Estimating the vulnerability of African girls and their families to Covid19 infections

The main aim of this research was to identify which African children are living in households at greatest risk of contracting Covid-19 infections, due to their living circumstances.   

In order to contain and mitigate the Covid-19 pandemic, many African governments have implemented draconian emergency restrictions and lock-down measures, e.g. by imposing travel bans, confining people to their own homes, closing schools, shops and workplaces, etc.  These measures are likely to be less effective in circumstances where people need to frequently leave their homes in order to survive.  We have mapped these circumstances in 49 African countries and produced policy advice about how governments can assist with effective social distancing and quarantine. 

In particular, the COVID-19 vulnerability indicator results show that, in most African countries, large numbers of girls live in households where family members need to leave their homes every day to obtain food, water, cooking fuel and to go to the toilet. It is therefore crucial that the both children and adults are aware of the key public health messages, that they need to try to stay at least one or more metres away from members of other households, wear face coverings and try not to touch their faces or touch other people (such as by shaking hands or playing with their friends) and be able to wash their hands with soap/detergent as soon as they return home.