Copyright of Disasters is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Carstensen, Nils, Mudhar, Mandeep, and Munksgaard, Freja Schurmann
Subjects
MUTUAL aid, SUPPORT groups, COVID-19 pandemic, GOVERNMENT aid, COMMUNITIES, COVID-19
Abstract
How to respond quickly, effectively, and sensitively to large‐scale crises is debated at length in the aid sector. Institutional focuses on projects and outcomes have led to abundant literature on the efficacy of external interventions, while the actions of individuals and communities to meet their own needs remain under researched. This paper seeks to close the gap by joining global trends and specific case studies to explore the scale, breadth, and characteristics of citizen and community‐led responses to the Covid‐19 pandemic of 2020–21. Using mixed methods, it argues that mutual aid, self‐help, and other spontaneous community measures were vital to the early response to Covid‐19 globally. Such endeavours have limitations, however, which can be strengthened with the right national and international support. The paper concludes by calling on authorities and aid actors to widen their understanding of 'first response' and provide meaning ful support to mutual aid and local self‐help initiatives now and in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Frimpong, Louis Kusi, Okyere, Seth Asare, Diko, Stephen Kofi, Abunyewah, Matthew, Erdiaw‐Kwasie, Michael Odei, Commodore, Tracy Sidney, Hernandez, Daniel Oviedo, and Kita, Michihiro
Copyright of Disasters is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)