandemic. A substantial number of vaccine candidates are in development, and several are undergoing clinical trials, with the first promising results recently published. While this provides hope as part of a solution to the pandemic it also raises concerns over how vaccines […]
Resources
RCCE Strategies to Overcome COVID-19 Fatigue in the Eastern Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa
In situations of long term or protracted emergencies, populations can suffer from fatigue or complacency about the measures designed to protect them. This brief focuses on social and cultural influences for sustained COVID-19 prevention and risk reduction behaviours in the Eastern Mediterranean / Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. COVID-19 has shifted from an […]
Clinical and Vaccine Trials for COVID-19: Key Considerations from Social Science
Previous months have witnessed a growth of clinical research in response to the COVID19 crisis. This brief sets out social science considerations that can inform clinical and vaccine trials for COVID-19. It was developed for SSHAP by London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) by Rose Burns, Alex Bowmer, Luisa Enria, Samantha Vanderslott (University […]
Broader Health Impacts of Vertical Responses to COVID-19 in Low- and Middle- Income Countries (LMICs)
This paper reviews the effects of vertical responses to COVID-19 on health systems, services, and people’s access to and use of them in LMICs, where historic and ongoing under-investments heighten vulnerability to a multiplicity of health threats. We use the term ‘vertical response’ to describe decisions, measures and actions taken solely with the purpose of […]
COVID-19 RCCE Strategies for Cross-Border Movement in Eastern and Southern Africa
This brief focuses on cross-border movement in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) and its implications for development of risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategies aimed at preventing transmission of COVID-19 in the ESA region. Given the extensive risk of cross-border transmission of the virus and the imminent reopening of borders, such strategies are essential […]
COVID-19 in the Context of Forced Displacement: Perspectives from the Middle East and East Africa
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 […]
COVID-19 Considerations for Home and Community-Based Care
This review presents considerations for care and infection prevention and control (IPC) for COVID-19 in home and community-based care settings. Overarching considerations Many guidelines from LMICS recognise the necessity to support home and community-based care for COVID-19 (as deemed clinically appropriate, usually recommended only for ‘mild’ disease) for reasons such as to protect capacity in […]
Key Considerations for COVID-19 Management in Marginalised Populations in Southeast Asia: Transnational Migrants, Informal Workers, and People Living in Informal Settlements
This brief presents considerations for COVID-19 management among structurally vulnerable populations in Southeast Asia, including transnational migrants, people working in the informal economy, and people living in informal urban and peri-urban settlements. These vulnerable groups are generally poorly understood, ignored, or left out of formal policy and as such represent an area of concern for […]
Key Considerations: COVID-19 in the Context of Conflict and Displacement – Myanmar
This brief focuses on COVID-19 in Myanmar and how the interplay between conflict, displacement and inter-communal tensions may influence disease control. All health emergencies have social and political challenges, but sensitive consideration and effective management of these is especially important where there is past or ongoing conflict, and where trust in authorities imposing disease control […]
COVID-19: Why Are Prisons a Particular Risk, and What Can Be Done to Mitigate This?
This brief provides key considerations related to COVID-19 in the context of prisons, jails and similar detention facilities (referred to collectively in this brief as “prisons”). It summarises the particular risks associated with an outbreak of COVID-19 in prisons in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) and highlights approaches that may be used to mitigate those risks. […]
