Briefing papersJune 2020Steve Wiggins, Roger Calow, Joseph Feyertag, Simon Levine and Alexandra LöweFighting against Ebola in West Africa. Photo: European Union/ECHO/Jean-Louis MosserThis note summarises insights from a study commissioned by DFID, which examines the lessons that can be drawn from previous crises to inform responses to Covid-19 in rural Africa.Most of the evidence comes from a review of seven viral health crises: HIV/AIDS; H5N1 (avian influenza); Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS); H1N1 (swine flu); Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Covid-19 in China. Two economic shocks were also considered: the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2007/2008 food price spike.It addresses two main questions: What might the consequences be of disease, and responses to it, on agriculture, rural livelihoods, food systems and food security?What lessons on dealing with those consequences can be drawn from previous crises?This publication is part of ODI’s series on coronavirus. It showcases emerging ideas and rapid initial analysis from ODI experts.Read the research Dealing with Covid-19 in rural Africa: lessons from previous crisesDocumentpdfRelated Africa beyond Covid-19We discuss how African countries are learning and adapting to accelerate reform in the Covid-19 crisis.Webinar16 June 2020 Five ways Covid-19 could affect rural Africa – and what to do about it Five potential impacts of Covid-19 on agriculture, food systems, food security and rural livelihoods in Africa – and how to counter them.Articles and blogs11 June 2020 How farmer-led irrigation can transform agriculture in AfricaFarmer-led irrigation has huge potential to enable development in sub-Saharan Africa, but only if policy-makers find effective ways to assist farmers.Articles and blogs27 August 2019 Assessing the costs of tenure risks to agribusinessesThe Quantifying Tenure Risk Initiative has developed a new tool to help agribusinesses avoid harmful investment by accurately assessing tenure risk.Research reports and studies25 February 2019See more:ruralagriculturehealthfinancial crisiscoronavirussub-Saharan Africa
