Turkey and Syria earthquake: evidence-based innovations and guidance for acute crisis response.
Principal Investigators: Dr Gloria Seruwagi, PI (Makerere University) and Prof. Stephen Lawoko, Co-PI (Gulu University)
The Refugee Lived Experiences, Compliance and Thinking (REFLECT) study assessed community knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) and implementation of Uganda’s national response to COVID-19 among refugee communities.
This study wanted to understand the extent to which refugee communities were aware of COVID-19 and compliant with related measures and guidelines. The research sought to give visibility and voice to refugees through their lived experiences, while also analysing the processes and outcomes of COVID-19 policy and guidelines in Uganda. The study focused on critical issues, actions, intentions and experiences at different levels – individual, community and national.
The study documented lived experiences and assessed awareness and behavioural shifts in Uganda’s diverse refugee settings, with more than five different nationalities participating. It looked to establish whether contextual specificities of urban and rural-based refugees have a bearing on awareness, feasibility, enforcement and compliance to policy and guidelines from Uganda’s national response to COVID-19. Embedded in this research was a policy analysis strand – assessing policy formulation, feasibility, implementation and outcome.
The study recommends that the government of Uganda should review not only its approach but also related outcomes in addressing COVID-19 in humanitarian settings, considering what is feasible for refugees. For example, focusing more on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) preventive measures, instead of social distancing may be better for refugees in crowded settlements or homes. The team also suggests that the Government and partners address the barriers of non-compliance and consider implementing a robust socioeconomic response interlinked with other key sectors and actors.
Active community involvement and engagement will foster an acceptable, effective, inclusive and sustainable approach.
Humanitarian actors focused on health (including WASH), protection, livelihoods and other sectors could use the findings of this research to improve interventions, or design more responsive interventions that are guided by local partnerships.
—
The team has created a series of resources to share their experience of conducting this research. The resources include blogs that reflect on the perspectives of all the partners in the study; policy briefs, such as guidance on how communities can be empowered to steer sustained COVID-19 compliance measures; and community engagement activities. Visit the REFLECT web page here.
You are seeing this because you are using a browser that is not supported. The Elrha website is built using modern technology and standards. We recommend upgrading your browser with one of the following to properly view our website:
Windows MacPlease note that this is not an exhaustive list of browsers. We also do not intend to recommend a particular manufacturer's browser over another's; only to suggest upgrading to a browser version that is compliant with current standards to give you the best and most secure browsing experience.