Gender equality needed to address COVID-19 in conflict and peace
If we do not change the face of politics, if we continue to ignore the lessons of decades of women’s activism, if we continue to spend our resources on weapons rather than on social services, we will have a harder time recovering from this pandemic, preventing the next one, or overcoming the climate crisis. It is an easy choice to make.
COVID-19, ubuntu and social protection
The measures taken by African governments to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic may have saved thousands of lives, but they have also left many struggling socially and economically in one way or another. In this turbulent moment, we need solidarity, inspired by ubuntu, so that we can be fully human together amidst COVID-19 for a common purpose of social protection, human dignity and economic stability.
What data tells us about COVID-19, security and regional peace operations in Africa
COVID-19 could deepen fragility and exacerbate violent conflict, though data from regional security interventions to date suggest that not much has changed. However, with the rapid spread of COVID-19, the likelihood of a worsening security situation and a more constrained operational effectiveness of security personnel is a possibility.
Pathways for enhancing resilience in Ghana during COVID-19
Conflict-sensitive approaches to developing national strategies for addressing COVID-19 in Ghana – including strategic communication, situating preventive and response measures within the rule of law, broad-based stakeholder consultations and reliance on evidence-based information for decision-making – were critical to minimising the conflict multiplier potential of the COVID-19 prevention and response efforts.
COVID-19 and peacebuilding: disruption, adaptation and transformation
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted peacebuilding. All travel has been halted and new ways of working have had to be developed. Programmes have had to be reviewed and adapted to the new circumstances. In most cases, international staff are now working remotely, and national and local peacebuilders now have to continue the work on their own.
Social and political protests, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, on the increase in Africa
Approximately 100 days into the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a notable increase in social and political protests in some countries in Africa. These protests reflect pre-existing frustrations with social and political conditions that have now been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 restrictions, especially in the spheres of health, education, politics and service delivery.
Coping with COVID-19: the role of public trust and cohesion in societal resilience
Public trust in governance and institutions has emerged as an important element that determines the resilience of a society to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. This helps to explain why some governments have been able to maintain onerous lockdowns effectively and why others with relatively strong economies and health systems are struggling to contain the spread of the virus.
African solidarity to address the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the continent
Professor Wiseman Nkuhlu provides an overview of the AU COVID-19 Response Fund
Active citizenship during the COVID-19 crisis: collective community homeschooling in Zimbabwe
In spite of all the intentions and efforts, people are being left behind, and the children of the global poor are receiving low-quality education, if any at all. The novel nature of the COVID-19 pandemic has presented many governments with new challenges for which they are ill-prepared in all sectors, including education. As countries join hands to flatten the curve – what can citizens do to lessen the impacts of the virus on human and social life? Are the efforts and alternatives fostered going to be inclusive and, indeed, leave no one behind?
The challenges and effects of COVID-19 on the DDR process in Mozambique
Mozambique’s definitive third peace agreement, known as the Peace and National Reconciliation Agreement, was signed by the president of Mozambique, Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, and the leader of the Resistência Nacional Moçambicana (Renamo), Ossufo Momade, on 6 August 2019. Although off to a slow start, there has recently been noticeable progress around the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) process of Renamo forces. However, these advances in the DDR process in Mozambique must be considered within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.