A Study of COVID-19 Adaptation Strategies for Residents of Multi-tenanted Housing in Lagos, Nigeria

The index case in Nigeria was announced on 27 February 2020 in Lagos. As at April 27 2020, the pandemic has reached over 32 of 36 states in the country, with 1,337 confirmed cases, 40 deaths, 225 recovered cases and allegations of vast under-reporting from various interest groups. Lagos is still the epicenter of the Covid-19 Pandemic in Nigeria with 54% of confirmed cases. While the mortality is low to compared to other countries, the potential for community spread and the recognition of the difficulty in managing it is now acute.
In the campaign to keep safe against the spread of the pandemic, the major interventions are practicing regular hand washing, social distancing and keeping safe at home as well as self-isolation (implied to be done at home). Our research is motivated by concern about the capacity of residents of multi-tenanted houses to adhere to these instructions in an environment of lack of basic amenities and overcrowding, especially as there has been remarkable silence on coping strategies for these people in both state and federal government as well from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) directives on COVID-19 protection.

The purpose of this research is thus to provide support for the prevention of community spread of COVID-19 amongst residents of multi-tenanted housing in Lagos, Nigeria. The research support is anchored on the adoption of history, literature and music in understanding the coping mechanisms, promoting adherence to public health measures and advocating for community prevention strategies for people who live in multi-tenanted housing. The research is particularly focused on residents of multi-tenanted houses in Lagos, because their overcrowded living conditions make them particularly vulnerable to community spread of the Pandemic.

The study adopts remote working methods (telephone interviews, radio call-in programs, social media and engagement) with archival research on history and literature engagement to ascertain the coping mechanisms that has worked in the past and will work now in the prevention of pandemic spread in poorer communities. The study will provide strategies on how to maintain social distance even in limited spaces and educate residents on the best ways to practicably share common and scarce facilities while maintaining healthy habits by providing tangible results that are of practical use to them. It will produce contextual studies about how residents of multi-tenanted housing cope with and respond to institutional health advocacy Improved knowledge on how local strategies differ from those adopted/recommended by the global movement. With these, the research will also be providing evidence of the role of arts activities in improving the lives of the poor and vulnerable residents of low-income localities. Envisaged research outcomes include advocacy jingles and spoken words to be aired in local language languages using very popular and local media such as radio, short animations to be shared widely on social media, and colourful posters to be disseminated in streets. In addition, policy briefs would be shared with government agencies, academic papers will be submitted to peer-reviewed International Journals. Other outcomes include on-line conference meetings.

The research therefore brings researchers from History, Creative Arts, Literature and Housing, Pro-poor development with community leaders, media practitioners and government to ensure proactive actions are taken to further contain the spread of the pandemic in Lagos, Nigeria's pandemic epicenter. As there are comparable conditions of dense, sub-standard housing in most developing world cities now facing the pandemic, the research will also be capable of being replicated in other African cities facing similar challenges.