EQUITY IN COVID-19: Mitigation and Policy Responses in Africa

EQUITY IN COVID-19: Mitigation and Policy Responses in Africa is an Open Access edited volume that presents twelve African case studies that systematically reconstruct, document and analyse how national governments and other stakeholders took equity into account in their initial policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

At the onset of the pandemic, many African governments acted quickly to suppress the virus through various public health measures, including lockdowns, mobilizing healthcare resources and designing responses to support the economy and the population. 

There were, however, significant variations in the severity and type of measures taken, as well as their accessibility and impacts. Equity was not a given and, therefore, important questions have been raised about who benefitted and who were left unprotected from the interventions, particularly those designed to protect income and basic services? The book, based on a variety of empirical data and disciplinary perspectives of research teams from across the continent, examines the inclusivity of mitigation and policy responses. 

It situates these findings on short-term interventions and impact in debates about the longer-term implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development of the African continent and proposes new directions for policy, research and practice in responses and interventions during crises.

A multi-speaker book launch presenting the key findings of this volume, which features twelve African case studies on how governments and stakeholders addressed equity in their initial COVID-19 responses.

About the speakers

Host

• Dzodzi Tsikata, Distinguished Research Professor, SOAS. 

Panellists

• Marleen Dekker, Professor of Inclusive Development in Africa at Leiden Universit
• Maty Konte, International Finance Corporation
• Josephine Ahikire: Professor of Gender Studies in the School of Women and Gender Studies, Makerere Unisersity 
• Simon Manda, Lecturer in International Development at the University of Leeds 
• Innocent Chirisa, Professor of Environmental Planning and Vice Chancellor, Zimbabwe Ezekiel Guti University

Chair

• Awino Okech, Professor of Feminist and Security Studies, SOAS 

This event is part of the SOAS Global Development Seminar Series.