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.
Phase 2 (2022-2023)
- Understanding the impacts of the pandemic on those living and working informally in cities in sub-Saharan Africa
– Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe and Nairobi
Working papers
Policy briefs
Infographics
Videos
Blog posts
African cities in the wake of Covid-19: Impacts and grassroots responses in Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe and Nairobi
From 2021 to 2023, our action research in Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe and Nairobi analysed the pandemic’s impacts and bottom-up responses by affiliates of Slum Dwellers International (SDI). Across the four cities, SDI affiliates led our data collection and policy uptake activities as part of the FCDO-funded Covid Collective programme.
Cultivating change through creativity: Capturing Covid-19 experiences in Nairobi
As part of the Covid Collective programme, and with support from SDI-Kenya, Muungano wa Wanavijiji conducted research in Hospital Ward in Mathare, with the aim of assessing Covid-19’s impacts upon the community and its resilience in the post-pandemic recovery.
Collaborating to build resilient communities: Lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic in Harare
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated inequalities in cities, with lasting impacts over time. One such city is Harare, Zimbabwe, where informal settlements are deemed illegal.
Nurturing community resilience amid multiple crises: The story of informal settlements in Lilongwe
Informal settlements in the city of Lilongwe are adopting various coping strategies as they deal with the multiple crises affecting their communities. This blog post discusses some of these strategies.
Empowering young people in Lilongwe to be a voice for their communities
Recognising the critical role that media plays in promoting social and economic progress in low-income settlements, Lilongwe-based NGO, CCODE, has taken the initiative to train young people in media production.
The Covid-19 pandemic through the eyes of informal settlement residents and workers in Kampala
This blog post draws on Covid Collective research conducted between 2020 and 2023 to delve into multidimensional effects and dynamics towards resilient recovery and sustainability within the informal sector in Kampala.
Phase 1 (2021-2022)
- African Cities and Covid-19 – learning and building knowledge: Developmental coalitions in informal settlements
– Kampala, Mogadishu and Nairobi - African Cities and Covid-19 – learning and building knowledge: Political settlements
– Kampala, Lilongwe, Mogadishu and Nairobi - Covid-19 vaccination roll out in informal low-income settlements
– Harare, Kampala, Lilongwe and Mumbai
Working papers
Briefing papers
Blog posts
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.
Pandemic preparedness and community-led solutions in African cities
Trust, legitimacy and equity. These were highlighted by Paul Mukwaya in his presentation on Covid-19 impacts in Kampala as being key to effective pandemic responses.
What lessons can we learn from Covid-19 responses in African cities?
For low-income residents in African cities, the Covid-19 pandemic has often been experienced less as a health crisis and more in terms of the devastating socioeconomic, political and violent impacts arising from lockdown measures and other responses.
Understanding Covid-19 responses: Political settlements and community initiatives
Two new working papers, produced under the Covid Collective, explore and compare the politics and social and economic impacts of Covid-19 as it evolved in three East African capital cities and its legacy in terms of possibilities for positive and lasting change.
Community mapping in Kenya improves state Covid-19 response
This case study – originally published as part of the Covid Collective Research for Policy and Practice series – shows how an urban social movement was able to produce the knowledge that state agencies needed when the pandemic struck, securing more inclusive policy responses and building legitimacy for alternative knowledge processes and associated development ambitions.