The Covid Collective research platform offers rapid social science research to inform decisionmaking on some of the most pressing development challenges related to Covid-19. Supported by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Covid Collective is based at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).

As part of the Covid Collective, researchers within ACRC have been involved in projects looking at the impact of Covid-19 on communities and livelihoods in African cities. Led by the Global Development Institute at The University of Manchester, this research has been conducted over two phases, covering 2021-2022 and 2022-2023.

Data collection and analysis has been coordinated by ACRC members in Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe, Mogadishu and Nairobi, with support from Slum Dwellers International (SDI) national federations and affiliates, along with Know Your City TV – SDI’s youth Collective.

Research outputs including working papers, research briefs, blog posts and videos from Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Covid Collective research are available below.

Working papers

Working Paper 10 | African cities in the wake of Covid-19: Tracing multiple inequalities, official responses and grassroots strategies in Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe and Nairobi
Working Paper 11 | "My business challenges are far worse right now, I will go for Covid-19 vaccine later": Post-pandemic lessons from the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe and Nairobi

Policy briefs

Politics and Covid-19 in Kampala
Nairobi in the wake of Covid-19
Covid-19 pandemic experiences in Harare
Redefining urban social protection programmes in Malawi

Infographics

Covid-19 vaccine rollout in Lilongwe informal settlements (August–November 2021)
Nairobi in the wake of Covid-19
Covid-19 pandemic experiences in Harare
Redefining urban social protection programmes in Malawi

Videos

Blog posts

Working papers

Working Paper 4 | Understanding the politics of Covid-19 in Kampala, Nairobi and Mogadishu: A political settlements approach
Working Paper 5 | Towards a comparative understanding of community-led and collaborative responses to Covid-19 in Kampala, Mogadishu and Nairobi
Working Paper 6 | Data portraits: Covid-19 vaccine rollout in informal settlements in Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe and Mumbai

Briefing papers

Politics and Covid-19 in Kampala
Covid-19 response in Nairobi: A political settlements approach
Understanding community-led and collaborative responses to Covid-19 in Nairobi
Towards a comparative understanding of community-led and collaborative responses to Covid-19 in Kampala
Towards a comparative understanding of community-led and collaborative responses to Covid-19 in Mogadishu
The politics of Covid responses in African cities: Lilongwe

Blog posts

Uncovering experiences of Covid-19 vaccination programmes in informal settlements

Uncovering experiences of Covid-19 vaccination programmes in informal settlements

There has been much in the press about the experiences of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the bulk of this journalism has been for and on the global North. Young people living in informal settlements in Harare and Kampala have begun to redress this balance by documenting their own lives and the lives of others in their neighbourhoods.

Videos