COVID-19 - Maintains

COVID-19

  • COVID-19 is an extreme shock to social systems, with direct and secondary impacts in Maintains’ focus sectors of education, gender, health, disaster risk financing, nutrition, governance, and social protection.

    We are adapting our established research programme to respond to the pandemic, and undertaking new work that will focus on how best to support governments to respond, adapt and recover from COVID-19. With teams on the ground in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Kenya, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, Maintains is providing technical assistance as well as undertaking rapid research to capture vital learnings in real time.

    To find out how we can work together please email .

    All outputs from this work are available below, filterable by sector, country, and resource type.

  • Disinfecting public places, disseminating information and distributing masks to protect vulnerable people in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
    Disinfecting public places, disseminating information and distributing masks to protect vulnerable people in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
    Credit: Bangladesh Red Crescent Society
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Research Report
Street scene with pedestrians Bahir-Dar, Ethiopia credit: Adam Jones;
The effect of COVID-19 and government response measures on poor and vulnerable groups in urban areas in Ethiopia – report four
May 2021

This research report is the fourth in a series of six rounds of research, looking at the effects of COVID-19 on the poor and vulnerable urban households in Ethiopia. The report assesses the governments ongoing response to the pandemic as well as changes in household food security, livelihoods, education and access and use of health services and, explores how attitudes and behaviour towards the pandemic have changed. The results so far indicate that there have been varied impacts throughout the research sample, which to an extent are related to structural inequalities. The first three reports are available here.

Authored by  Donna Harris, Biniyam Tadesse, Israel Mitiku, Mekdes Demissie, Alula Teklu, Girmay Medhin, and Frehiwot Belachew.

Street scene with pedestrians Bahir-Dar, Ethiopia credit: Adam Jones;
Research Report
Bangladesh: Cox’s Bazar, 27 August 2020 Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS), with support from the IFRC and other Red Cross and Red Crescent partners, is supporting the most vulnerable members of the displaced community with cash support during COVID-19. Photo: Ibrahim Mollik / IFRC
Towards shock-responsive social protection: lessons from the COVID-19 response in Bangladesh- Estimates from the microsimulation
January 2021

This report presents the methodology and results of a microsimulation based on a partial equilibrium modelling framework using nationally representative household-level data for Bangladesh. The findings include an estimate of the potential impact of COVID-19 on poverty in the country based on a model that assumes heterogeneity of impact across individuals and households depending on the type and sector of employment. Moreover, the model is used to assess the effectiveness, coverage, and adequacy of the social protection response to COVID-19. The microsimulation results complement a larger Bangladesh country case study that documents the way in which social protection programmes, processes, and delivery systems have been used to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.

Bangladesh: Cox’s Bazar, 27 August 2020 Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS), with support from the IFRC and other Red Cross and Red Crescent partners, is supporting the most vulnerable members of the displaced community with cash support during COVID-19. Photo: Ibrahim Mollik / IFRC
Brief
Aksum, Ethiopia
COVID-19 and the urban poor in Ethiopia – part three
November 2020

This brief from the third report in a 6-part series, explores the impact of COVID-19 and government response measures on poor and vulnerable groups in urban areas in Ethiopia. The findings highlight four key areas for urgent attention: misconceptions about COVID-19, rising food prices, inadequate and costly water supply and a reduction in the number of people receiving aid. The full research report can be found here. Authored by Donna Harris, Biniyam Tadesse, Israel Mitiku, Mekdes Demissie, Alula Teklu, Girmay Medhin, and Frehiwot Belachew.

Aksum, Ethiopia
Brief
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed visits Liberia and Sierra Leone, two of the countries most affected by Ebola.
Beyond the state: The role of traditional leaders in COVID-19
November 2020

This brief summarizes the recommendations and learning from the report published which explores the role that traditional leaders have played in the response to COVID-19 in Sierra Leone.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed visits Liberia and Sierra Leone, two of the countries most affected by Ebola.
Brief
ethiopia urban poor
A 13 year old who had come to Addis Ababa to find work but due to COVID has become unemployed and living on the streets
Credit: Kasper Bøgsted Kristensen, Danish Red Cross
COVID-19 and the urban poor in Ethiopia – part two
October 2020

This brief from the second report of a six-part series exploring the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups in Ethiopia, highlights the importance of policies that ensure the most vulnerable benefit from the support provided by government and other organisations, and that the process of targeting the support is transparent. Authored by Donna Harris, Alula Teklu, Girmay Medhin, Israel Mitiku, Biniyam Tadesse, Mekdes Demissie, and Frehiwot Bekele. The study is funded through the Building Resilience in Ethiopia (BRE) Programme and implemented in partnership with the Maintains Programme.

ethiopia urban poor
A 13 year old who had come to Addis Ababa to find work but due to COVID has become unemployed and living on the streets
Credit: Kasper Bøgsted Kristensen, Danish Red Cross
Brief
Market, Harar, Ethiopia
Credit: Stanford Alumni Association Travel-Study Program, October - November 2007
COVID-19 and the urban poor in Ethiopia – part one
August 2020

This brief presents key findings from round one of a six part study, exploring the impact of COVID-19 and government response measures on poor and vulnerable groups in urban areas in Ethiopia. The full research report can be found here. Authored by Donna Harris, Alula Teklu, Girmay Medhin, Israel Mitiku, Biniyam Tadesse, and Mekdes Demissie. The study is funded through the Building Resilience in Ethiopia (BRE) Programme and implemented in partnership with the Maintains Programme.

Market, Harar, Ethiopia
Credit: Stanford Alumni Association Travel-Study Program, October - November 2007
Brief
Kenya Red Cross Society has been responding to the COVID-19 crisis across the country, including in informal settlements and slum areas.
Credit: John Bundi / Kenya Red Cross Society
Initial COVID-19 responses in Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and Uganda: Documentation and learning from March to May 2020
July 2020

This executive summary of the full report documents the experiences and challenges of scaling up the response to COVID-19 in the first three months of the outbreak – March to May 2020 – in five countries: Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. Authored by Debbie Hillier, Tom Newton-Lewis, Rithika Nair, and Christoph Larsen.

Kenya Red Cross Society has been responding to the COVID-19 crisis across the country, including in informal settlements and slum areas.
Credit: John Bundi / Kenya Red Cross Society
Synthesis Report
Kenya Red Cross Society has been responding to the COVID-19 crisis across the country, including in informal settlements and slum areas.
Credit: John Bundi / Kenya Red Cross Society
Initial COVID-19 responses in Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and Uganda: Documentation and learning from March to May 2020
July 2020

This report synthesises the findings from a series of rapid situation analyses on the initial response to COVID-19 in the first few months of the outbreak – March to May 2020 – in five countries: Bangladesh, Kenya, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. Authored by Debbie Hillier, Tom Newton-Lewis, Rithika Nair, and Christoph Larsen.

Kenya Red Cross Society has been responding to the COVID-19 crisis across the country, including in informal settlements and slum areas.
Credit: John Bundi / Kenya Red Cross Society
Brief
Collecting water from a pond. Dembi, Moyale District, Ethiopia, April 2006.
Credit: Daniel Cima/American Red Cross
From the field: COVID-19 and the urban poor in Ethiopia – how is the pandemic and the response affecting poor and vulnerable groups?
9 June 2020

Maintains is about to start an in-depth study of the impact of COVID-19 and control measures on poor households and vulnerable groups in urban settings in Ethiopia. In this blog, originally posted on the OPM site, Donna Harris and Zoma Mesfin describe findings from preliminary interviews with key informants, along with the key issues which emerged and how these will be explored in the upcoming Maintains study.

Collecting water from a pond. Dembi, Moyale District, Ethiopia, April 2006.
Credit: Daniel Cima/American Red Cross
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