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Water: A story of voice, agency, harmony and leadership among women in Itagacha, Satkhira in Bangladesh
By Adrita Rahman, Muhammad Riaz Hossain and Sohrab Hossain “The men do not have much of a role when it comes to collecting water for the households,” said one of the older men from Purbopara, Itagacha, Satkhira, Bangladesh during our discussion with the community members on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) issues. Scarcity of safe […]
Medical camps as research tools
By Vinodkumar Rao, Puja Solanki & Sheela Patel Traditionally, medical camps by non-governmental organisations (NGOs), corporate sponsors, foundations, and other charitable institutions are seen as acts of charity. The communities that the camps support also see them as short, solidarity events. Weak public health systems, particularly those in preventive health, necessitate such acts of charity. […]
Pandemic Portraits: Disability and COVID-19 in Bangladesh and Liberia
COVID-19 has changed the world as we know it. However, the pandemic has significantly affected the lives of people with disabilities, with many facing additional barriers in access to services, increased isolation and increased risks of poor health and social outcomes. To strengthen pandemic responses for all, it is crucial to understand the impact of […]
One size does not fit all: Learnings from a Diabetes Storytelling Workshop
By Sarah Iqbal In 2021, I took part in a diabetes storytelling workshop that supported awareness building efforts to prevent diabetes in India. About fifty participants – a diverse group of writers, researchers, and media artists – gathered to develop proposals for creative solutions for diabetes prevention. These proposals would then be presented to a […]
Pandemic Portraits exhibition launch
Join us for the launch of ‘Pandemic Portraits’, a photovoice exhibition, hosted by ARISE, telling the stories of people with disabilities in Liberia and Bangladesh living through the COVID-19 pandemic. This project was funded by RSTMH and completed in collaboration with REDRESS, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine; the James P Grant School of Public Health, Bangladesh; […]
Count down our most popular posts and pages from 2022
As we move into the new year, we wanted to reflect on a very busy 2022 for ARISE. To recap on some of our work from this year we are counting down our top 10 most popular blog posts and pages on the ARISE website from the last year. 10 – Why does youthful and […]
Performing arts: Opening pathways to community mobilisation and action
By Hemanth Chandu Over the centuries, performing art (PA), such as drama, songs and street theatre, has raised awareness on immediate issues that affect communities and regenerated the community’s approach towards the issues they face. But by sharing stories in ways that facilitate constructive dialogue and reflection, PA also has the inherent capacity to transcend […]
Facilitating Dialogue between Informal Settlement Residents and Governance Actors
By Sabrina Fatema Chowdhury, Research Associate, BRAC JPGSPH “It is not possible for any one type of organisation to support us [residents of informal settlements]. The government and private organisations need to work together.” Tanvir Islam, a community member and a co-researcher, shared his thoughts during the regional learning-sharing workshops under the ARISE Responsive Fund […]
World Cities Day: ARISE acts local to go global
On 31 October 2022, the world will mark World Cities Day, with the theme ‘Act Local to Go Global’ highlighting the critical role of local action for achieving the sustainable development goals by 2030. In ARISE, the ‘local’ is central to our research, which aims to enhance accountability and improve the health and wellbeing of […]
An audience with Bachera Aktar, Emerging Voice for Global Health 2022
Leah Murphy with Bachera Aktar Bachera Aktar, an ARISE researcher and Assistant Director of the Centre of Excellence for Gender, Sexual, and Reproductive Health and Rights at the James P Grant School of Public Health has recently been selected for the Emerging Voices for Global Health (EV4GH) programme, an innovative multi-partner blended training programme for […]
Join us at the Seventh Global Symposium on Health Systems Research
We’re delighted to join our colleagues at the Seventh Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (HSR2022) which will take place in Bogota, Colombia from October 31 – November 4, 2022, bringing together approximately 2,000 health systems researchers, policymakers and practitioners from around the world. ARISE will be running the following sessions and we’d love to […]
Interview with Linet Okoth
In January 2022, Health Systems Global (HSG) and the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research (The Alliance), in close collaboration with Health Policy and Planning, invited applications from early-career women based in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) working on health policy and systems research (HPSR), looking to publish their research for the first time in a global […]
Join us at the 2022 International Conference on Urban Health!
The International Society for Urban Health (ISUH) is the only global non-governmental organization solely focused on advancing urban health and health equity by addressing the broader determinants of health. Through its annual global conference and program activities, the ISUH serves as a platform for interdisciplinary academic researchers and educators, practitioners and policymakers from multiple sectors […]
World Mental Health Day
According to WHO, one in eight people worldwide live with mental health issues. This year’s World Mental Health Day that will be marked on the 10th of October will draw focus on the need to prioritize mental wellbeing. In this blog Faith Munyao and Lynda Keeru reflect on our work in Kenya to improve mental […]
Community-led monitoring and evaluation
Michelle Koyaro, Milka Kori, Rogers Otieno and Elvira Songoro explore how Muungano Wa Wanavijiji used the applied the Ripple Effect Mapping tool to evaluate work in ARISE. Organizations use different monitoring and evaluation tools and frameworks to learn from experience and improve practice and activities. However, these monitoring and evaluation systems/frameworks frequently fail to provide […]
Why is safeguarding during data collection important?
In this blog Jacob Omondi and Rogers Abala explore safeguarding as part of the ARISE research work. Muungano Wa Wanavijiji believes safeguarding is an important element to factor in during data collection within the informal settlements. Muungano aims to protect co-researchers from harm. Before embarking on data collection, identified co-researchers undergo rigorous training on safeguarding […]
The formality of informality
By Ivy Chumo, Abu Conteh, Smiriti Jukur, Lilian Otiso, Samuel Saidu and Linda Waldman In recent years, the term ‘informality’ has become increasingly popular. Urban informality refers to that which is not formal and is closely linked to terms such as the informal economy, informal settlements, informal work, housing and governance. ‘Urban informality’, Roy argues, […]
The Dandora Dumpsite and marginalized people in Korogocho
Scores of African children have been orphaned and others abandoned by their parents for reasons such as poverty, alcoholism, illnesses and death. Unfortunately, these make it challenging for children to realise their rights such as the attainment of an education. At 17 years old, *Lucy is already fending for her family and working hard […]
Eye-opening moments when interning with SPARC
In this blog Puja Solanki, a Masters in Development student from Azim Premji University, Bangalore, feeds back on their internship with our partner SPARC, in India. My six weeks interning with SPARC have been educational, inspiring, and novel. I spent this time with women leaders belonging to five rehabilitated communities in and around Govandi, Mumbai. […]
Learning Exchange: Community Empowerment to Address Health Related Injustices in Low Income Communities
Nicera Wanjiru writes about a recent successful knowledge exchange between ARISE colleagues in Kenya and Sierra Leone, where many different approaches were shared including utilising physical addressing systems, savings culture and the ripple effect of community mapping. “The knowledge that we have acquired in the course of this learning exchange is not going to gather […]
Community based radios in research validation and dissemination
Caroline Kabaria, Ivy Chumo and Blessing Mberu; African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Kenya. Community radio is a short-range, not-for-profit radio station or channel that caters for the information needs of people living in a particular locality, in the languages and formats that are most adapted to the local context. The radio station serve […]
Bloody inconvenience: Menstrual health in waste worker communities
Menstruation presents several challenges in the areas of physical and mental health, comfort, social ease, and productivity for many women. Women with socioeconomic capital, financial resources, employment benefits and security, agency, and autonomy are able to navigate menstruation using acute and longer-term strategies of safe and discreet menstrual hygiene management, exercise of appropriate social arrangements, […]
ARISE learning event at the Gobeshona Conference – A report and reflection
By Vinodkumar Rao On 31 March 2022, SPARC’s ARISE virtual session at the 2nd Gobeshona Global Conference took place. Vinodkumar Rao from SPARC chaired the 90 minute session titled “Urban Marginality and Resilience Expectations – learning from ARISE”. Presenters included Shrutika Murthy and Inayat Kakkar from TGI, Wafa Alam from BRAC – JPGSPH and Aditya […]
Reflections of Ripple Effect Mapping: The Co-researcher’s Experiences
By Inviolata Njeri, Neele Wilten-Georgi and Lynda Keeru If you are looking to know whether and how your research project has been impactful, look no further. Ripple effect mapping derives its name from the concept of throwing a stone in a pool of water that gives rise to concentric waves emanating from the point at […]
A candid talk on the mental health issues in Viwandani and Korogocho slums in Nairobi, Kenya
Mental health awareness week falls annually in May. Lynda Keeru and Inviolata Njeri kick off ARISE conversations on mental health with this blog about our work in Kenya Despite of the continual gains and advances in mental health awareness, research and treatment, there is still a lot to be done and covered. To this end, […]
Ensuring the last mile connectivity in the Mumbai COVID vaccination drive
The administration of the COVID vaccine has been patchy throughout the world. While many in the global north are considering their second booster shots, several people in the global south remain unvaccinated (even with a single dose) of COVID vaccine. Even within countries, such as India for example, there are large disparities in vaccination across […]
ARISE featured on the Connecting Citizens to Science podcast!
Effective health research is built upon equitable partnerships between researchers and communities. In Connecting Citizens to Science, Dr. Kim Ozano and Robinson Karuga, interview expert researchers from across the globe who engage with communities in their research. Series 4: Research for social change within urban informal communities Series 4 of Connecting Citizens to Science is supported […]
The ‘romanticization of resilience’ – learning from ARISE
Lynda Keeru documents discussions in the ARISE panel of the Gobeshona Global Conference on Research into Action. Speakers included Vinod Rao, Shrutika Murthy, Inayat Kakkar, Wafa Alam, Dr Aditya Pradyumna and Smruti Jukur. Vinod introduced the session and explained to the participants some of the issues and themes that the presenters would be addressing – urban […]
Urban marginality and resilience expectations – ARISE at the Gobeshona Global Conference
The Gobeshona Global Conference on Research into Action is taking place from the 27 March to the 1 April. GOBESHONA provides an opportunity to bring together multidisciplinary scholars, policy-makers, researchers and practitioners from around the world to share their knowledge, research, and practical experiences on climate change issues with a broad range of themes, focusing […]
A scoping review on inequities in healthcare costs in cities
By Noemia Siqueira, Helen Elsey, Jinshuo Li, Penelope A Phillips-Howard, Zahidul Quayyum, Eliud Kibuchi, Md Imran Hossain Mithu, Aishwarya Vidyasagaran, Varun Sai, Farzana Manzoor, Robinson Karuga, Abdul Awal, Ivy Chumo, Vinodkumar Rao, Blessing Mberu, John Smith, Samuel Saidu, Rachel Tolhurst, Sumit Mazumdar, Laura Rosu, Sureka Garimella Marginalised urban residents living in slums and other areas […]
Building health alliances to improve TB outcomes in Mumbai
On the occasion of World TB Day 2020, Kate Hawkins and Vinod Rao reflect on ARISE work in India. According to the World Health Organization: “In 2020, 86% of new TB cases occurred in the 30 high TB burden countries. Eight countries accounted for two thirds of the new TB cases: India, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, […]
The Voice Quilt: Amplifying the voices of waste worker communities
World Day of Social Justice gives us the opportunity to reflect on and highlight the need for social justice for marginalised communities like those involved in waste work in urban spaces. On this day, ARISE is pleased to launch the Voice Quilt – a novel multi-media project that brings the voices of individual waste workers […]
A research journey that brought power theories to life: Lessons from Korogocho, Kenya
Maria M. Muthoki, Veronicah Mwania and Beate Ringwald report back on the Korogocho ALIV[H]E study which involved four researchers (three Kenyans and one European) and eleven community co-researchers from Korogocho. A participatory research journey that brought power theories to life and changed all who worked on it. From August 2020 to July 2021, we met […]
Supporting adolescent mothers in Nairobi’s informal settlements
This blog by Lynda Keeru and Kate Hawkins (Pamoja Communications) reports back on the recent webinar – ‘Empowering urban adolescent mothers using digital tools’ – which was organized by the USAID Urban Health Community of Practice. The webinar on urban adolescents showcased implementation research to ensure rapid knowledge and learning from evidence. It featured speakers […]
Why does youthful and dynamic energy lead to crime in Mathare?
In this blog post Jacob Omondi explains issues leading to youth related crime and violence in the Mathare Valley area of Nairobi, and explores some solutions for helping youth find meaningful ways to stay away from crime and earn a living. Mathare Valley is an informal settlement compromised of 13 villages, located approximately 9.1kms East […]
Community entry in Nairobi
In the final blog in this series, our ARISE co-researchers in Nairobi – John Mutinda, Lydia Akwabi, Judith Achieng, Famuel Omwaka, Daniel Obiero, and Joel Mburu – explain how they worked with participants to create and analyse governance diaries, undertaken. This blog was supported by Caroline Kabaria, Ivy Chumo and Blessing Mberu. On our first […]
Climate change and informal settlements on World Cities Day
On World Cities Day, Kate Hawkins and Lynda Keeru explore how climate change is affecting lives of people in informal settlements. The 2021 theme of World Cities Day is Adapting Cities for Climate Resilience. ARISE is focused on supporting people in urban informal settlements to claim their rights, particularly the right to health. Given that environmental […]
Governance Diaries
In the fourth blog in this series, our ARISE co-researchers (John Mutinda, Lydia Akwabi, Judith Achieng, Famuel Omwaka, Daniel Obiero, and Joel Mburu) explain how they worked with participants to create and analyse governance diaries, undertaken as part of the social and governance terrain study. Supported by researchers (Caroline Kabaria, Ivy Chumo and Blessing Mberu). […]
Ground Truthing
In the third blog in our series, our ARISE co-researchers (John Mutinda, Lydia Akwabi, Judith Achieng, Famuel Omwaka, Daniel Obiero, and Joel Mburu) explain their ground-truthing exercise, undertaken as part of the social and governance terrain study. Supported by researchers (Caroline Kabaria, Ivy Chumo and Blessing Mberu). Our ground truthing exercise involved confirming and validating […]
Social mapping in Nairobi
In the second blog in this series, our co-researchers (John Mutinda, Lydia Akwabi, Judith Achieng, Famuel Omwaka, Daniel Obiero, and Joel Mburu) explain the social mapping exercise they embarked on as part of the social and governance terrain study. They were supported by researchers (Caroline Kabaria, Ivy Chumo and Blessing Mberu). The social mapping exercise […]
Community profiling in Nairobi
Our co-researchers (John Mutinda, Lydia Akwabi, Judith Achieng, Famuel Omwaka, Daniel Obiero, and Joel Mburu) talk you through their approach to community mapping and charting social and governance terrain. They were supported by researchers (Caroline Kabaria, Ivy Chumo and Blessing Mberu). This process began with community profiling, which involved community statutory and voluntary organisations identifying […]
Uncovering the voices of the most vulnerable in health systems is important
The President’s Lecture 2021 webinar hosted by RSTMH brought about some thought provoking conversation and presentations from Professor Sally Theobald and her colleagues, Abriti Arjyal, Bachera Aktar and Zeela Zaizay. The webinar was a great opportunity to share learning on analysing and addressing intersecting inequities in global health across different contexts, projects and health issues. […]
“We choose food” — two young people’s stories about how the pandemic has affected their lives
Nicera Wanjiru (Muungano Kibera) conducts a double interview with two young people of the same age who live in Kibera informal settlement in Nairobi. How have their lives have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic? The announcement of the first case of Covid-19 brought Kenya to a standstill. Cessation of movement, curfews, lockdowns were never […]
COVID-19, the epidemiological and social pandemic
It is not only an epidemiological pandemic but a social one, that has uncovered the perpetual global social, economic, health and political inequalities. Lynda Keeru and Kate Hawkins report back from a recent webinar, ‘Exposing the cracks: COVID-19 and global inequality’. Hosted by The Gender, Justice and Security Hub this event brought together researchers to […]
Challenging the status of women and youth in the WASH sector in Kenya
Kenya’s progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 has been slow, with only 59% and 29% water and sanitation coverage, respectively (JMP, 2019). Sewered sanitation is currently available to only about 3.9 million people in 26 counties with 61% of these being within Nairobi County. 21 counties lack any systems for waste management (WASREB, 2020), […]
Mapping informal settlements in Sierra Leone: Researchers and co-researchers experiences in mapping urban spaces
This blog was co-produced by researchers and co-researchers in Sierra Leone to share our experiences mapping urban marginalized spaces. We conducted GIS mapping of three informal settlements to identify key landmarks, physical features, environmental hazards, health risk areas and social groups. The purpose of this work is to use the map to aid participatory data […]
Supporting communities in the COVID-19 pandemic: ARISE community researcher experiences
We have been conducting participatory action research in three informal urban settlements (commonly known as ‘slums’) of Dhaka city since 2019. These three areas are Kalyanpur Porabosti, Nama Shyampur and Dhalpur slums. Nishika Samaddar Tumpa, Jeevan Ahmed Jumman, Bilal Hossain Jewel – who are co-researchers in the project – reflect on their experiences during COVID-19. […]
Nairobi’s CHVs to receive monthly stipend
Rosie Steege, Jane Wairutu and Linet Okoth report back on the passing of the Nairobi City County Community Health Services Act in June 2021 – welcome news for Nairobi’s Community Health Volunteers (CHVs) who have waited almost two years since the Bill’s inception. The Bill sees Nairobi’s CHVs entitled to receive a monthly stipend of […]
‘Normal’ or ‘New Normal’: Life in urban slums amid the COVID-19 pandemic
In this blog, three community researchers from three study sites Esha Akhtar Labanya, Sweety Akhtar and Md. Tanvir Islam explained how the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown affected their community. Md. Imran Hossain Mithu an ARISE researcher has translated this blog post from the original Bangla. ARISE Bangladesh partner BRAC James […]
Making every household count through a community driven process
Cities are increasingly attracting the world’s population and economic activities as they offer specific advantages. This rapid urbanization, as characterized by the bustling cities, has been accompanied by the development of informal settlements that are now home to multitudes in cities around the globe, such as Nairobi. Nairobi’s burgeoning slums are, like all communities, places […]
Photovoice with disabled community members in urban informal settlements in Nairobi
Nelly Muturi from LVCT Health reflects on what she has learned from conducting a Photovoice project with marginalised community members in the informal settlements of Nairobi. While I have been working with marginalized people from urban informal settlements for some time, my experience from the Photovoice phase of the ARISE study has been unique. It […]
Reflections and dilemmas: My visit to an urban informal settlement
In this blog post Farzana Manzoor takes us to Nama-shyampur, an informal settlement located at the edge of Kadamtali Thana, under Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC). This area is home to more than 5.5 thousand people. It was my first ever visit to shyampur as part of ARISE. It was a very different experience for me, […]
Daniella’s story
This blog was produced by Daniella Kennedy and Ibrahim Gandi, Research Assistant, CODOHSAPA. Daniella wanted to share her story as part of ARISE’s exploratory research phase in Dwarzark community, Sierra Leone. Daniella is a wonderful, friendly and peaceful person. She is strong and passionate about education. She wants to raise awareness about some of the […]
A second letter from Kenya to UKRI
The UKRI research budget is facing cuts that may affect our ability to continue with work within ARISE. Our team in Nairobi, Kenya from LVCT Health reflect on what potential reductions in the budget for this work means on the ground. Before COVID-19 many people did not understand why we have to address the health […]
A letter from Kenya on the impact of the potential UKRI funding cuts
The UKRI research budget is facing cuts that may affect our ability to continue with work within ARISE. Our team in Nairobi, Kenya from APHRC – Blessing Mberu and Caroline Kabaria – reflect on what potential reductions in the budget for this work means on the ground. Now and into the foreseeable future, Sub-Saharan Africa […]
A second letter to UKRI from India
WE HEARD WITH DISMAY THAT THE UKRI RESEARCH BUDGET IS FACING MASSIVE CUTS. OUR TEAM IN INDIA WANTED TO DEMONSTRATE SOME OF THE WAYS THAT UKRI FINANCING HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE AND WHAT WILL BE LOST SHOULD IT BE TAKEN AWAY. By Vinod Rao Legacy health problems related to poverty, such as tuberculosis, are a focus […]
A letter to UKRI from India
WE HEARD WITH DISMAY THAT THE UKRI RESEARCH BUDGET IS FACING MASSIVE CUTS. OUR TEAM IN INDIA WANTED TO DEMONSTRATE SOME OF THE WAYS THAT UKRI FINANCING HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE AND WHAT WILL BE LOST SHOULD IT BE TAKEN AWAY. By researchers at the George Institute for Global Health, India Addressing gender in waste picking […]
A letter to UKRI from Bangladesh
We heard with dismay that the UKRI research budget is facing massive cuts. Our team in Bangladesh wanted to demonstrate some of the ways that UKRI financing has made a difference and what will be lost should it be taken away. By colleagues at JPG School of Public Health at BRAC University In Bangladesh working […]
Pandemic preparedness and response: Reflections on a lecture
We were fascinated by the recent event – ‘Covid-19 and development: implications for preparedness and response in future pandemics’. Our colleagues Hayley MacGregor and Sabina Rashid took stock of what the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us. Lynda Keeru reports back with this summary of their discussions. The pandemic is not over – unfortunately, it is […]
Coming out from the ‘data shadow’: Improving accountability in informal urban settlements
Ivy Chumo, Helen Elsey, Caroline Kabaria and Blessing Mberu argue that governments need to have data that can recognise the challenges that residents of informal settlements face. Data sets need to be freely available so they can be used in evidence-based policy making in Kenya and beyond. The growth of informal settlements and poor residential […]
Join our Health Systems Global panel
If you are a participant in the Global Symposium on Health Systems Research please do come along to our panel on the 10 March, 09.00-10.30 GMT. Title Digging into urban health: uncovering concepts and action for health and social justice in informal settlements What’s it all about? Rapid urbanization is re-shaping social and economic life […]
ARISE inputs inform UK International Development Select Committee
On the 26 January 2021 the UK Government International Development Select Committee published a report on the secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kate Hawkins explains what’s in the report and the evidence that ARISE submitted to the process. The International Development Select Committee has a mandate within the UK government to track and assess […]
ARISE inputs inform UK International Development Select Committee
On the 26 January 2021 the UK Government International Development Select Committee published a report on the secondary impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Kate Hawkins explains what’s in the report and the evidence that ARISE submitted to the process. The International Development Select Committee has a mandate within the UK government to track and assess […]
Content that was hot in 2020
As the year draws to a close our Communications Manager, Kate Hawkins, provides a summary of popular content from the website over the course of a challenging year. Did your blog make the top ten? Read on to find out! To give us an idea of which parts of our work over the year have […]
IDEAMAPS: Data mapping in deprived areas
Lynda Keeru reports back on the third of a series of webinars hosted by the IDEAMAPS network. Speakers explored gaps in our knowledge of how to map deprived areas, how to exchange data and knowledge between stakeholders and what is missing in urban deprivation data. IDEAMAPS are keen to overcome siloed approaches to slum mapping […]
Remote GIS mapping in Dholpur: Co-production with co-researchers
Abdul Awal and Imran Hossain Mithu explain how Geographic Information System (GIS) was used by the ARISE team in Bangladesh to map Dholpur in Dhaka. GIS mapping is a commonly used technique for visualizing an area. It can be used in a variety of ways to visualize health service utilization as well as consider the […]
Building equitable partnerships in international research
Lynda Keeru summarizes what was learned at a recent webinar on building equitable partnerships in international research programmes. International research has increasingly been taking on an equitable partnerships approach – an intentional tactic that clearly articulates the distribution of resources, responsibilities, effort and benefits within consortia. This approach also includes ethical sharing and use of […]
Leadership by women: Perspectives of grass root leaders
In this blog by Jackline Waithaka and Jane Wairutu the issue of women’s leadership is explored through the identification of women making change in the informal settlements of of Nairobi, Kenya. The world has witnessed the emergence of women leaders most of whom have rose to break the traditional glass ceilings that barred them from […]
What’s health got to do with World Habitat Day?
Epidemics are a window into society. They reveal our social relationships and circumstances. The global pandemic has brought to the fore the inequalities that persist within our towns and cities. The spread and the impacts of the disease have not been even. As the world continues to grapple with the fallout from the pandemic, this year’s […]
Secondary impacts of COVID-19 on informal urban settlements
This blog was written for World Cities Day, 31 October 2020. The theme this year is Valuing Our Communities and Cities. People in informal urban settlements deserve our support and solidarity. In the blog we explore how they are experiencing some of the secondary effects of COVID-19 and mechanisms that could strengthen the ways that […]
Webinar: The effects of COVID-19 on vulnerable urban populations and strategies for mitigation
A webinar on 5 November 2020, 10:00-11:30am CET (Geneva) organised by the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, bringing together findings from six countries featuring our colleague Francis Reffell. COVID-19 has a disproportionately large impact on vulnerable populations globally, including but not limited to slum dwellers and migrant workers. These populations often have limited […]
“It puts value on the people” Community Based Participatory Research in Kenya
Faith Munyao, Veronicah Mwania and Beate Ringwald conduct a community based participatory research (CBPR) study on prevention of intimate partner violence and HIV in Gitathuru, Korogocho, Nairobi, Kenya. In this blog they share their experience of conducting this ARISE-affiliated project together. Beate: After working from home for five months, I was excited about the restart […]
Join us at the Global Symposium on Health Systems Research
The Global Symposium on Health Systems Research is held every couple of years and this year, due to COVID-19, will be held remotely. We’re delighted that we successfully secured a panel session at the conference on COVID-19 and a range of oral and poster presentations. We hope that if you are attending you will pop […]
Planning the India health and well-being survey
In this blog J. K. Lakshmi, Vinodkumar Rao, Smruti Jukur, Prasanna Saligram and Surekha Garimella describe how the ARISE India team members met virtually to brainstorm the design, content, development, and administration of a survey to help understand the perceptions of health, well-being and associated concepts and experiences in communities. They detail the process that […]
Making the links between cities and health for World Habitat Day
By Lynda Keeru Unbeknown to many, there are lots of connection between cities and health and this becomes even clearer in the face of pandemics. As has been said over and over again since the COVID-19 debut, epidemics reveal the reality of things. This view was reflected by most of the speakers during the ‘Webinar […]
Youth battle against COVID-19
By Jacob Omondi, Jackline Waithaka and Jane Wairutu Globally, as of September 9, 2020 there have been 27,417,497 confirmed cases of Coronavirus reported to WHO. Efforts to slow the surge in cases and completely flatten the curve continue to be introduced at various scales however, the impacts of the pandemic have severely been experienced all […]
Supporting people who experience violence during the COVID-19 pandemic
By Joseph Etyang Cases of gender-based violence have been on the increase during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has not spared anyone including people who are living with a disability. As a deaf counselor, I have received many cases of clients who are going through a difficult time during this pandemic. During a routine antenatal clinic […]
Youth Associate: A light of hope for Dholpur slum residents during the COVID-19 pandemic
By Imran Hossain Mithu Indian activist Kailash Satyarthi once said: The power of youth is the common wealth for the entire world. The faces of young people are the faces of our past, our present, and our future. No segment in the society can match with the power, idealism, enthusiasm, and courage of the young […]
COVID-19 response and protracted exclusion of informal residents: why should it matter to city authorities in Freetown, Sierra Leone?
By Abu Conteh, Mary Sirah Kamara and Samuel Saidu Freetown is home to over one million people, with over 68 informal settlements spread across precarious land spaces. These settlements are often built on marginal lands around sea fronts, dumpsites and on dangerous mountain peaks, which always constitute high risks, but are made worse during health […]
Understanding safeguarding in international development research: The process and intricacies involved
By Lynda Keeru On 1 July 2020, UKCDR hosted a webinar titled, “Preventing harm in research – safeguarding in international development research.” The webinar came a few months after UKCDR’s launch of the guidance on safeguarding in international development research in a bid to ensure the highest safeguarding standards in this context. UK funders of international […]
Celebrated but not supported: The need for a gender equitable health workforce
By Lynda Keeru On May 24th 2020, CNN published an article titled “Coronavirus is killing more men. But the lockdown is disastrous for women and their rights.” “The novel coronavirus seems to be more deadly for men. But in many other ways, women are bearing the brunt of this pandemic. From a spike in domestic […]
How do you navigate power dynamics Participatory Health Research? We need your expertise!
We invite you to join in a conversation, via a participatory online workshop, to discuss and explore power, power sharing and empowerment in Participatory Health Research. Whether you are involved in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), Participatory Action Research (PAR) or any other approach that aligns with participatory principles, we are interested in your views and […]
Remote research methods to use during the COVID-19 pandemic
Kate Hawkins, Jessica Amegee and Rosie Steege The COVID-19 pandemic has unsettled the world as most countries were not prepared to face such a wide and disruptive event, with very little knowledge of how things would progress at the onset. As the pandemic continues to impact societies – organisations and communities are dealing with challenges […]
Prioritising the most vulnerable in the COVID-19 response in low- and middle-income countries
By Lynda Keeru COVID-19 has thrown the world into disarray and devastated people, families, communities and systems around the world. It has not spared anyone; it’s gone for migrants, refugees, health care workers – ordinary people trying to make a livelihood for themselves and their families. However, as much as COVID-19 poses a threat to […]
Recommendations from Guatemala to urban municipalities responding to COVID-19 in low- and middle-income countries
By Guillermo Hegel with support from Yaimie Lopez and Kim Ozano Local governments need to review their strategies so that they pay more attention to the wider impacts that COVID-19 will have. Municipalities will need to dig deeper and identify their weaknesses in order to address them and identify better ways to deal with the […]
A case for state-funded livelihood insurance for the informal economy in the era of COVID-19
By Sumit Mazumdar As the famous opening lines of Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities go, most challenging times often mask opportunities for transformational changes moving hurdles in few weeks that might have taken generations otherwise. But only if nations are successful in leveraging from any unprecedented popular support for epochal public action. As the global pandemic […]
The hard nut of cracking who is vulnerable in our communities in the context of COVID-19
By Joseph Kimani My visit to Korogocho was special in a number of ways. On arrival at Korogocho I had a moment to chat and interact informally with Korogocho Community ‘Covid response team’; Komb Green team (Wys, Okinda, Roba and team), Korogocho resident committee ( Kinyanjui, Gathu and Mzee Njoroge), Uncle, Balozi, Jemo and Emmy […]
The road ahead: What can we do to support disability inclusion in the COVID-19 response?
Thanks so much @ARISEHub & all participants for teaching us so much! Our conclusion: we need accessible info, no discrimination & inclusion of persons w/ disabilities in the #COVID19 response. AND adequate financial mechanisms to ensure #UHCCorona & #HealthForAll #DisabilityC19 https://t.co/m52JhswOI6 — Humanity & Inclusion UK (@HI_UK) April 6, 2020 To wrap up the excellent […]
Structural violence, ableism and COVID-19
COVID-19 presents additional barriers for people with disability that are linked to structural violence and ableism. Unequal global and local political-economies and social organisation inflict embodied harm on people, in this case disabled people. This is structural violence. Ableism is a form of prejudice that characterises people with disability as inferior to the non-disabled. Discrimination […]
Advocacy and action by people with disabilities about COVID-19
Advocacy and action that is led by people with disabilities is key to promoting change and collective action on COVID-19. People with disabilities have a long history of advocating for their inclusion in decision making. This continues during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this their rights and needs are poorly articulated and rarely met by the […]
The responses of ARISE partners to COVID-19
The remit of ARISE is to work on accountability and health in low- and middle-income countries. As the settings that we work in have become increasingly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to adapt our research and interventions with people living in informal settlements to be part of the response. Over the past […]
Barriers to health care related to disability and COVID-19
People with disabilities frequently face barriers that prevent them accessing health care and treatment. These barriers can be both structural and attitudinal. In times of crisis it can become even more difficult to access care due to lack of accommodations and disruption of routine health service provision. @gordonrattray from @EDF shared with us that PWD […]
LVCT Health COVID-19 webinar for youth and people in informal settlements
Join LVCT Health on Friday 17 April from 13.50-15.30 East Africa Time for a webinar for youth and people in informal settlements of Kenya. They have a great line up. Lilian Otiso, the Executive Director of LVCT Health, will be speaking. She is joined by Nicera Wanjiru a Community Mapper, Data Collector and Youth Activist […]
Risks and vulnerability related to disability and COVID-19
Risks and vulnerabilities for people with disability in relation to COVID-19 are not uniformly distributed. They are shaped by context and individual factors such as age, gender and impairment. In the first blog of a series that summarises our Twitter Chat on Disability and COVID-19 we discuss risk and vulnerability. There is a difference between […]
Disability and COVID-19: What did we learn from the Twitter Chat
On 6 April, @ARISEHub hosted a Twitter Chat on Disability and COVID-19. It brought together people with disabilities, disabled persons organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and other experts from around the globe to discuss issues affecting people with disabilities. The chat was organised around seven questions. The objectives of the chat were to: Help identify people, […]
Disability and COVID-19: What did we learn from the Twitter Chat
On 6 April, @ARISEHub hosted a Twitter Chat on Disability and COVID-19. It brought together people with disabilities, disabled persons organisations, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), and other experts from around the globe to discuss issues affecting people with disabilities. The chat was organised around seven questions. The objectives of the chat were to: Help identify people, […]
Disability and COVID-19 Expert Tweeters
On Monday 6 April from 11.00-12.30 BST we will be coordinating a Twitter Chat on Disability and COVID-19. To join in please use the hashtag #DisabilityC19. If you want to prepare some answers or find out more about how a Twitter Chat works just follow this link… You are all very welcome, we need to […]
Experiences of conducting research in an informal settlement
By Samiha Ali Dusty roads, narrow passageways, every three feet or so a small shop selling tea and snacks. A child wailing in the distance and the smell of freshly fried samosas in the air. To a qualitative field researcher, this scenario is not an uncommon scenario. Walking down the winding streets of Korail slum with […]
Disability and COVID-19 Twitter Chat – #DisabilityC19
On Monday 6 April between 11:00am and 12:30pm UK time (BST) we will hold a Twitter Chat on disability and COVID-19. Read all about the Expert Tweeters who are joining the chat to share their knowledge and wisdom. A Twitter Chat is where a group of Twitter users ‘meet’ at a pre-determined time to discuss […]