Shock tactics: urban health futures in the wake of Ebola

Lead Research Organisation: Institute of Development Studies
Department Name: Research Department

Abstract

This research will address the interconnected challenges of rising urbanisation and vulnerability to infectious disease. From acute epidemics to slower onset issues such as antibiotic resistance, the world is facing a resurgence of infectious disease challenges. Far from being a thing of the past, these diseases have the potential to spread extensively in densely populated urban settings and to 'go global'. A major implication emerging from crises like Ebola (2014-15) and Zika (2015-16) is that dramatic inequities and pockets of severe neglect in public health standards leave us all vulnerable. Though their burdens fall most acutely on the poor, they also increase the potential for unmanageable crises with broader demographic impacts. Of particular concern are rapidly growing urban settlements which have played a role in exacerbating recent epidemics and where sanitary conditions pose an increasingly intractable challenge to health and development in many cities across the world.

The majority of the world's population already live in urban environments and numbers are predicted to rise dramatically. A large and growing proportion of these urban residents live in informal slum-like settlements. We know very little about how health systems are organised in these rapidly changing contexts, except that they are highly informal and old rules and approaches do not apply. The Ebola epidemic in particular revealed glaring gaps in evidence and understanding of these environments and populations, with fatal consequences. Indeed, it revealed there were pervasive misunderstandings and misrepresentations in policy circles which make interventions for both epidemic control and for basic public health difficult. Yet Ebola has also created a window of opportunity, both to understand the health challenges in informal settlements better and as the impetus to do things differently.

This research will focus on health in informal settlements in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in the aftermath of Ebola. It will explore if and how such a major epidemic is changing the game and what lessons can be drawn for other contexts. To be able to know this we need a much deeper understanding of the social, political and economic relationships which surround urban health systems and which will determine the opportunities for change. Although aspects of the political and social determinants of urban health have been broadly characterized, less is known about the logics and practices of health in informal settlements from the perspectives and experiences of local community members - for example urban residents' own understandings of transmission, or socially embedded hygiene practices. It is equally unclear how such local norms and practices do or do not connect to policy understandings of these contexts, and to what effect. As such, the objectives of this research project are:

1. To elucidate the social and political processes and practices of health systems and disease control in informal urban settlements, as represented and experienced by different actors, using ethnographic and participatory methods to understand and incorporate residents' own perspectives and practices;
2. To identify institutional arrangements emerging in Sierra Leone post-Ebola which have the potential for improving or worsening health in informal urban settlements;
3. To contribute to health systems strengthening and to epidemic preparedness and control in urban areas by integrating perspectives from medical anthropology, urban studies, and public health.

The project will be a collaboration between a UK anthropologist with over 7 years' experience in Sierra Leone and a new urban research centre based in Freetown. The combination of in-country experience and local partnerships provides a unique platform to develop cutting edge perspectives on urban health, informed by a deep understanding of the city and of global health politics and practice.

Planned Impact

This research aims to improve the health of people living in informal urban settlements. The residents of these settlements face particularly high disease burdens and are vulnerable to infectious disease epidemics. They are also frequently stigmatised, ignored or misunderstood by policy makers and other members of society. The Ebola epidemic brought many of these issues to the fore and has created an opportunity to learn from and about them and bring about positive changes, which this research will actively contribute to. Beneficiaries of this research are
a) the residents of informal urban settlements in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and indirectly those further afield too
b) policy makers and people working in sectors relevant to urban health in Sierra Leone
c) researchers working on urbanisation, public health and health systems and
d) the wider global health community working on issues of strengthening health systems.

For the residents themselves, the research will produce practical insights into institutional arrangements that can improve their health and health systems in their settlements. It will address incorrect assumptions about their behaviours and practices and highlight what actions they are already taking which could be supported.

The project's participatory methods will provide a platform to co-produce improvements in urban health between the residents of Freetown's informal settlements and policy makers and practitioners, including civil society organisations, local NGOs, and city officials (e.g. in the Mayor's office) and other government policy makers (e.g. in the Ministry of Health and Sanitation). The use of foresight with these groups will foster integrated multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral planning for urban health. Each group will be able to clarify their priorities and perspectives, which, in addition to the activities in the Impact Plan (see Pathways to Impact), will result in enhanced understandings and integration of diverse perspectives on infection control. This will enable more nuanced and locally sensitive policies to address health related shocks and challenges, and increased trust.

Both researchers and members of the wider global health community will benefit from new inter-disciplinary networks and collaborations across the fields of medical anthropology, urban studies, and public health. For researchers working on urbanisation and health systems the research will synthesise perspectives in medical anthropology and urban studies which will offer new theoretical and empirical understandings of the relationships between power, knowledge, informality and visibility in urban health. This new synthesis, which will be rooted in ethnographic understandings of social and political histories, processes and practices, will deepen systems and resilience thinking. It will contribute practically to approaches to health systems strengthening policies and to ensuring that positive lessons are learned and supported from the Ebola epidemic.
 
Description This research project arose out of an observation from the West African Ebola epidemic (2014-2016) that approaches to health and disease control in informal urban settlements were ineffective and lacking in understanding of local health, social and political dynamics. To address this we have conducted in-depth qualitative research into the health and disease control experiences of residents in informal urban settlements in Sierra Leone, and of the social and political relationships which shape them. As such, this research is beginning to provide a much needed view under the surface of health and life in 'slums', with implications for interventions in informal urban settlements and for supporting home-grown initiatives. Analysis is still ongoing for this research but interim findings suggest:

- That far from the chaos which is sometimes assumed, we are uncovering a complex and plural governance logics in Freetown's informal urban settlements which have hitherto not been well understood. We have identified examples of informal and community-based support systems which are involved in providing public health functions from water and sanitation to healthcare access. Nevertheless residents face multiple intersecting challenges and can feel overwhelmed, existing support and 'self-help' systems are strained and require support.
- There is a wide variety of health problems in informal settlements, which go beyond the obvious and well-reported issues with sanitation, waste management, health system access, and prevalence of infectious disease. For example, in Sierra Leone residents suffer from many chronic and unexplained diseases for which they received limited formal or informal care.
- Informal settlements are not homogenous and environments (e.g. density, topography, governance relationships) and services differ significantly between them. There is also considerable inequality within communities. This requires context specific health planning.
- Accounts of daily lives, sickness and health experiences revealed a great variety of experiences. We found that in a context of severe resource scarcity a powerful influence is of course wealth, but beyond this we found both instances of resilience and vulnerability due to interacting social identities and relationships. We conclude that simple categories of social groups and their power dynamics e.g. age and gender, are insufficient. For example, for older women, widow-hood and/or childlessness emerged as a source of stigma and isolation compounded by status as insecure tenants. Meanwhile, chronic illness when combined with economic disadvantage and loss of livelihood was shown to unsettle gender power dynamics. These underlying complexities provide the basis for understanding health inequities and opportunities for effective health system strengthening.

The implications for health systems or epidemic response policy is that those planning interventions need to be avoid 'one size fits all' approaches and instead be aware of existing institutions whose practices they could build on and support, but where there is also potential for overlapping, and at times competing, institutions. We argue that there is a need to develop approaches which acknowledge and engage with complex and plural governance structures and inequalities instead of reverting to simpler but unrealistic depictions of communities which are vulnerable to being co-opted. In particular we have illustrated how epidemic response strategies which are blind to urban environments are dangerous, and that response plans which engage with the social and political dynamics in informal settlements enable effective and compassionate disease control.

Although the project faced challenges e.g. analysis was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and then by maternity leave for the PI (2021-2022), the pandemic has also provided new opportunities for engagement and policy impact which has been wide ranging in Sierra Leone and internationally, and within academia and policy communities. Throughout the project we have sought to connect our research findings with efforts to control the spread of COVID-19, highlighting the health, social and political challenges which make informal settlements especially vulnerable, and to argue for context specific and locally led responses. The project has successfully influenced COVID-19 response policies both in Sierra Leone and internationally including shaping UN guidance and national and organisational response plans.
Exploitation Route The overall aim of this research was to leverage better understanding of the health experiences and governance structures of informal settlements to be able to respond better to infectious disease threats, and identify strategic opportunities to improve health in slums. The COVID-19 pandemic was a reminder of the importance of this, and the challenge of controlling infectious diseases in urban areas and especially 'slums'. The insights from this research led to requests from international agencies and non-governmental organisations for advisory work on COVID-19 and have shaped international guidelines on humanitarian response.

Although some outputs for this work are COVID-19 specific, we have also contributed to the urban health policy ecosystem in Sierra Leone, and to the capacity of SLURC researchers which will enable them to continue shaping health policy debates in Freetown in the future. Similarly our work advocating for supporting local responses in health emergencies goes beyond COVID-19 and will provide lessons and a framework for responding to future disease threats.
Sectors Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare,Other
URL https://www.ids.ac.uk/opinions/the-impact-of-covid-19-in-informal-settlements-are-we-paying-enough-attention/
 
Description Informal urban settlements are a growing feature of many cities in the Global South. The project aimed to improve understandings of health and its social and political context in informal settlements, especially Sierra Leone, and to leverage these improved understandings to strengthen disease control and epidemic preparedness and response in such settings. It also sought to foster a community of practice around health and disease in informal urban settlements, bringing together academic, civil society and policy stakeholders and integrating disciplinary perspectives including from urbanism, anthropology, health systems and epidemic preparedness. The project has had strong impacts across all of these objectives, which are summarised below. Data collection and analysis was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and by a period of maternity leave (2021-2022) for the PI. However despite this, the project achieved notable impacts, e.g. on UN and humanitarian guidelines for COVID-19 control, and has achieved widespread academic and media attention. Impacts on understanding of policy issues and debates (conceptual impacts): Initial strategies for controlling the COVID-19 pandemic tended towards 'one-size fits all' approaches, as they have done for many previous outbreaks including Ebola. Epidemic response plans have not always been attuned to heterogeneous contexts, especially rapidly growing urban and informal settings, where there are specific needs and vulnerabilities. In contrast, the research from this project provided alternative approaches and insights which we sought to amplify at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and which have implications for disease control beyond it. These include: 1) the need for context specific urban epidemic preparedness and response which pay particular attention to informal settlement dynamics, and their relationships to the wider city; 2) that international and government responses must recognise and engage with diverse local response mechanisms and capacity in urban informal settlements, rather than assuming chaos, indifference or resistance which has been common in the past; 3) that informal urban settlements and their residents are heterogenous and there can be significant inequality within them which interventions must be sensitive to in order to avoid reproducing inequity; 4) that effective epidemic response must be sensitive to the ways in which histories of exclusion and marginalisation have impacted on infrastructure, political dynamics and health in informal settlements; 5) that there are data limitations in informal settlements which undermine effective planning and response and therefore there is an urgent need to invest in improved understandings of settlement populations and their health during and after crises like COVID-19. We drew attention to these ideas in academic outputs, social media and traditional media and through these channels the project achieved significant global reach and was able to shape opinion and debates on the challenges of controlling COVID-19 in informal settlements. Our initial blog 'The impact of COVID-19 in informal settlements - are we paying enough attention?' (Wilkinson, 2020) was viewed over 13,000 (by Aug 2021). This blog was cited in 95+ diverse media outlets, and Dr Annie Wilkinson (PI) was interviewed (and quoted) by a number of journalists including the Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, WIRED, as well as smaller publications, and took part in three live BBC TV interviews: for BBC World, BBC World News and BBC Indonesia. This attention resulted in a policy briefing 'Key Considerations: COVID-19 in informal settlements' requested by UN-Habitat through a collaboration with the Social Science and Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP). Led by Dr Wilkinson, the policy briefing drew on the project's key findings, including lessons from the West African Ebola outbreak, and also sought additional contributions from urban researchers, policy makers and activists across the world, resulting in a highly collaborative output with increased influence. The briefing highlighted practical challenges of COVID-19 control in informal urban settlements, and also some overlooked social and political ones e.g. informal livelihoods, stigma, threats of evictions. It advocated for locally led COVID-19 responses, and provided evidence of previous successful efforts. The policy briefing was downloaded 7200 times (by Aug 2021) and translated into Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic, and Portuguese. On the invitation of journal editors it was developed into a journal paper 'Local response in health emergencies: key considerations for addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in informal urban settlements' (Wilkinson et al 2020) for Environment and Development which was viewed/downloaded 22,290 times (by March 2023), and which was also translated into Spanish. The journal article had an Altmetric score of 176, an 'attention score' in the top 5% of research outputs scored by Altmetric, and one of highest scoring outputs for the journal (no. 8 out of 644). An Environment and Development editor and senior urban scholar commented that it strengthened their understanding of "what the experience about Ebola in West Africa had taught us. How the investment in community-driven processes during the Ebola response changed outcomes on the ground was an important reference point in thinking about COVID-19." Beyond this COVID-19 focused work the project has been developing deeper insights into disease burdens for which data is limited, for example overlooked issues of chronic disease and highlighting how conditions of protracted crisis contribute to these problems (Wilkinson, Macarthy and Conteh, 2020), and into the complex governance arrangements and intersectional dynamics (Conteh, 2021) which shape health in these settings. These academic outputs are contributing to a fuller understanding of health in informal settlements, for now focused on Sierra Leone, which provide the foundations for effective policies. Policy engagements in Sierra Leone have sought to communicate these ideas to urban and health stakeholders in Freetown (detailed below). The project has shaped the field of urban health systems research by promoting understandings of specific challenges in informal settlements. At the Health Systems Global Symposium (held across 2020- 2021) the research team had individual abstracts accepted based on our research findings ('Understanding Urban Health Governance: lessons from informal settlements in Freetown) and we convened an organised session on urban heath ('Digging into Urban Health'). In addition Dr Wilkinson was asked to curate the urban health theme, arranging accepted abstracts into thematic sessions and therefore shaping the discussions and dialogue on urban health at a major international conference. Impacts on policy, practice and services (instrumental impacts): Having placed an early spotlight on the challenges and opportunities for responding to COVID-19 in informal urban settlements (in the abovementioned blogs, policy briefing, media and academic papers), Dr Wilkinson was invited to participate in an expert group convened by UN-Habitat on COVID-19 in informal settlements. An outcome of this group was to develop guidance on controlling the pandemic in informal settlements which was integrated into UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) interim guidelines 'Public Health and Social Measures for COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Operations in Low Capacity and Humanitarian Settings'. The original policy briefing (led by Dr Wilkinson for SSHAP) was referenced in this guidance and it was described by senior UN-Habitat staff as "rapid, productive and influential. The work lead directly to the guidance on informal settlements that will come out from IASC". The IASC is the highest-level humanitarian coordination forum of the UN system which ensures coherence of humanitarian preparedness and response efforts, so the inclusion of research insights into this guidance is a significant international impact, shaping the response and practice of UN and non-UN humanitarian organisations to COVID-19. According to the IASC website, this guidance has been downloaded over 1,395 times (as of September 2020). It has been cited in the WHO, UNICEF, IFRC, GOARN 'Tips for Engaging Communities during COVID-19 in Low-Resource Settings, Remotely and In-Person'. The SSHAP briefing was also referenced in and influenced UN-Habitat's Key Messages on Informal Settlements and COVID-19. Dr Wilkinson was subsequently invited by Habitat Norway to contribute to a high-profile event on Pandemics and Future Cities for World Habitat Day (5 October 2020) organised with UN-Habitat, presenting her work alongside senior UN-Habitat officials, Norwegian Government, and UN Special Rapporteurs for housing and human rights. Over 1,600 people viewed the livestream. In addition, Dr Wilkinson was invited to talk at internal meetings at Tearfund and the International Rescue Committee to discuss their approaches to COVID-19 in urban areas. The UK Department for International Development (DFID, now the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) sought advice to develop approaches on informal settlements and COVID-19 for the governments of Kenya and Bangladesh. For Kenya, Dr Wilkinson input into a DFID policy brief for the government of Kenya on controlling COVID-19. A key message of this project - as advocated in the SSHAP briefing, IASC guidelines and advisory work - was to encourage and support more local involvement in devising response strategies. Through these interventions and associated engagement activities, e.g. roundtables and webinars conducted with SSHAP, civil society and non-governmental organisations were supported to mount response efforts which were appropriate to their contexts e.g. the collection of local data and planning on COVID-19 control among 'Slum/Shack Dweller International' affiliates in Kenya and Nigeria. In Sierra Leone, Co-I Dr Joseph Macarthy of the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre (SLURC), met with the mayor of Freetown and members of Freetown City Council at the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak in Sierra Leone to provide perspectives on how to address the disease in Freetown's informal settlements. The meeting and attention from the Mayor demonstrates that this was seen as a priority issue which the project team could contribute to. The conversation drew on data from the project to highlight to the Mayor the relevance of lessons from the Ebola outbreak around supporting local response and on the relevance of other conditions (medical, physical etc.) in the informal settlements and how they would increase vulnerability to COVID-19. While COVID-19 provided a major opportunity for research and policy impact, the project has also influenced health system strengthening and urban health policy ecosystems at the city and national level in Sierra Leone. This work began in 2019 when Dr Macarthy held a high level meeting with the Mayor of Freetown to establish a 'City Learning Platform' (CLP). Co-convened by the city council and SLURC, the CLP brings together community stakeholders and residents with government officials and non-governmental practitioners and provides a forum for policy dialogue where community voices are represented. The Shock Tactics project held a session on health in January 2020 where the project's interim findings were presented and discussed. During the session shared priorities e.g. poor waste management and its impacts on health, were identified by the council and community groups, and follow up sessions were agreed to decide upon actions to address it, however this was disrupted by the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition to the CLPs, project findings have been presented at SLURC's biannual conference (in 2019 and 2022- a delay because of COVID-19) where health focused panels have highlighted the problems with sanitation, infrastructure and health system access in informal settlements. They have also provided evidence of local organisation and 'self-help' to address these challenges which require support to be more effectively scaled up. On each occasion there have been high level Ministry of Health (e.g. the Deputy Minister of Health) and Freetown City Council officials joining panel discussions and engaging with the project's evidence and inviting further collaboration. These conferences had audiences of approximately 150 people and were reported in the national media. In 2021 local community level impacts in informal settlements in Sierra Leone have emerged, as a result of a programme of impact and capacity development workshops. In these workshops community members reflected on their health and related social and environmental priorities and developed self-mobilisation strategies to achieve them. This has included community cleaning activities, infrastructure repair, community planning and fundraising, and health and sanitary education. One aspect of this included knowledge exchange visits between communities to learn how they were each tacking health problems in their environments. These efforts have made a tangible improvement to public health conditions in the study communities, and to communities' capacity to self-organise in the future. Impacts on technical and personal development (capacity building impacts) The project has contributed to the research team's capacity and development in important ways. The research team and their respective organisations have built up a track record for research on urban health but also on rapid response, policy and media engagement, and effective collaboration during health emergencies. For one Sierra Leone based research officer on the project the project has also provided a pathway to obtaining a PhD which draws on data and interests established during the course of this project e.g. chronic health in informal settlements. The project has also supported community members to identify health priorities, and to devise collective action strategies and where possible to advocate for local resources to address their priorities. This has been achieved through a series of community workshops throughout the project, but also by bringing community representatives and voices into dialogue with policy makers and practitioners through forum's such as the City Learning Platform. References - Conteh, A., Wilkinson, A., Macarthy, J. (2021) 'Exploring gender, health, and intersectionality in informal settlements in Freetown', Gender & Development - IASC (2020) 'Public Health and Social Measures for COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Operations in Low Capacity and Humanitarian Settings' - Wilkinson, A., Conteh, A., Macarthy, J. (2020) 'Chronic conditions and COVID-19 in informal urban settlements: a protracted emergency', Cities and Health - Wilkinson, A. (2020) 'Local response in health emergencies: key considerations for addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in informal urban settlements', Environment and Urbanization - Wilkinson, A. (2020) ' The impact of Covid-19 in informal settlements - are we paying enough attention?, IDS Blog - WHO, UNICEF, IFRC, GOARN (2020) 'Tips for Engaging Communities during COVID-19 in Low-Resource Settings, Remotely and In-Person'.
First Year Of Impact 2020
Sector Communities and Social Services/Policy,Healthcare
Impact Types Societal,Policy & public services
 
Description Development and influence on UN guidelines (Inter Agency Standing Committee - IASC)
Geographic Reach Multiple continents/international 
Policy Influence Type Membership of a guideline committee
Impact At the request of UN-Habitat, Annie Wilkinson developed a policy briefing on COVID-19 and informal urban settlements. This briefing highlighted practical challenges of COVID-19 control in informal urban settlements, and also some overlooked social and political ones e.g. informal livelihoods, stigma, threats of evictions. It advocated for, and provided an outline and evidence of, locally led COVID-19 responses which have been taken up by civil society and grassroots groups, as well as international activist networks and policy makers - e.g. collection of local data on COVID-19, the designation of local care facilities. The briefing was translated into French, Spanish, Chinese, and Portuguese. As a result of this, Annie Wilkinson was asked to participate in an expert group convened by UN-Habitat on COVID-19 in informal settlements. An outcome of this group was to develop guidance on controlling the pandemic in informal settlements which was integrated into UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee interim guidelines 'Public Health and Social Measures for COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Operations in Low Capacity and Humanitarian Settings'. The original briefing was referenced in this guidance and it was described by senior UN-Habitat staff as "rapid, productive and influential. The work lead directly to the guidance on informal settlements that will come out from IASC".
URL https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/system/files/2020-11/IASC%20Interim%20Guidance%20on%20Publi...
 
Description GCRF Accountability for Informal Urban Equity Hub
Amount £12,156,514 (GBP)
Funding ID ES/S00811X/1 
Organisation Economic and Social Research Council 
Sector Public
Country United Kingdom
Start 02/2019 
End 05/2024
 
Description SoNAR-Global - A Global Social Sciences Network for Infectious Threats and Antimicrobial Resistance 
Organisation Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development (AIGHD)
Country Netherlands 
Sector Private 
PI Contribution We are a core partner in the SoNAR-Global network. We will contribute to network building, and the mobilisation of social science expertise to address infectious threats (including contextual knowledge arising from the current ESRC award) and supporting rapid response surge capacity.
Collaborator Contribution Institut Pasteur lead the grant. Network partners are responsible for work packages including: networking, resilience frameworks, models for engagement, and capacity strengthening
Impact This project has only just commenced and is in the inception period. The network which is being built is multi-disciplinary across the social sciences (anthropology, history, law, ethics, international relations etc) and with links to epidemic response agencies and the biological sciences.
Start Year 2019
 
Description SoNAR-Global - A Global Social Sciences Network for Infectious Threats and Antimicrobial Resistance 
Organisation BRAC University
Country Bangladesh 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution We are a core partner in the SoNAR-Global network. We will contribute to network building, and the mobilisation of social science expertise to address infectious threats (including contextual knowledge arising from the current ESRC award) and supporting rapid response surge capacity.
Collaborator Contribution Institut Pasteur lead the grant. Network partners are responsible for work packages including: networking, resilience frameworks, models for engagement, and capacity strengthening
Impact This project has only just commenced and is in the inception period. The network which is being built is multi-disciplinary across the social sciences (anthropology, history, law, ethics, international relations etc) and with links to epidemic response agencies and the biological sciences.
Start Year 2019
 
Description SoNAR-Global - A Global Social Sciences Network for Infectious Threats and Antimicrobial Resistance 
Organisation Mahidol University
Country Thailand 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution We are a core partner in the SoNAR-Global network. We will contribute to network building, and the mobilisation of social science expertise to address infectious threats (including contextual knowledge arising from the current ESRC award) and supporting rapid response surge capacity.
Collaborator Contribution Institut Pasteur lead the grant. Network partners are responsible for work packages including: networking, resilience frameworks, models for engagement, and capacity strengthening
Impact This project has only just commenced and is in the inception period. The network which is being built is multi-disciplinary across the social sciences (anthropology, history, law, ethics, international relations etc) and with links to epidemic response agencies and the biological sciences.
Start Year 2019
 
Description SoNAR-Global - A Global Social Sciences Network for Infectious Threats and Antimicrobial Resistance 
Organisation Makerere University
Country Uganda 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution We are a core partner in the SoNAR-Global network. We will contribute to network building, and the mobilisation of social science expertise to address infectious threats (including contextual knowledge arising from the current ESRC award) and supporting rapid response surge capacity.
Collaborator Contribution Institut Pasteur lead the grant. Network partners are responsible for work packages including: networking, resilience frameworks, models for engagement, and capacity strengthening
Impact This project has only just commenced and is in the inception period. The network which is being built is multi-disciplinary across the social sciences (anthropology, history, law, ethics, international relations etc) and with links to epidemic response agencies and the biological sciences.
Start Year 2019
 
Description SoNAR-Global - A Global Social Sciences Network for Infectious Threats and Antimicrobial Resistance 
Organisation Medical University of Vienna
Country Austria 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution We are a core partner in the SoNAR-Global network. We will contribute to network building, and the mobilisation of social science expertise to address infectious threats (including contextual knowledge arising from the current ESRC award) and supporting rapid response surge capacity.
Collaborator Contribution Institut Pasteur lead the grant. Network partners are responsible for work packages including: networking, resilience frameworks, models for engagement, and capacity strengthening
Impact This project has only just commenced and is in the inception period. The network which is being built is multi-disciplinary across the social sciences (anthropology, history, law, ethics, international relations etc) and with links to epidemic response agencies and the biological sciences.
Start Year 2019
 
Description SoNAR-Global - A Global Social Sciences Network for Infectious Threats and Antimicrobial Resistance 
Organisation Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine
Department Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine
Country Ukraine 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution We are a core partner in the SoNAR-Global network. We will contribute to network building, and the mobilisation of social science expertise to address infectious threats (including contextual knowledge arising from the current ESRC award) and supporting rapid response surge capacity.
Collaborator Contribution Institut Pasteur lead the grant. Network partners are responsible for work packages including: networking, resilience frameworks, models for engagement, and capacity strengthening
Impact This project has only just commenced and is in the inception period. The network which is being built is multi-disciplinary across the social sciences (anthropology, history, law, ethics, international relations etc) and with links to epidemic response agencies and the biological sciences.
Start Year 2019
 
Description SoNAR-Global - A Global Social Sciences Network for Infectious Threats and Antimicrobial Resistance 
Organisation Pasteur Institute, Paris
Country France 
Sector Charity/Non Profit 
PI Contribution We are a core partner in the SoNAR-Global network. We will contribute to network building, and the mobilisation of social science expertise to address infectious threats (including contextual knowledge arising from the current ESRC award) and supporting rapid response surge capacity.
Collaborator Contribution Institut Pasteur lead the grant. Network partners are responsible for work packages including: networking, resilience frameworks, models for engagement, and capacity strengthening
Impact This project has only just commenced and is in the inception period. The network which is being built is multi-disciplinary across the social sciences (anthropology, history, law, ethics, international relations etc) and with links to epidemic response agencies and the biological sciences.
Start Year 2019
 
Description SoNAR-Global - A Global Social Sciences Network for Infectious Threats and Antimicrobial Resistance 
Organisation University College London
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution We are a core partner in the SoNAR-Global network. We will contribute to network building, and the mobilisation of social science expertise to address infectious threats (including contextual knowledge arising from the current ESRC award) and supporting rapid response surge capacity.
Collaborator Contribution Institut Pasteur lead the grant. Network partners are responsible for work packages including: networking, resilience frameworks, models for engagement, and capacity strengthening
Impact This project has only just commenced and is in the inception period. The network which is being built is multi-disciplinary across the social sciences (anthropology, history, law, ethics, international relations etc) and with links to epidemic response agencies and the biological sciences.
Start Year 2019
 
Description Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP) 
Organisation UNICEF
Country United States 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution We bring expertise in infection and epidemic control, especially in urban areas, informal settlement work, and in linking international response agencies with local and regional contextual knowledge.
Collaborator Contribution UNICEF provide linkages to the agencies involved in preparedness and response, and operational expertise.
Impact This collaboration has produced a series of evidence reviews, summaries and policy briefings. It has also contributed to building a social science community of practice for epidemic and humanitarian response.
Start Year 2018
 
Description West Africa Social Science Epidemic Response Network (WASSERN) 
Organisation London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)
Country United Kingdom 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Facilitating connections.
Collaborator Contribution Research partners, The Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre, were founding partners in this network for social scientists and epidemic response in West Africa.
Impact 1) A West African social science network and 2) training on disease preparedness and response for capacity building of network members.
Start Year 2019
 
Description West Africa Social Science Epidemic Response Network (WASSERN) 
Organisation Medical Research Council (MRC)
Department MRC Unit, The Gambia
Country Gambia 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Facilitating connections.
Collaborator Contribution Research partners, The Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre, were founding partners in this network for social scientists and epidemic response in West Africa.
Impact 1) A West African social science network and 2) training on disease preparedness and response for capacity building of network members.
Start Year 2019
 
Description West Africa Social Science Epidemic Response Network (WASSERN) 
Organisation Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation, Sierra Leone
Country Sierra Leone 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Facilitating connections.
Collaborator Contribution Research partners, The Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre, were founding partners in this network for social scientists and epidemic response in West Africa.
Impact 1) A West African social science network and 2) training on disease preparedness and response for capacity building of network members.
Start Year 2019
 
Description West Africa Social Science Epidemic Response Network (WASSERN) 
Organisation Nigeria Centre for Disease Control
Country Nigeria 
Sector Public 
PI Contribution Facilitating connections.
Collaborator Contribution Research partners, The Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre, were founding partners in this network for social scientists and epidemic response in West Africa.
Impact 1) A West African social science network and 2) training on disease preparedness and response for capacity building of network members.
Start Year 2019
 
Description West Africa Social Science Epidemic Response Network (WASSERN) 
Organisation Njala University, Sierra Leone
Country Sierra Leone 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Facilitating connections.
Collaborator Contribution Research partners, The Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre, were founding partners in this network for social scientists and epidemic response in West Africa.
Impact 1) A West African social science network and 2) training on disease preparedness and response for capacity building of network members.
Start Year 2019
 
Description West Africa Social Science Epidemic Response Network (WASSERN) 
Organisation University of Liberia
Country Liberia 
Sector Academic/University 
PI Contribution Facilitating connections.
Collaborator Contribution Research partners, The Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre, were founding partners in this network for social scientists and epidemic response in West Africa.
Impact 1) A West African social science network and 2) training on disease preparedness and response for capacity building of network members.
Start Year 2019
 
Description - Sussex Development Lecture 'COVID-19 and Development: Cities of the Future', 29th October 2020 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Annie Wilkinson was invited to give the Sussex Development Lecture, with Jaideep Gupte (IDS) and Prof. Nausheen H. Anwar, Director of the Karachi Urban Lab in Pakistan. The lecture explored inequalities in infrastructural systems and access to essential services in cities of the global south, and how these and intersecting crises are shaping the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic in low-income urban settings across South Asia and Africa. The lecture concluded with a discussion of the implications for sustainable urban futures. Annie Wilkinson's contributions were grounded in emerging research findings and the lecture combined anthropological, epidemiological, urban planning, as well as the socio-political framings of how we build forward post-COVID-19
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.ids.ac.uk/events/covid-19-and-development-cities-of-the-future/
 
Description Advisory work - UK Department for International Development (UK, Kenya and Bangladesh) 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact DFID headquarters and country offices sought advice to develop approaches on informal settlements and COVID-19 for the governments of Kenya and Bangladesh. For Kenya, Annie Wilkinson input into DFID policy brief for the government of Kenya on controlling COVID-19.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Advisory work for UN-Habitat on COVID-19 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact At the request of UN-Habitat, Annie Wilkinson developed a policy briefing on COVID-19 and informal urban settlements. This drew on our the project's key findings and sought additional contributions from urban researchers across the world. The briefing has been downloaded over 6000 times, and a journal paper based on the briefing over 10,000 times. This briefing highlighted practical challenges of COVID-19 control in informal settlements, but some overlooked social and political ones e.g. informal livelihoods, stigma, threats of evictions. It provided an outline and evidence of locally led COVID-19 responses which has been taken up by civil society and grassroots groups, as well as international activist networks and policy makers. The briefing was translated into French, Spanish, Chinese, and Portuguese. As a result of this, Annie Wilkinson was asked to participate in an expert group convened by UN-Habitat on COVID-19 in informal settlements. An outcome of this group was to develop guidance on controlling the pandemic in informal settlements which was integrated into UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee interim guidelines 'Public Health and Social Measures for COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Operations in Low Capacity and Humanitarian Settings'. The original briefing was referenced in this guidance and it was described by senior UN-Habitat staff as "rapid, productive and influential. The work lead directly to the guidance on informal settlements that will come out from IASC".
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.socialscienceinaction.org/resources/key-considerations-covid-19-informal-urban-settlemen...
 
Description Advisory work- International Rescue Committee 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Annie Wilkinson was invited to give a webinar to senior (approx. 8) International Rescue Committee staff to discuss COVID-19 in informal settlements and implications for their urban programmes
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Advisory work: Tearfund 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Annie Wilkinson was invited to give a webinar and Q&A session for Tearfund to discuss their approaches to community engagement and COVID-19 in informal settlements with approximately 80 practitioners from across the world.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description African Research Network for Urbanization and Habitable Cities (ARUA) - African Cities and COVID-19 Webinar Series 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Joseph Macarthy participated in the ARUA webinar Series on Thursday 30th July 2020 titled 'Community-based approaches in response to Covid-19 in Freetown, Sierra Leone: opportunities and challenges'. The Webinar was organized by the University of Lagos' Centre for Housing and Sustainable Development. Specific highlights of the presentation were the sharing of experiences and insights on how pre-existing conditions (social an health related) in informal settlements exacerbate their vulnerability to Covid-19. Discussion focussed on proposing alternative futures for scaling up and deepening community-based actions towards an inclusive and place-based emergency response
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Blog - The impact of COVID-19 in informal settlements - are we paying enough attention? 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Blog summarising insights from our research and highlighting their relevance to controlling COVID-19 in informal settlements, including pointing out the major challenges with early impractical advice and top down approaches. This blog was viewed over 13,000 times on the IDS website, was widely shared on social media (e.g. over 54,000 'impressions' and over 100 retweets from the main thread on Twitter) and was reposted by other platforms including the LSE. The blog was picked up by 94 media outlets, including Al-Jazeera, the BBC and the Daily Mail. It led to requests for interviews for TV (x3 BBC news) and major newspapers (e.g. Wall Street Journal, Le Monde) and websites (WIRED).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.ids.ac.uk/opinions/the-impact-of-covid-19-in-informal-settlements-are-we-paying-enough-a...
 
Description Blog: 'What's health got to do with World Habitat Day' 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Blog post for the IDS website on health and World Habitat day.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.ids.ac.uk/opinions/whats-health-got-to-do-with-world-habitat-day/
 
Description City Learning Platform on Health 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Approximately 35 policy makers from national ministries and Freetown City council, development practitioners at NGOs, health workers, and residents of informal settlements attended a 'City Learning Platform' on urban health. Results from the project were presented there and used as a basis for discussion on challenges, opportunities and ideas for interventions focusing especially on scaling up community level action to improve health across Freetown. City Learning Platforms are themed meetings which take place quarterly and provide an opportunity for dialogue between key urban stakeholders from residents to national government. They are co-convened by SLURC and the Freetown City Council. The main outcome of this meeting was to build understanding and relationships across relevant stakeholders and sectors. The main outcome was the decision to focus on waste management at the next meeting because this emerged as a priority in the discussion where there were lots of contrasting views.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Community impact workshop 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact 30 community stakeholders (from the two study communities) attended a workshop to re-visit previously identified health and related social and environmental priorities, and to reflect on the capacities and resources required to make improvements in these areas. The workshop included capacity building activities, and a learning exchange visit to another community to see how they had addressed similar challenges in their setting. Participants developed plans for mobilizing themselves and others in their communities to address their challenges and achieve goals. After the workshop the communities have embarked on various activities including collective cleaning days, infrastructure repair, collection of funds for improved access roads and sanitation, and for community education around health and waste disposal. Progress and activities were monitored for 6 months after the workshop.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
URL https://www.ids.ac.uk/opinions/inclusive-sanitation-empowering-marginalised-urban-freetown-residents...
 
Description Conference organisation: HSR 2020 curation of urban health theme 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Annie Wilkinson was asked to curate the urban health theme for Health Systems Global symposium, arranging accepted individual abstracts into thematic sessions. As the major conference in the health systems field this is highly competitive and was an opportunity to convene discussion and shape international dialogue on urban health.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020,2021
 
Description Conference: Urban Transformations in Sierra Leone 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact On 19 June 2019, the Sierra Leone Urban Research Centre (SLURC) hosted a conference at the British Council auditorium, Freetown. The objectives of the conference were to showcase SLURC's work; raise awareness about informal settlements and related issues; challenge negative viewpoints about informal settlements and simplistic approaches; and shift opinions to influence policy makers and stakeholders; and provide a platform for discussion, networking and collaboration. The theme of this conference was "Urban Transformations in Sierra Leone: Lessons from SLURC's research in Freetown." The conference focused around four thematic research areas: (a) urban health (b) urban vulnerability, risk and resilience (c) urban livelihoods and the city economy (d) urban land and planning.

A total of over 150 people participated in the conference, including Njala University; the Mayor of Freetown; representatives from the government of Sierra Leone's Ministries, Departments and Agencies; International and National Non-Governmental Organisations; and community members.

For the Urban Health Panel, the theme as 'Urban Health in Transition: Integrating the Health needs of Informal Settlements into Planning'. Annie Wilkinson (PI) was invited to present on this panel, along with project research officer Abu Conteh. They provided an overview of findings on urban health. Discussants were the Deputy Health Minister, the Director of Environmental Health, Ministry of Health and a government Health Worker from one of the study communities.

The event received good media coverage and good relationships were made with health ministry staff who requested that we involved them in future research. These relationships have been cemented in more recent events, which provide the basis for further collaborations.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.slurc.org/urban-transformations-in-sierra-leone.html
 
Description Dhaka Conference on Implementation Science 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presentation on research findings and project overview at major international conference in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Dialogue with Freetown City Council about COVID-19 control 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Co-I, Joseph Macarthy of SLURC met with the mayor of Freetown and members of Freetown City Council at the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak in Sierra Leone to provide perspectives on how to address the disease in the Freetown informal/slum settlements. The discussion points were based on learnings from our research on the environmental and public health issues in the research communities and on the lessons drawn from people's experiences with the 2014 - 2015 Ebola epidemic. In particular, the conversation drew on data from the project to describe to the Mayor the relevance of other conditions (medical, physical etc.) in the informal settings and how they will increase vulnerability in these settings if they are not given attention as part of the health systems response.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description HSG Panel 'Digging into Urban Health: uncovering concepts and action for health and social justice in informal settlements' 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Convened a panel for Health Systems Research 2020, a major Health Systems conference. The conference was moved online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the panel session took place on 10 March 2021. The panel brought together researchers, activists and practitioners and used participatory and visual tools to bring unseen or overlooked aspects of health in informal settlements to life. Abu Conteh, member of the research team, participated on behalf of the project and drew on the research to illustrate life and health in Sierra Leone's informal settlements.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description HSR 2020 abstract presentation - 'Understanding Urban Health Governance: lessons from informal settlements in Freetown' 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Annie Wilkinson presented an individual abstract 'Understanding Urban Health Governance: lessons from informal settlements in Freetown' in the session 'Conceptualizing urban health systems and their governance', which took place on 10 February 2021 (the session was pre-recorded in 2020, and Annie Wilkinson could not take part in the live Q&A as she was on maternity leave in 2021).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2021
 
Description Habitat Norway 'Pandemics and Future Cities', World Habitat Day event, 5th October 2020 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Online event organised by Habitat Norway, in collaboration with UN-Habitat. Audience of over 2000 people, including policy makers, researchers, and students. This was a high profile event, coinciding with World Habitat Day. Involving UN-Habitat leadership, UN-Special Rapporteurs and Norwegian government and NGOs. It was used to showcase findings of UN-Habitat's 'World Cities Report 2020' and how they relate to Pandemics. There were interventions on: the UN-Habitat report, Health, Human Rights and Housing. Annie Wilkinson was invited to provide the health intervention and used it to discuss emerging findings from the research project and to highlight policy and research priorities. Other speakers included: Victor Kisob, UN Assistant Secretary-General and Deputy Executive Director of UN-Habitat; Nikolai Astrup - Norwegian Minister of Local Government and Modernisation; Eduardo Moreno - Director of Research and Capacity Building of UN-Habitat; Fionnuala Ni Aolain - UN Special Rapporteur on the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism; Miloon Kothari - former UN Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing, UN Human Rights Council; and Jan Egeland -Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council. This event provided a wide and influential audience for our research project.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL http://habitat-norge.org/whd-pandemics-and-future-cities/
 
Description Health panel at conference 'Tackling Urban Inequalities in Sierra Leone' 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact The project team convened a health panel for SLURC's biannual conference on the theme of urban inequalities. We presented our project findings and invited high level policy makers from the Ministry of Health and the city council to discuss.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description High Level meeting with mayor of Freetown 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Meeting between Co-I, Joseph MaCarthy, and Mayor of Freetown to establish the City Learning Platform and ensure buy-in from the city council, and alignment with policy agenda.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description Media interviews (multiple) on COVID-19 and informal urban settlements 
Form Of Engagement Activity A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Public/other audiences
Results and Impact Following the blog on 'The impact of COVID-19 in informal settlements - are we paying enough attention?', Annie Wilkinson was interviewed (and quoted) by a number of journalists including the Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, WIRED, as well as smaller publications, and took part in thee live BBC TV interviews: for BBC World, BBC World News and BBC Indonesia. Interviews focused on the challenges of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic in informal urban settlements and how initial control advice was inappropriate.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.ids.ac.uk/opinions/the-impact-of-covid-19-in-informal-settlements-are-we-paying-enough-a...
 
Description Organised and participated in SSHAP roundtable with Africa CDC 
Form Of Engagement Activity A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Policymakers/politicians
Results and Impact Organised and took part in the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform's (SSHAP) roundtable 'One Size Does Not Fit All: COVID-19 Responses Across African Settings' highlighting variation and implications for COVID-19 control in African settings, providing specific input and advice on urban informal settlements. 74 participants including policy makers, practitioners, researchers and CSOs. The roundtable provided practical insights and knowledge sharing for attendees about controlling COVID-19 in their settings. Various civil society and academic attendees reported that this was helpful to them in their work.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.socialscienceinaction.org/resources/one-size-does-not-fit-all-covid-19-responses-across-...
 
Description Participatory Impact Pathways Analysis (PIPA) workshops in two informal settlements in Freetown 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach Local
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact Two, 2-day workshops of participatory action research were carried out in two informal settlements in Freetown. Each workshop involved 16 participants (8 men, 8 women), including local residents, authority figures, and civil society groups (total participants = 32 people). The aim of the workshop was to identify local priorities and strategies to address infectious threats in each community. Day 1 explored concepts and meanings of contagion and infectious disease, and the functioning of existing efforts to control disease. It concluded with the identification of community goals and priorities. Day 2 focused on how to achieve those priorities. Participants developed 'impact pathways' which identified activities, outputs, outcomes and impacts of their plans, and the relationships required to achieve their goals. Participants came away with a clear and feasible proposal to address health priorities. Researchers gained a deeper understanding of local politics and forms of collective action which can be supported with the research.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
 
Description SLURC Podcast on urban health 
Form Of Engagement Activity A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press)
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A podcast on emerging findings from research
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2019
URL https://www.slurc.org/audio.html
 
Description Shock Tactics - Final workshop and feedback meeting in Sierra Leone 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach National
Primary Audience Study participants or study members
Results and Impact A final workshop and feedback meeting was held in Sierra Leone in January 2023 with research participants and key community and policy stakeholders. Key findings from the project were presented followed by a discussion on community inclusion, capacities and challenges in urban health systems. The discussion centred of four key questions:
1. What is the current state of community inclusion in health planning and epidemic response?
2. What are the opportunities for community inclusion? What are the barriers?
3. How can community inclusion contribute to improve health outcomes in informal settlements?
4. How do we envision health in Freetown and informal settlements?
This workshop was important to inform and thank communities for their involvement in the research, and the discussion about inclusion will provide the basis for future community driven research projects and impacts.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2023
 
Description Shock Tactics - Urban Epidemics Roundtable 
Form Of Engagement Activity Participation in an activity, workshop or similar
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact A final project workshop was held in September 2022. This brought together researchers and policy makers working on urban health and urban epidemics. The intention was to discuss how disciplinary and sectoral perspectives can be better integrated for improved disease control, and to identify future research and policy priorities. The workshop included representatives from the WHO, UN-Habitat and the UK Rapid Support Team, in addition to civil society organisations and academics. The discussion was fruitful and areas of interest and priorities were identified which are still to be followed up on.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2022
 
Description Urbanization and the learning agenda for health systems research 
Form Of Engagement Activity Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Other audiences
Results and Impact A blog outlining the learning agenda for health systems researchers on urbanization. It was an initial attempt to bring two academic communities together (urban studies, and health systems and policy researchers). The blog fed into the proposal development process for a large consortium bid which is under consideration (through to the second round).
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2018
URL http://www.futurehealthsystems.org/blog/2018/9/21/urbanization-and-the-learning-agenda-for-health-sy...
 
Description Vlog discussion for the Mile End Institute 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Postgraduate students
Results and Impact Video interview with Professor Sophie Harman from Queen Mary University, on COVID-19 and informal settlements
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://globalpoliticsunbound.com/2020/04/27/media-mile-end-institute-video-with-sophie-harman-and-a...
 
Description Webinar for BRAC JP Grant School of Public Health 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Abu Conteh (research officer) was invited to participate in webinar organised by BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, in Bangladesh, on 14th May 2020 where he shared experience on the COVID 19 response in urban settings in Sierra Leone. He drew on data and experience from the project to highlight challenges of COVID-19 control.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
 
Description Webinar for SONAR-Global on COVID-19 and vulnerabilities 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Presented on vulnerabilities to COVID-19 in informal urban settlements, as part of a webinar series on vulnerabilities more generally. This was organised by a major European social science network which focuses on health, and introduced this audience to the social and political challenges in informal settlements.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.sonar-global.eu/keyreadings/sonar-global-webinars/
 
Description Webinar for UCL/DPU - Post-COVID-19 Urban Futures 
Form Of Engagement Activity A talk or presentation
Part Of Official Scheme? No
Geographic Reach International
Primary Audience Professional Practitioners
Results and Impact Annie Wilkinson was invited as a panellist for a UCL'S Development Planning Unit's Post-COVID-19 Urban Futures webinar on 'Learning from African post-pandemic experiences to tackle deep inequalities'. She presented on experiences and lessons from Ebola in addressing COVID-19 and implications for long term change.
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity 2020
URL https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/development/events/2020/apr/learning-african-post-pandemic-experience...