Document Library
Information epidemiology or infodemiology is the study of infodemics – defined by the World Health Organization as an overabundance of information, some accurate and some not, that occurs during a pandemic or other significant event that may impact public health. Infodemic management is the practice of infodemiology and may sit within the risk communication and… Read more
Shielding is a term used to describe the protection of individuals at high risk of severe COVID-19 illness by separating them from the general population. An initial analysis of key considerations regarding shielding was set forth in the previous Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP) publication on shielding; this new analysis should be read… Read more
This brief focuses on cross-border movement in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) and its implications for development of risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategies aimed at preventing transmission of COVID-19 in the ESA region. Given the extensive risk of cross-border transmission of the virus and the imminent reopening of borders, such strategies are essential… Read more
This background paper presents considerations on how the COVID-19 pandemic is accentuating existing vulnerabilities of populations forcibly displaced by war (refugees, asylum-seekers, internally-displaced and stateless persons), in settings across East Africa and the Middle East. In addition to the devastating health threat the pandemic poses, lockdown measures imposed by governments to reduce transmission are having… Read more
This review presents considerations for care and infection prevention and control (IPC) for COVID-19 in home and community-based care settings. Overarching considerations Many guidelines from LMICS recognise the necessity to support home and community-based care for COVID-19 (as deemed clinically appropriate, usually recommended only for ‘mild’ disease) for reasons such as to protect capacity in… Read more
This brief considers the rationale for shielding individuals at high risk of severe disease or death from COVID-19 in low and middle-income countries. It provides an overview of proposed approaches to shielding, discusses the categories of individuals who may be identified for shielding, and outlines the likely difficulties of these measures and ways to mitigate… Read more
This brief provides key considerations related to COVID-19 in the context of prisons, jails and similar detention facilities (referred to collectively in this brief as “prisons”). It summarises the particular risks associated with an outbreak of COVID-19 in prisons in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) and highlights approaches that may be used to mitigate those risks…. Read more
This brief sets out key considerations for events related to death, burial, funerals (rites, ceremonies and practices) and mourning in the context of the global outbreak of the COVID-19. Further participatory inquiry should be undertaken, but given ongoing transmission, conveying key considerations for adapted end-of-life, mortuary, burial and funeral practices and related community engagement have… Read more
This brief sets out practical considerations relating to the design and impact of measures that restrict human movement patterns in the context of COVID-19. These measures include: quarantine, in which individuals who have been exposed to a communicable disease are separated from others for the duration of the disease’s incubation period; isolation, in which individuals… Read more
This brief sets out practical considerations relating to flows of information, misinformation and disinformation though online media, particularly social media networks, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It details various types of online media, key players and influencers on social media, and strategies for ensuring good information and disrupting mis- and disinformation. It is… Read more
This policy briefing analyses the impact of protracted displacement on the human rights and access to livelihoods of millions of people and examine how protracted displacement situations accentuate the risk of chronic regional insecurity, fragility and conflict spillover. Through tracing the history of international responses to protracted refugee situations (PRS), the brief examine the complexity… Read more