The global pandemic Covid-19 is impacting the lives of people in many and varied ways. Together with partners worldwide, IDS researchers are providing critical evidence and analysis that are shaping the spread of the virus and must inform immediate responses.
We are collaborating across disciplines and sectors to understand the longer-term impacts of the pandemic on development globally, and the transformations needed to support the recovery and rebuild more equitable and sustainable societies and economies.
This page brings these resources together for those working to understand and shape responses to the virus, as well as longer-term development implications.
Covid-19: Shaping immediate responses
Overview
- Responding to Covid-19 – the social dynamics featuring IDS Director Professor Melissa Leach
- See our top picks of some of the fascinating Covid-19 discussions that have been happening online
- Covid-19 and the futility of control in the modern world by Ian Scoones and Andy Stirling
- The social dynamics of pandemics from Between the Lines podcast featuring Melissa Leach, Hayley MacGregor, Annie Wilkinson by Ian Scoones
- What is the best way to stop a pandemic with Hayley MacGregor
- Science, uncertainty and the Covid-19 response by Ian Scoones
- Novelty and uncertainty: social science contributions to a response to Covid-19 by Hayley MacGregor
- Covid-19 – a social phenomenon requiring diverse expertise by Hayley MacGregor, Melissa Leach, Annie Wilkinson and Melissa Parker
- One size fits all? Why lockdowns might not be Africa’s best bet by Melissa Leach and James Fairhead
- 2020 Global Nutrition Report launched as Covid-19 pandemic continues to threaten global food systems from Jody Harris and Nicholas Nisbett
- Handwashing Compendium for Low Resource Settings: A Living Document from the Sanitation Learning Hub
- How did UK media get the threat of Covid so wrong? by James Georgalakis
- Covid-19: Key Considerations for a Public Health Response from Melissa Leach, Jessica Meeker, Hayley MacGregor, Megan Schmidt-Sane, Annie Wilkinson
- Covid Collective research platform launched to tackle global challenges caused by the pandemic
- IDS joins global call to reclaim comprehensive public health in wake of Covid-19
Covid Collective Research Platform
The Covid Collective Research Platform will offer a rapid social science research response to inform decision-making on some of the most pressing Covid-19 related development challenges.
- Remote research and disability inclusion during the pandemic
by Anna Louise Strachan - Covid-19: Community Resilience in Urban Informal Settlements by Michael Collyer, Diana Mitlin, Robert Wilson and Shahaduz Zaman
- Is Covid-19 reshaping our approach to development research? by Peter Taylor
Community engagement
- Responses to Covid-19 must focus on communities and not just past epidemics by Jeremy Allouche and Dieunedort Wandji
- Covid-19 in low-income countries – we need rapid learning about effective handwashing initiatives by Jamie Myers
- Continuing Community Outreach in the face of Covid-19 from Charlotte Morgan and Sophie Boudre
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Country responses
- Collaborating across sectors to tackle period poverty in Covid times – Bangladesh
- Surviving Covid-19: Fragility, Resilience and Inequality in Zimbabwe by Ian Scoones
- Women and young people in Zimbabwe’s Covid-19 economy by Ian Scoones
- Women and young people in Zimbabwe’s Covid-19 economy by Ian Scoones
- Can Zimbabwe survive a second wave of Covid-19? by Ian Scoones
- Lockdown politics: reflections from Zimbabwe by Ian Scoones
- Will Covid-19 increase poverty and hunger? What can South Africa do? by Stephen Devereux
- Lessons from Brazil for the global response to Covid-19 by Alex Shankland
- How can Brazil sustain its food solidarity economy post-Covid? from Rachel Dixon, Lidia Cabral, Andre Degenszajn, Claudia Schmitt and Les Levidow
- India’s response to Covid-19 spearheaded by its smart cities by Jaideep Gupte and Kunal Kumar
- Covid-19 Response: Can Bangladesh afford to take the focus off preventive interventions? by IDS alumni Tanjila Mazumder Drishti
- Pakistan’s Hazara Shia minority blamed for spread of covid-19 by Jaffer A. Mirza
- Covid-19 gendered exposure and perceptions in Pakistan by Ali Cheema, Sarah Khan and Shandana Khan Mohmand
- Five lessons from past global influenza outbreaks for COVID-19 by Ian Scoones
- Unprotected, unpaid or unrecognised: Christian workers on the frontline in Pakistan’s fight against Covid-19 by Asif Aqeel
- Pakistan: Sanitation Workers’ Protection in the wake of Covid-19 by Emilie Wilson
- Understanding gendered experiences and impacts of Covid-19 in Pakistan Ali Cheema, Sarah Khan and Shandana Khan Mohmand
- India’s Muslim minority experiences increased targeting and violence during Covid-19 by Amjad Nazeer
- Iraq: Covid-19 deepens pre-existing health disparities for minorities
- Perceptions of Covid-19 in Mozambique and the influence of “intermediaries” from Lúcio Posse and Egídio Chaimite
- State-citizen trust in Brazil, China, Pakistan and the UK during Covid-19 from Shandana Khan Mohmand, Rachel Dixon, Yi Cai, Ali Cheema, Marcos Nobre and Graham Smith
- Global cooperation key to ‘building back better’ after Covid-19 at fifth annual UK-China Development Forum
Economies
- Precarious and informal work exacerbates spread of coronavirus by Ayako Ebata, Philip Mader and Gerald Bloom
- To fight Covid-19, only the formal economy is getting tax breaks. The informal economy may be asked to foot the bill by Max Gallien and Vanessa van den Boogaard, ICTD
- Fill the gaps, feel the pain: Insights from Sierra Leone on an epidemic’s impact on local taxation, public services, and the poor by Vanessa van den Boogaard
- How can African tax collectors help cope with the economic impacts of Covid-19? By Mick Moore
- Excessive health damage from Covid-19 will be followed by excessive wealth damage – unless governments act now by Michael Lipton.
- Uganda should tax “Covid-19 winners” to fill revenue gaps by Graeme Stewart-Wilson and Ronald Waiswa
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Faith and beliefs
- The Coalition for Religious Equality and Inclusive Development (CREID) has commissioned blogs, op-eds and other, non-academic and media-friendly outputs (such as videos), giving perspectives of the realities and experiences of religious minorities and people with non-majority beliefs in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath.
- Secular-religious dynamics in Covid-19 response from Olivia Wilkinson
Learning lessons
- Echoes of Ebola: social and political warnings for the Covid-19 response in African settings by Melissa Leach
- Assessing Key Considerations for Burial Practices, Death and Mourning in Epidemics By Santiago Ripoll et al.
- Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP).
- Key Considerations: Emerging Evidence on Shielding Vulnerable Groups During Covid-19
- Emerging Evidence on Shielding Vulnerable Groups During COVID-19
- Covid-19 – the experience of living a pandemic rather than researching one by Annie Wilkinson
- How the ‘disease of the radio’ is affecting people on the Uganda-DRC border
- The Links Between Girls’ Life Skills Intervention in Emergencies and their Return to Education Post-crisis and Prevention of Unwanted Pregnancies and Early Marriage by Tal Rafaeli
- I’m not touching you: How young people learn about sex in digital spaces by Susie Jolly, Pauline Oosterhoff, Becky Faith, Doortje Braeken and Kelly Shephard
- Girl-focused Life Skills Interventions at a Distance by Tal Rafaeli
- Evidence on Efforts to Mitigate the Negative Educational Impact of Past Disease Outbreaks by Joe Hallgarten
- Evidence and Lessons on Efforts to Mitigate the Secondary Impact of Past Disease Outbreaks and Associated Response and Control Measures by Luke Kelly
- Research roadmaps, collectives and platforms – for the Covid-19 response and beyond from Kelly Shephard and Peter Taylor
- IDS joins forces with IDRC to connect evidence with the global response to Covid-19
- The Covid-19 recovery: whose evidence will count? from James Georgalakis
Partnerships
- Covid-19 may be the ultimate test of science and policy partnerships by James Georgalakis
- The UK’s policy response to Covid-19 must overcome powerful networked behaviour by James Georgalakis
- Covid-19, child labour and collapsing supply chains by Danny Burns, Jiniya Afroze and Maksud A.K.M
- New project on Covid-19 and people with disabilities in South Africa
- Covid-19 and people with disabilities in South Africa from Stephen Thompson, Mary Wickenden, Tim Hart and André Kalis
Vaccines
- Post-pandemic transformations: How and why Covid-19 requires us to rethink development by Melissa Leach, Hayley MacGregor, Ian Scoones and Annie Wilkinson.
- Vaccines, information and the ongoing crisis of affordability for the urban poor from Diana Mitlin, Feven Haddis, Jack Makau, George Masimba Nyama and Rose Molokoane
- Covid-19 – Considerations for vaccine roll out in LMICs from Kelly Shephard and Peter Taylor
- Data Synthesis: Covid-19 Vaccine Perceptions in Sub-Saharan Africa: Social and Behavioural Science Data, March 2020-April 2021
Covid-19: Supporting recovery
Overview
- What is the best way to stop a pandemic with Hayley MacGregor
- Pandemics: why a new science is needed by Ian Scoones
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Economies
- Excessive health damage from Covid-19 will be followed by excessive wealth damage – unless governments act now by Michael Lipton.
- Fill the gaps, feel the pain: Insights from Sierra Leone on an epidemic’s impact on local taxation, public services, and the poor by Vanessa van den Boogaard
- To ‘build back better’ we must rein in financialisation by Philip Mader
- Health financing priorities in the time of Covid19?
- Covid-19 and building a better world: crisis or opportunity? by Peter Taylor and Mary McCarthy
Health systems
- Lessons from Covid-19: building more effective health services for a complex future by Gerald Bloom
- Will the Covid-19 pandemic increase obesity rates? By Sarah Stever
- Broader Health Impacts of Vertical Responses to Covid-19 in Low- and Middle-income Countries and Tabitha Hrynick and Santiago Ripoll
Learning lessons
- Echoes of Ebola: social and political warnings for the Covid-19 response in African settings by Melissa Leach
- Assessing Key Considerations for Burial Practices, Death and Mourning in EpidemicsBy Santiago Ripoll et al.
- Lessons from Brazil for the global response to Covid-19 by Alex Shankland
- With climate change impacts accelerating, we need to re-think the human right to water by Claudia Ringler and Lyla Mehta and Shiney Varghese
- Rethinking nutrition governance in Ethiopia in the light of Covid-19 from Seife Ayele, Nicholas Nisbett and Elias Asfaw Zegeye
- Covid-19 and quarantine in Peru. What does this mean for people with disabilities by Amy Riley-Powell Renato Antonio Constantino Caycho
- The impact of Covid-19 on people with disabilities – emerging findings from Brigitte Rohwerder, Stephen Thompson,Mary Wickenden, Eric Wakoko, Fatema Akter, Josephine Njungi and Shadrach Chuba-Uzo
- Covid-19 requires a radical rethink of development and use of evidence from Melissa Leach, Hayley MacGregor and Annie Wilkinson.
Partnerships
- Covid-19 may be the ultimate test of science and policy partnerships by James Georgalakis
- Strengthening Brazilian partnerships in the face of Covid-19 by Alex Shankland and Rachel Dixon
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Covid-19: Transforming systematically for equitable and sustainable development
Economies
- Precarious and informal work exacerbates spread of coronavirus by Ayako Ebata, Philip Maderand Gerald Bloom
- To fight Covid-19, only the formal economy is getting tax breaks. The informal economy may be asked to foot the bill by Max Gallien and Vanessa van den Boogaard, ICTD
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Health Systems
- Lessons from Covid-19: building more effective health services for a complex future by Gerald Bloom
- Final K4D Covid-19 Health Evidence Summary published
Inequalities
- The impact of Covid-19 in informal settlements – are we paying enough attention? by Annie Wilkinson
- Covid-19 reveals and further increases inequalities in water and sanitation by Claudia Ringler and Lyla Mehta
- Rapid Action Learning and Covid-19 by Robert Chambers
- People in poverty bear the brunt of Covid-19, and the worst is yet to come by Keetie Roelen
- Water Security Beyond Covid-19 by Rachel Cooper
- Secondary Impacts of Major Disease Outbreaks in Low- and Middle Income Countries by Brigitte Rohwerder
- In the Covid pandemic how do children who work in the streets survive? by Nicholas Sharma and Shona Macleod
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Uncertainty
- As Italy buckles under the coronavirus pandemic, small food producers try to carry on by Giulia Simula, PASTRES project
- Word of mouth and internet advertising: Pastoralists in Romania dealing with the Covid-19 crisis from Cosmin Marius Ivascu
- The Covid-19 pandemic: reflections from pastoral areas from PASTRES project
- Herding in a confined spring: Pastoralists in Jordan during the Covid-19 pandemic by Mathilde Gingembre and Anas Amarneh
- Living with coronavirus Uncertainties: Four Lessons from Pastoralists by Ian Scoones and Michele Nori, PASTRES project
- “Know your epidemic”: Reflections from Zimbabwe by Ian Scoones
- ‘I feel like I am in-between’: coronavirus and Tunisia’s pastoralists by Linda Pappagallo, PASTRES project
- Under Force Majeure: Pastoralists and Covid-19 in Mediterranean Europe by Michele Nori
- Key Considerations: Covid-19 in the Context of Conflict and Displacement – Myanmar by Annie Wilkinson, Santiago Ripoll, Megan Schmidt-Sane and Kevin McLoe
- Protests in a Time of Corona from Niranjan Nampoothiri
Projects pertaining to the Covid-19 response
- Covid-19: Disconnected Workers and Rapid Digitisation Key contact Becky Faith
- Assessing the Impact of Covid-19 Responses on Small Businesses in the Informal Sector Key contact Amrita Saha
- K4D Covid-19 Resource Hub Key Contact Paul Knipe
- Navigating Civic Space in a Time of Covid-19 Key Contact Rosemary McGee
Covid-19: Follow our experts for the latest evidence and analysis
- The Institute of Development Studies
- Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform
- Knowledge for Evidence and Learning for Development
- International Centre for Tax and Development
- PASTRES
- Melissa Leach– IDS Director, anthropologist, passionate about global development, sustainability, social justice and. Expertise in social science dimensions of pandemics.
- Annie Wilkinson– Anthropologist studying how people, cities, diseases and health systems interact. Research fellow @IDS_UK and #SSHAP
- Ian Scoones– Professorial Fellow, co-director of the ESRC STEPS Centre at Sussex and principal investigator of the ERC Advanced Grant project, PASTRES.
- James Georgalakis– Director of Comms and Impact @IDS_UK and Doctoral Candidate in Policy Research @uniofbath
- Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform
- K4D Covid-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews
- K4D Covid-19 Demography Evidence SummariesK4D Covid-19 Health Evidence Summaries
- K4D Covid-19 Conflict and Governance Evidence Summaries
- K4D Social Impacts and Responses Related to Covid-19 in Low- and Middle-income Countries
