Search

On 25 November 2021, the CORE Knowledge Translation Services team at the Institute of Development Studies, UK, hosted an online clinic session to facilitate the sharing of experiences and mutual learning on how CORE projects have or can adapt their research activities in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. The clinic was attended by 22 CORE members from 12 projects and featured contributions from two CORE projects: The Youth Question in Africa: Impact, Response and Protection Measures in the IGAD Region and A New Digital Deal for an Inclusive Post-Covid-19 Social Compact: Developing Digital Strategies for Social and Economic Reconstruction. This learning guide captures the practical insights and advice from the event, to help inform the practice of participants and other projects across the portfolio.

This brief illustrates how COVID-19 vaccine (in)equity has played out on the ground and offers key considerations for how it can be improved in the North West London (NWL) borough of Ealing. We conducted a review of literature and several informal consultations with local actors involved in COVID-19 vaccination efforts in statutory bodies (local authorities and the NHS) and the community in order to build a picture of and contextualise COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Ealing. Key considerations and lessons for achieving greater vaccine and health equity are presented, followed by additional context of interest to responders within statutory authorities and the community. This brief was produced by SSHAP in collaboration with partners in Ealing Council. It was authored by Tabitha Hrynick and Santiago Ripoll and is the responsibility of SSHAP.

This review sets out key considerations for improving vaccine equity – as well as broader health equity – in the North West London (NWL) borough of Ealing. It foregrounds the political, economic and social dynamics which have perpetuated health inequalities during and prior to COVID-19, and how they have manifested to shape COVID-19 vaccine accessibility and uptake among different social groups. It also highlights how local actors have sought to address these inequalities. By bringing together data and insights from existing social science research and consultations with people involved in local COVID-19 vaccination efforts (in local authorities, the NHS and community groups), we point to ways local authorities and healthcare providers, in collaboration with local people and organisations, can support vaccine equity – and health equity more broadly – now, and into the future. Critical to this are further efforts to integrate sensitivity to context, sustain collaborative working, build trust and meaningfully engage citizens (especially vulnerable groups), and support a robust civil society. The review begins with summary key considerations for operational actors. This review was produced by SSHAP in collaboration with Ealing Council. It was authored by Tabitha Hrynick and Santiago Ripoll, and reviewed by Maddy Gupta-Wright, Ellen Schwartz, and Nikita Simpson. It is the responsibility of SSHAP

Zambians in all walks of life are affected by malnutrition, and working through human rights is one key way to address this injustice. Based on research aiming to understand how a ‘right to nutrition’ is perceived by different actors globally and in Zambia, this brief presents a clear framework for a rights-based approach to nutrition in Zambia. This framework identifies rhetorical, legal and practical functions of human rights, and offers a way to think through clearly how different actors might work on the different aspects of rights. Addressing these three aspects of a right to nutrition all together – instead of by very separate constituencies as happens now – is fundamental to a coherent rights-based approach to nutrition. This brief outlines which actors need to come together – from law and policy, activism and communities, across global, national and local levels – and suggests how to start. It lays out the Zambian policy, legal and practical environment as it stands, and suggests actions to move forward in each of these areas in ways that are consistent with the different aspects of rights. Through these steps, Zambia can become known as a hub of action on a right to nutrition, to join with others in using human rights to address the injustice of malnutrition.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed long-standing social inequalities and vulnerabilities, with the most disadvantaged and marginalised groups bearing the greatest health, social, and economic burdens. Beyond documenting these vulnerabilities, there is a need to mitigate them and support the resilience of marginalised communities. ‘Community resilience’ can bolster community capacity to cope with the pressures of various shocks; this brief explores how its concepts can be applied to epidemics. It reviews the grey and academic literature on different approaches to community resilience. It covers 1) terminology, 2) lessons from practice, 3) the context of community resilience, 4) a systems approach, and 5) key human and social capacities. Social justice, inequality, equity, and fairness are highlighted as themes in need of further development for resilience as it relates to epidemic preparedness and response. This brief was developed for SSHAP by IDS (led by Megan Schmidt-Sane with Tabitha Hrynick) with Anthrologica (Eva Niederberger).

As the unequal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues, there is a need to robustly support vulnerable communities and bolster ‘community resilience.’ A community resilience approach means to work in partnership with communities and strengthen their capacities to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, including its social and economic fallout. However, this is not resilience which returns the status quo. This moment demands transformative change in which inequalities are tackled and socioeconomic conditions are improved. While a community resilience approach is relatively new to epidemic preparedness and response, it frames epidemic shocks more holistically and from the perspective of a whole system. While epidemic response often focuses on mitigating vulnerabilities, there is an opportunity to use a resilience framework to build existing capacities to manage health, social, psychosocial, and economic impacts of an epidemic. This makes a resilience approach more localised, adaptable, and sustainable in the long-term, which are key tenets of an epidemic response informed by social science. This brief presents considerations for how health and humanitarian practitioners can support communities to respond to and recover from COVID-19 using a community resilience approach. This brief was developed for SSHAP by IDS (led by Megan Schmidt-Sane with Tabitha Hrynick) with Anthrologica (Eva Niederberger).