Whose crisis?: The global COVID-19 crisis from the perspective of communities in Africa

COVID-19疫情可能是历史上记录最多的全球大流行病。然而，关于这一大流行病的声音主要是北方绝大多数有钱有势的作家发出的声音，反映了一场危机，这场危机虽然影响到全世界，但人们的感受却截然不同。与此同时，治理和前线行动方面的反应一直由北方领导。该项目解决了这种代表性的不平衡，并将我们的南方合作伙伴定位为COVID-19危机动荡环境中的变革推动者。在非洲资源贫乏的情况下，这种疾病被迅速称为“富人病”;北方对COVID-19采取的应对措施包括限制流动和贸易、关闭学校以及强调检测和治疗COVID-19，这给已经负担过重的社会、经济和卫生系统带来了额外的重大压力。这个项目解决了这两个现实的交叉和连接：代表性和反应。“谁的危机？”“项目将创建一个平台（SFA COVID-19全球之声枢纽），并为社会、卫生、经济、政府和公共利益相关者提供理解和交流的途径，以告知应对行动。我们的研究问：（1）撒哈拉以南非洲脆弱社区对COVID-19的生活经历、观点和应对措施是什么？(2)如何以参与和协作的方式分享观点，以调动北方和南方的专门知识、资源和参与？以及（3）在流行病背景下，当非洲代表性不足和服务不足的社区的声音得到放大时，就全球卫生而言，可以取得什么成果？COVID-19可能不会像非洲每年面临的许多其他健康风险那样对非洲的生命构成同样的风险，但它为人们对所谓的“全球健康”开辟了新的光明和关注水平。COVID-19凸显了现有的不平等，并非常清楚地表明了疾病的生物社会性质（Giovannet al 2020），其中生物脆弱性是通过社会经济不平等造成的。我们迫切需要弥合这一复杂性，反映人类经历的全球多样性，以及对这一流行病的更平衡的理解。尽管一线卫生保健是一个优先事项，但在脆弱的生态系统中，特别是在全球南部，人们正在努力应对流行病带来的健康挑战。缺乏对环境、信仰、传统和文化的理解、当地社区的参与或对国家优先事项的认识，可能会对COVID-19带来的卫生干预措施和结果产生负面影响，从而扭曲相关领域的卫生政策、治理和研究（例如目前普遍实施的“封锁”政策）。研究设计包括准备阶段（1），以在基础设施和社区福祉特别脆弱的时期充分支持这项研究。其次是基于社区和参与性实地工作（2）以及声音，故事和生活经验的共同策划和传播（3）。真正的参与、创新的方法和复杂的沟通将联合收割机结合起来，以道德的方式处理当前的情况，并为下一步做好准备。因此，该项目建立在现有的非洲可持续未来（SFA）网络所提供的长期伙伴关系，灵活性和快速知识转移的基础上。这项研究现在就需要进行，因为随着全球状况的变化，每周都有决策、观点和机会被做出和错过。忽视文化观点和失去向所有人学习的机会所产生的影响将导致进一步的不平等、政策方向错误、资源分配不当、某些观点日益占主导地位以及对我们经验的多样性更加无知。

The COVID-19 pandemic may prove to be the most documented global pandemic in history. However, the voices of this pandemic are dominated by those generated in the North by an overwhelming minority of wealthy and powerful authors, reflecting on a crisis that, while impacting the whole world, is experienced in vastly different ways. Coupled with this, the responses in governance and frontline action have been led by the North. This project addresses this imbalance of representation and positions our Southern partners centrally as agents of change within the volatile environment of the COVID-19 crisis. Quickly referred to as the "rich man's disease" in resource poor contexts of Africa; the adoption of Northern responses to COVID-19 in terms of restricted mobilities and trade, the closure of schools, and an emphasis on testing and treating COVID-19 is putting additional and critical pressure on already overburdened social, economic and health systems. This project addresses the intersection and connection of these two realities: representation and response. The "Whose Crisis?" project will create a platform (the SFA COVID-19 Global Voices Hub) and a pathway for understanding and exchange for societal, health, economic, government and public stakeholders, to inform responsive action.Our research asks: (1) What are the lived experiences of, perspectives on, and responses to, COVID-19 in vulnerable communities in sub-Saharan Africa?; (2) How can perspectives be shared in participatory and collaborative ways to mobilise Northern and Southern expertise, resources, and engagement?; and (3) What can be achieved when the voices of under-represented and under-served communities in Africa are amplified, in terms of Global Health in a pandemic context? COVID-19 may not present the same risk to life in Africa as many other health risks faced there every year, but it is one that has opened a new shaft of light and level of attention onto what is understood as 'global health'. COVID-19 is highlighting existing inequalities and making very clear the bio-social nature of disease (Gibbon et al 2020) wherein biological vulnerabilities are created through socio-economic inequalities. There is an urgent need to bridge this complexity and reflect the global diversity of human experience and more a balanced understanding of this pandemic.Although frontline health care is a priority, attempts to meet the health challenges of pandemics exist within a fragile ecosystem, particularly in the Global South. A lack of contextual, faith, traditional, and cultural understanding, involvement of local communities or recognition of national priorities can negatively affect health interventions and outcomes that will arise from COVID-19, and thus distort health policy, governance and research in related fields (e.g. the current widespread imposition of "lockdown" policies). The research design consists of a preparation phase (1) to adequately support this research in a time of especially fragile infrastructures and community wellbeing. This is followed by phases of community based and participatory fieldwork (2) and co-curation and dissemination (3) of voices, stories, and lived experiences. Genuine engagement, innovative methods, and sophisticated communications will combine to ethically attend to the current situation as well as prepare for what's next. Thus, this project is built on long standing partnerships, agility, and rapid knowledge transfer afforded by the existing Sustainable Futures in Africa (SFA) network. This research needs to happen now, as decisions, perspectives, and opportunities are being made and missed every week as the global condition shifts. The implications of ignoring cultural perspectives and missing the opportunities to learn from all, will lead to further inequity, misdirected policies, misallocated resources, increased dominance of certain viewpoints and increased ignorance of the plurality of our experiences.