Equity in COVID-19: Mitigation and Policy Responses in Africa

Amidst the uncertainty in the early days of the pandemic in 2020, the knowledge platform on inclusive development policies (INCLUDE) initiated the research programme ‘Equity in COVID-19’. Focused on a critical examination of containment and mitigation responses to the pandemic and their impacts in 12 African countries, with special reference to marginalised, vulnerable and disadvantaged social groups, this project was one of several important efforts to respond to the imperative of research-based policy making, particularly on the issue of inequalities.

This edited volume presents the case studies that systematically reconstruct, document and analyse how national governments and other stakeholders have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic and if and to what extent governments have taken equity into account in COVID-19 policy responses. Based on a variety of empirical data and disciplinary perspectives, research teams from across the continent present evidence on the (non) inclusive nature of mitigation and policy responses. The book situates these findings on short-term interventions and impact in debates on the longer term implications of the COVID-19 on development on the continent.