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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 brief sets out key considerations for protecting informal urban settlements from the spread and impacts of COVID-19. There is heightened concern about these settings because of the combination of population density and limited infrastructure. This briefing discusses what is known about vulnerabilities and how to support local action. It can be viewed in conjunction… Read more
This Practical Approaches brief highlights key considerations for rapidly appraising burial/funerary practices and beliefs around death/dying during an epidemic. It provides guidance on the relevant social science knowledge required to adapt epidemic preparedness and response to the local context. By using this tool, an overview of local knowledge, meaning and practice will be gained, which… Read more
This rapid review focusses on efforts to mitigate the educational impact of previous disease outbreaks, concentrating on school-age learners. It follows two companion papers that reviewed broader secondary effects and attempts to mitigate them (Rohwerder, 2020; Kelly, 2020). It aims to inform the education sector’s responses to the COVID-19 crisis, although there are important differences… Read more
Ministers of Education face hard choices as they respond to Covid-19. Within the education sector, the main response to this unprecedented crisis has been widespread school closures, with far-reaching ramifications: currently, over 1.4 billion learners (or 82.5% of learners around the world), are now affected, with 156 countries enacting nationwide closures. These closures are clearly… Read more
Over the last three decades, Nepal has experienced a demographic shift with declining total fertility rates, population growth, and improvements in life expectancy. Despite these positive shifts, the Nepalese people remain vulnerable to natural disasters, health problems, and economic shocks—45 percent of households in Nepal earn less than $2 a day. A robust social protection… Read more
The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has contracted OPM to carry out a scoping study and literature review of gender-sensitive public works. This involves collecting good practices and examples from across the globe, as well as identifying potential areas for intervention (and piloting) in Mozambique. The terms of reference (TOR) for this study required… Read more
The past decade has seen progress in advancing gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment through social protection. However, significant challenges persist. Coverage gaps for women of working age, and for children and adolescents, remain high. Addressing gender inequality is often seen as synonymous to targeting women as a vulnerable group, or in their role… Read more
The aim of this review was to present the recent evidence on the period poverty (lack of access to sanitary products, WASH facilities, dignity, and information about menstruation) impact on the economic empowerment of women. Improving menstrual health management (MHM, also known as ‘period poverty’) can substantially improve girls’ education, health and wellbeing. The literature,… Read more
In 2017 the Canadian IDRC concluded a six-year programme supporting research organisations in Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lebanon, Peru and Vietnam in the development and testing of solutions to strengthen health systems through information technology. The programme under the title ‘Strengthening Equity through Applied Research Capacity building in eHealth’ (SEARCH) set out four objectives:… Read more