World Development[JOURNAL]
Sun
200 papers
Learning from past pandemic governance: Early response and Public-Private Partnerships in testing of COVID-19 in South Korea.
Park J, Chung E
World Dev · 2021 Jan · PMID 32982017 · Full text
How can political elites learn from the past to enhance sustainability of their leadership in a pandemic situation? In this article, we develop a theoretical framework of policy implementation that combines collaboration...
How can political elites learn from the past to enhance sustainability of their leadership in a pandemic situation? In this article, we develop a theoretical framework of policy implementation that combines collaboration from public and private sectors ("Public-Private Partnership," or PPP) to efficiently deal with urgent crises such as COVID-19. We explain the role of new institutions prompted by policy failure precedence (Time 1) that at a later time period (Time 2) allow for the activation of PPPs with the aim to extend the political life of incumbent leaderships. Specifically, we examine the case of South Korea, a country in which a prior case of MERS in 2015 (Time 1) had established new policies for pandemic governance. In 2020, such policies were activated by the incumbent leadership in order to contain COVID-19 (Time 2). In particular, for swift and effective management of the pandemic, the South Korean government utilized partnerships with the private sector to exponentially increase the amount of Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) testing. We apply Policy Feedback Theory to demonstrate the political effects of failed policy precedents and how the political outcomes again shape new policies in a dynamic and cyclical manner. Empirically, we conduct a content analysis of South Korea's pharmaceutical sector in government procurement and exports of test-kits during the COVID-19 pandemic. We show that as the pandemic situation progressed, South Korea's leader, who had been in danger of plummeting support to the extent that impeachment was discussed as a viable option, drastically shifted public opinion to achieve a landslide victory in general elections in April 2020. Our findings suggest that democratic governments, aware of precedents and wary of their fate in elections, are pressured to perform well in crisis management, and thus turn to rapidly mobilizing public and private means for survival. Such means are evidenced by the case of emergency use authorization (EUA) process for test-kits, in which "leapfrogging players" - up-and-coming innovators - that contribute to turning a pandemic crisis into an opportunity for sustainable leadership and for themselves.
Unequal discourses: Problems of the current model of world health development.
Ho JM, Li YT, Whitworth K
World Dev · 2021 Jan · PMID 32929297 · Full text
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed institutional deficiencies in world health development. This viewpoint paper examines the allegations about the partiality and political bias of the World Health Organization's (WHO) res...
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed institutional deficiencies in world health development. This viewpoint paper examines the allegations about the partiality and political bias of the World Health Organization's (WHO) response to world health emergencies. We draw on quantitative and qualitative analysis of the WHO's Director-General's speeches pertaining to the COVID-19 and EVD outbreaks. We find that the WHO's discourse on COVID-19 praised the Chinese government's role in the containment. By contrast, the WHO's discourse on the African countries fighting to contain Ebola centered on the unpreparedness of these countries. We argue that the WHO's unbalanced emphasis on different practices and "traits" of member states paints a partial picture of global health emergencies, thus it fails to uphold its founding principles of egalitarianism and impartiality. Finally, we put forward suggestions about a more equal and fairer model of world health development.
The future of commodity prices and the pandemic-driven global recession: Evidence from 150 years of data.
Erten B, Antonio Ocampo J
World Dev · 2021 Jan · PMID 32929296 · Full text
The pandemic-driven global recession has already triggered a rapid decline in global commodity prices, particularly of energy products. This is taking place on top of a downward trend in commodity prices that was already...
The pandemic-driven global recession has already triggered a rapid decline in global commodity prices, particularly of energy products. This is taking place on top of a downward trend in commodity prices that was already underway. Yet it remains unclear how long this decline will last given the uncertainty about the global recession. In this comment, we provide an overview of evidence using 150 years of data on commodity prices and global output. Commodity prices have experienced trends as well as four long-term cycles ("super cycles") since the late 19th century, with the latter dependent on world demand. Although recent trends have been diverse, the two recent super cycles have been synchronized. The last one started at the turn of the century and had its peak in the early 2010s. Future trends would be determined by the weakness of global aggregate demand, changes in the global energy economy to mitigate climate change, and the weight of sub-Saharan Africa population on tropical commodities.
Degradation and disease: Ecologically unequal exchanges cultivate emerging pandemics.
Austin KF
World Dev · 2021 Jan · PMID 32929295 · Full text
An estimated 75 percent of new infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin, directly resulting from human and animal interactions (CDC, 2017). New diseases like COVID-19 most often originate from biodiversity hotspots suc...
An estimated 75 percent of new infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin, directly resulting from human and animal interactions (CDC, 2017). New diseases like COVID-19 most often originate from biodiversity hotspots such as tropical rainforests, and forest loss represents one of the most significant forms of environmental degradation facilitating new human and animal interactions. A political-economy approach illuminates how trade inequalities lead to the exploitation of the environment and people in poor nations, creating conditions under which pandemics like COVID-19 appear. Cross-national patterns in deforestation and forest use illuminate how consumers in the Global North are keenly tied to the emergence of zoonotic diseases.
Evolution and early government responses to COVID-19 in South America.
González-Bustamante B
World Dev · 2021 Jan · PMID 32921879 · Full text
This article analyses the evolution of COVID-19 and early government responses to the pandemic in eight South American countries. To this aim, this study explores indicators which trace the progression of the pandemic an...
This article analyses the evolution of COVID-19 and early government responses to the pandemic in eight South American countries. To this aim, this study explores indicators which trace the progression of the pandemic and analyses factors related of state capacity which impacted on the early response of governments of implementing restrictive policies of social distancing associated with a suppression strategy. The pressure on the health systems is evaluated with early projections of the growth-phase of the epidemic, which is incorporated as an indicator in the analysis of early interventions based on Cox proportional hazards models. The results indicate that fiscal expenditure on health, regional and local government capacity, and pressure on the health system accelerate government response with stringent interventions. A counter-intuitive finding is that the economic strength of a country delays these types of reactions. The effect of these interventions is something that should be studied in greater depth, considering, for example, sociocultural factors. Lastly, only cases such as Uruguay and Paraguay show some signs of having the pandemic relatively under control by mid-May, while Brazil and Peru face very adverse scenarios. In this context, considering the characteristics of the states in the region and the level of informal employment, it will be a public policy challenge to keep the equilibrium between restrictive measures and the economic and social problems which these responses imply in the medium term.
Will COVID-19 be one shock too many for smallholder coffee livelihoods?
Guido Z, Knudson C, Rhiney K
World Dev · 2020 Dec · PMID 32921878 · Full text
Coffee supports the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers in more than 52 countries, and generates billions of dollars in revenue. The threats that COVID-19 pose to the global coffee sector is daunting with prof...
Coffee supports the livelihoods of millions of smallholder farmers in more than 52 countries, and generates billions of dollars in revenue. The threats that COVID-19 pose to the global coffee sector is daunting with profound implications for coffee production. The financial impacts will be long-lived and uneven, and smallholders will be among the hardest hit. We argue that the impacts are rooted in the systemic vulnerability of the coffee production system and the unequal ways the sector is organized: Large revenues from the sale of coffee in the Global North are made possible by mostly impoverished smallholders in the Global South. COVID-19 will accentuate the existing vulnerabilities and create new ones, forcing many smallholders into alternative livelihoods. This outcome, however, is not inevitable. COVID-19 presents an opportunity to rebalance the system that currently creates large profits on one end of the supply chain and great vulnerability on the other.
International Migration Experience and Entrepreneurship: Evidence from Mexico.
Wassink J
World Dev · 2020 Dec · PMID 32905509 · Full text
This study investigates the effect of international migration experience on entrepreneurship in sending areas. To identify prosperous businesses that create jobs and encourage economic development, this study isolates bu...
This study investigates the effect of international migration experience on entrepreneurship in sending areas. To identify prosperous businesses that create jobs and encourage economic development, this study isolates businesses other than street-vending enterprises with non-family employees. Retrospective life history data from the Mexican Migration Project (N = 11,789 persons & 146,372 person-years) was used to estimate the annual probability of becoming an entrepreneur across 170 Mexican communities between 1975-2017. This study found that (1) any prior migration experience increases the probability of entrepreneurial entry relative to non-migrants; (2) accumulated months of migration experience are positively associated with the probability of entrepreneurial entry; (3) undocumented status is associated with a lower probability of entrepreneurial entry. The positive effect of accumulated migration experience on entrepreneurship suggests that international migrants can accumulate human and financial resources that are essential to early stage entrepreneurship. Thus, entrepreneurship represents an important pathway through which international migration can encourage economic development in less developed regions. At the same time, the results suggest that that immigration policies in receiving countries can undercut migrants' capacities to mobilize resources and contribute to economic development upon return. These findings suggest that target migration creates a win-win by addressing labor shortages in receiving countries, while transferring resources to sending areas that enable economic mobility and development.
Whatever it takes? The global financial safety net, Covid-19, and developing countries.
Stubbs T, Kring W, Laskaridis C … +2 more , Kentikelenis A, Gallagher K
World Dev · 2021 Jan · PMID 32905064 · Full text
Multilateral financial institutions have pledged to do whatever it takes to enable emerging market and developing countries to fill a $2.5 trillion financing gap to combat Covid-19 and subsequent economic crises. In this...
Multilateral financial institutions have pledged to do whatever it takes to enable emerging market and developing countries to fill a $2.5 trillion financing gap to combat Covid-19 and subsequent economic crises. In this article, we present new datasets to track the extent to which multilateral financial institutions are meeting these goals, and conduct a preliminary assessment of progress to date. We find that the International Monetary Fund and the principal regional financial arrangements have made relatively trivial amounts of new financing available and have been slow to disburse the financing at their disposal. As of July 31, 2020, these institutions had committed $89.56 billion in loans and $550 million in currency swaps, totaling $90.11 billion-just 12.6% of their current capacity. The new datasets allow scholars, policymakers, and civil society to continue to track these trends, and eventually examine the impact of such financing on health and development outcomes.
The ABCs of Covid-19 prevention in Malawi: Authority, benefits, and costs of compliance.
Kao K, Lust E, Dulani B … +3 more , Ferree KE, Harris AS, Metheney E
World Dev · 2021 Jan · PMID 32904501 · Full text
A wide array of authorities-from religious leaders to government ministers-call upon citizens to take preventative measures against Covid-19. Which authorities can most effectively gain public compliance, and which measu...
A wide array of authorities-from religious leaders to government ministers-call upon citizens to take preventative measures against Covid-19. Which authorities can most effectively gain public compliance, and which measures will the public take up? Moreover, do people comply with authorities out of respect for their legitimacy, due to their expertise, or for fear of sanctioning? Answers to these questions are important for development practitioners, who need to understand how different partnerships might affect health behavior, and for scholars interested in understanding authority, legitimacy, and compliance. We explore these questions using a conjoint experiment embedded in a telephone survey of 641 Malawians. Individuals in our sample are more likely to say that they will comply with precautionary measures when the costs are low and expected benefits are high. Respondents view both traditional authorities and hospital heads as legitimately issuing directives and having the ability to monitor and sanction non-compliance, but appear to comply more with hospital heads and to do so out of respect for their expertise. These results emphasize how issues directives affects whether individuals comply and provides insights as to why they do so. The findings also reflect individuals' cost-benefit calculations when considering precautionary measures, highlighting the importance of steps that can reduce costs (e.g., food security or income measures) or accurately reflect risks (e.g., information signaling the prevalence of Covid-19). The study not only helps to address the Coronavirus crisis but also has important implications for broader questions of authority and compliance.
Managing the COVID-19 pandemic in poor urban neighborhoods: The case of Accra and Johannesburg.
Durizzo K, Asiedu E, Van der Merwe A … +2 more , Van Niekerk A, Günther I
World Dev · 2021 Jan · PMID 32904458 · Full text
Without a vaccine, practicing social distancing and protective hygiene are the most effective measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. In order to understand how the urban poor mitigate their risk of infection, we conduc...
Without a vaccine, practicing social distancing and protective hygiene are the most effective measures to curb the spread of COVID-19. In order to understand how the urban poor mitigate their risk of infection, we conducted a survey with more than 1,400 poor households in two of the African cities with the most COVID-19 infections, Accra and Greater Johannesburg, early in the pandemic, during lockdowns of public life. We find that many of the urban poor already engage in the appropriate hygienic behavior and follow social distancing rules. However, despite citywide lockdowns, about 25-40% of people still report attending large gatherings, 10-20% report receiving guests at home, and 30-35% report leaving the house more than once per week. Lack of cooperation with governmental regulations seems to be more related to a lack of infrastructure or poverty rather than unwillingness to engage in behavioral change. Interestingly, even with the stricter lockdown in South Africa, people are at least equally likely to deviate from social distancing rules. Our results indicate that more South African respondents perceive their government's actions as too extreme and underestimate COVID-19 cases in their country. About half of the sample in both countries report knowing (mainly through TV) about current COVID-19 case numbers. Most participants know that coughing is a symptom, but only half mention fever and difficulty breathing, and very few people mention tiredness. Ghanaians seem to be somewhat better informed. While lack of information is an issue, misinformation appears to be limited. We conclude that a costly shutdown of public life is only effective-and might even be prevented-with a well-informed population, who perceives their government's actions as appropriate and who has access to the infrastructure required to follow WHO safety regulations.
COVID-19 vaccines: Getting Anti-vaxxers involved in the discussion.
Boodoosingh R, Olayemi LO, Sam FA
World Dev · 2020 Dec · PMID 32904443 · Full text
As studies continue into the development of a vaccine for COVID-19, research to understand and address the concerns raised by anti-vaxxers about vaccinations should also be undertaken in tandem. Using the experience of S...
As studies continue into the development of a vaccine for COVID-19, research to understand and address the concerns raised by anti-vaxxers about vaccinations should also be undertaken in tandem. Using the experience of Samoa, which was recently impacted by a measles epidemic, the authors discuss the importance of vaccination to developing countries and the devastation that can be wrought by vaccine-preventable diseases. There are fewer laws on vaccination of adults when compared to those applicable for children, and not all countries have mandatory vaccination laws in place. With increasing anti-vaxxer rhetoric towards the COVID-19 vaccine that is currently in development, the focus has been on reducing the spread of the misinformation through penalties or company interventions, but less so on addressing the underlying concerns of the anti-vaxxer community. The authors suggest that involving anti-vaxxers in the discussion is critical to the acceptance and uptake of the vaccine to COVID-19 when it becomes available.
Hungry birds do not sing: Coronavirus and the school feeding program.
Amolegbe KB
World Dev · 2020 Dec · PMID 32904398 · Full text
Abstract loading — click title to view on PubMed.
Disability-inclusive responses to COVID-19: Lessons learnt from research on social protection in low- and middle-income countries.
Banks LM, Davey C, Shakespeare T … +1 more , Kuper H
World Dev · 2021 Jan · PMID 32904300 · Full text
The one billion people living with disabilities globally already face a heightened risk of poverty, which will likely be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic unless interventions to address its economic impacts are disab...
The one billion people living with disabilities globally already face a heightened risk of poverty, which will likely be exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic unless interventions to address its economic impacts are disability-inclusive. This paper draws on the literature on disability, poverty and social protection in low- and middle-income countries to explore the pathways through which the current pandemic may increase the risk of poverty amongst people with disabilities, such as loss of income from disruptions to work, particularly in the informal sector, and higher future spending and productivity losses from disruptions to healthcare and other key services (e.g. rehabilitation, assistive devices). It also explores how social protection and other initiatives to mitigate the economic impacts of the pandemic should consider the needs of people with disabilities, with recommendations for disability-inclusive actions in the design and implementation of eligibility criteria and application procedures, as well as the delivery and content of benefits. Across recommendations, meaningful consultations with people with disabilities, leadership at the program and policy level, appropriate budgeting and monitoring of progress through routine collection of data on disability are key for improving access to and impact of economic responses amongst people with disabilities.
Life under lockdown: Illustrating tradeoffs in South Africa's response to COVID-19.
Carlitz RD, Makhura MN
World Dev · 2021 Jan · PMID 32895596 · Full text
This research note sheds light on the first three months of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Africa, where the virus has spread faster than anywhere else in the region. At the same time, South Africa has been recognized gl...
This research note sheds light on the first three months of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Africa, where the virus has spread faster than anywhere else in the region. At the same time, South Africa has been recognized globally for its swift and efficient early response. We consider the impact of this response on different segments of the population, looking at changes in mobility by province to highlight variation in the willingness and ability of different subsets of the population to comply with lockdown orders. Using anonymized mobile phone data, we show that South Africans in all provinces reduced their mobility substantially in response to the government's lockdown orders. Statistical regression analysis shows that such mobility reductions are significantly and negatively associated with COVID-19 growth rates two weeks later. These findings add an important perspective to the emerging literature on the efficacy of shelter-in-place orders, which to date is dominated by studies of the United States. We show that people were particularly willing and able to act in the provinces hit hardest by the pandemic in its initial stages. At the same time, compliance with lockdown orders presented a greater challenge among rural populations and others with more precarious livelihoods. By reflecting on South Africa's inequality profile and results of a recent survey, we demonstrate how the country's response may deepen preexisting divides. This cautionary tale is relevant beyond South Africa, as much of the continent - and the world - grapples with similar tradeoffs. Along with measures to contain the spread of disease, governments and other development focused organizations should seriously consider how to offset the costs faced by already marginalized populations.
Human dignity and cross-border migrants in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dhungana N
World Dev · 2020 Dec · PMID 32895595 · Full text
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, and the resultant lock-downs and cross-border travel restrictions have reinvigorated public debates about the vulnerability of the global migrants, together with the responsibility of...
The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, and the resultant lock-downs and cross-border travel restrictions have reinvigorated public debates about the vulnerability of the global migrants, together with the responsibility of the States to ensure dignified treatment of migrants. Situating within the debates on capability-based development and human dignity and drawing on emerging evidence from Nepal, this opinion piece seeks to explore how returnee Nepali labour migrants from India are subject to dignity violation within the government's response to the COVID-19. The paper tentatively concludes that the Nepali government's decision to seal its border with India, and its subsequent interventions to curtail the flow of outbreak, have undermined the human dignity of Nepali migrants. In so doing, the paper raises a normative question as to whether, to what extent and for how long, poor and marginalised populations such as labour migrants should be expected to endure suffering and dignity violation in the interests of protecting the health of the population at large. The role of contextual politics in shaping the response to the intersecting nature of cross-border and public health crisis is highlighted. Attention is also drawn to the potential of political response against dignity violation, in exposing the ineptitude of the State to safeguard the well-being of its returnee migrants.
COVID-19 in unequally ageing European regions.
Kashnitsky I, Aburto JM
World Dev · 2020 Dec · PMID 32895594 · Full text
The map presented in this brief note summarizes regional differences in population age structures between the NUTS-3 regions of Europe in the context of unequal age- and sex-specific death risks associated with the sprea...
The map presented in this brief note summarizes regional differences in population age structures between the NUTS-3 regions of Europe in the context of unequal age- and sex-specific death risks associated with the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since older people are exposed to much higher death risks, older populations are expected to face much more difficult challenges coping with the pandemic. The urban/rural dimension turns out to be very important as the remote rural areas are also the oldest. In the map NUTS-3 regions of Europe are colored according to the deviation from European pooled estimate of the proportion of population at risk of death due to COVID-19. We assume that 5/6 of the populations get infected and experience age-specific infection-fatality ratios (IFRs) modelled by the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team. We adjust IFRs by sex ratios of age-specific case-fatality ratios observed in the European countries that are included in the COVerAGE-DB. Thus, we effectively introduce a summary measure of population age structures focused on the most vulnerable to the pandemic. Such an estimate for the total European population is 1%. The map reflects the unequal population age structures rather than the precise figures on COVID-19 fatality. It is a case-if scenario that highlights the possible effect of the population age structures, a demographic perspective. This analysis clearly shows the contribution of regional differences in population age structures to the magnitude of the pandemic - other things equal, we expect to see a four-fold variation in average regional infection-fatality ratios across Europe due only to differences in the population structures.
Light in the midst of chaos: COVID-19 and female political representation.
Piazza KS, Diaz G
World Dev · 2020 Dec · PMID 32895593 · Full text
The promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women are global policy priorities across countries and development institutions. Research on gender and politics shows that exceptional environments can activate s...
The promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women are global policy priorities across countries and development institutions. Research on gender and politics shows that exceptional environments can activate stereotypes of women as honest, trustworthy, and competent lawmakers in public health and, in doing so, can generate increased public support for female political candidates. We argue that the 2019-2020 Coronavirus Pandemic has the potential to produce this outcome, as recent public opinion polls highlight widespread discontent with male-led governments' responses to the pandemic and elevated concerns surrounding public health. Recent positive media reports of female world leaders' responses to the pandemic provide further reason to suspect a forthcoming increase in political support for female candidates. We posit that such an outcome may prove essential not only for enhancing development and improving long-standing gender inequities but also for alleviating the pandemic's disproportionately allocated hardships.
Retirement Effect on Health Status and Health Behaviors in Urban China.
Feng J, Li Q, Smith JP
World Dev · 2020 Feb · PMID 32863539 · Full text
This paper analyzes the causal impact of retirement in China on Body Mass Index (BMI) and weight, which are a good gauge of the risk for some diseases. Many middle income developing countries are aging very rapidly and m...
This paper analyzes the causal impact of retirement in China on Body Mass Index (BMI) and weight, which are a good gauge of the risk for some diseases. Many middle income developing countries are aging very rapidly and may have to adjust the retirement age to have financially feasible government budgets. It is important to know and understand any plausible health consequences of raising the retirement age in developing countries, and which sub-populations within these countries may be most affected. By using 2011, 2013 and 2015 waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), our identification strategy uses variation in China's mandatory retirement age with a fuzzy discontinuity design to examine an exogenous shock to retirement behavior. Our study finds that retirement will increase weight and BMI among men. This effect is much larger for men with low education. The channel may be that men with low education drink more and take less vigorous exercises after they get retired. Retirement does not affect weight and BMI for women. These effects are robust with different definitions of retirement, narrow retirement bandwidth for samples as well as dropping samples with rural Hukou.
Unfreezing unspent social special-purpose funds for the Covid-19 crisis: Critical reflections from India.
Desai D, Randeria S
World Dev · 2020 Dec · PMID 32836693 · Full text
In India, the government launched a US$22.6 billion financial support package for the poor and marginalized as a result of Covid-19. Approximately US$ 4.2 billion (INR 310 billion) came from a vast pile of unspent social...
In India, the government launched a US$22.6 billion financial support package for the poor and marginalized as a result of Covid-19. Approximately US$ 4.2 billion (INR 310 billion) came from a vast pile of unspent social special-purpose funds. How and why did such a large volume of funds accumulate in the first place, and why did it take a public health emergency to release them? What might be the consequences of their use under such emergency conditions - especially for our understanding of governance and accountability in social welfare provision? This paper presents a brief analysis of two preliminary case studies of specific social special-purpose funds in India. We rely on a handful of unstructured interviews and informal discussions with subnational government officials, civil society actors, trade union representatives, and local community leaders that began in January 2020, and which were pursued virtually following the lockdown. This is bolstered by analysis of primary documents, including Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) reports, relevant laws, and contemporary press coverage. We argue that non-disbursement should be understood as a institutional matter, and not only as technical or implementation failure. Moreover, as such funds are likely to mushroom following Covid-19, our findings suggest that policymakers should focus on the institutional design, decision-making and accountability structures for the flow and distribution of Covid funds, rather than merely emphasising their collection.
On the susceptibility and vulnerability of agricultural value chains to COVID-19.
Morton J
World Dev · 2020 Dec · PMID 32836692 · Full text
In the context of the major potential impacts of COVID-19 on agriculture and agricultural trade in developing countries, this Viewpoint discusses the advantages of adopting a conceptual framework previously used to discu...
In the context of the major potential impacts of COVID-19 on agriculture and agricultural trade in developing countries, this Viewpoint discusses the advantages of adopting a conceptual framework previously used to discuss the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on agriculture and rural livelihoods. The framework is made up of two pairs of linked concepts: 1) Susceptibility or the chance of an individual becoming infected; 2) Resistance or the ability of an individual to avoid infection; 3) Vulnerability or the likelihood of significant impacts occurring at individual, household or community level; and 4) Resilience: the active responses that enable people to avoid the worst impacts of an epidemic at different levels or to recover faster to a level accepted as normal. This framework allows the clear formulation of key questions for COVID-19: factors in the labor process itself that make people more or less susceptible; broader socio-economic and biophysical determinants of susceptibility; factors that make farm households, food enterprises and value chains more vulnerable to the impacts of the pandemic; and aspects of COVID-19 responses by governments and the private sector that might increase vulnerability. Brief examples of susceptibility of value chain operations and of their vulnerability to COVID-19 lockdown measures are given. A focus on resistance and resilience encourages investigation of local-level responses by communities and NGOs, which with appropriate monitoring and learning could be scaled up.
About
- Frequency
- Sun
- Papers found
- 200
- RSS feed
- Subscribe