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 […]
South Asia
6 documents
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 […]
Social Science in Epidemics: Cholera Lessons Learned
This report is the first instalment of the ‘Social Science in Epidemics’ series, commissioned by the USAID Office of U.S. Foreign Direct Assistance (OFDA). In this series, past outbreaks are reviewed in order to identify social science ‘entry points’ for emergency interventions and preparedness activities. The aim is to determine tangible ways to address the […]
Cultural Epidemiology of Pandemic Influenza in Urban and Rural Pune, India: A Cross-Sectional, Mixed-Methods Study
The objective of this study was to identify and compare socio-cultural features of pandemic influenza with reference to illness-related experience, meaning and behaviour in urban and rural areas of India. Cross-sectional, mixed-methods, cultural epidemiological survey with vignette-based interviews. Semi-structured explanatory model interviews were used to study community ideas of the 2009 influenza pandemic. In-depth interviews […]
Social and Cultural Factors Shaping Health and Nutrition, Wellbeing and Protection of the Rohingya within a Humanitarian Context
The Rohingya are a stateless predominantly Muslim minority that has traditionally lived in Arakan (aka Rakhine State), in Myanmar. Life in Myanmar has been characterised by severe restrictions on movement, livelihoods, political participation, religious life, marriage and procreation, and access to services. More than half a million Rohingya refugees, 60% of them children, have crossed […]
Knowledge of, Attitudes toward, and Preventive Practices relating to Cholera and Oral Cholera Vaccine among Urban High-Risk Groups: Findings of a Cross-Sectional Study in Dhaka, Bangladesh
In endemic countries such as Bangladesh, consequences of cholera place an enormous financial and social burden on patients and their families. Cholera vaccines not only provide health benefits to susceptible populations but also have effects on the earning capabilities and financial stability of the family. Community-based research and evaluations are necessary to understand perceptions about and […]
