The DSAI Humanitarian Action Study Group (HASG), in dialogue with members, have been exploring how to support effective humanitarian response during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. We are in touch with a number of different networks on ways we might support coordinated discussions and work in this area.
Emerging from these discussions and building on the ongoing work of the Study Group to enable dialogue and connections between humanitarian response, research and policy, the HASG is focussing efforts to support:
- mapping key gaps in evidence and learning priorities for organisations both responding directly to the crisis, and delivering wider humanitarian assistance in the context of COVID-19;
- global health researchers idenitify particular priorities for evidence gathering and research in the context of humanitarian response.
To help collate inputs across the sector, the HASG have developed a very short survey - online here - for anyone who would like to share reflections. The survey will collect information from across researchers and humanitarian practitioners to help identify key gaps in evidence, applying learning and public/global health research in the humanitarian response to and during the COVID-19 crisis. The aim is to identify priority areas for evidence and research that can be leveraged to support an effective, coordinated response.
Responses are anonymous, and results will feed into both future events we hold on this topic, as well as a planned publicly available summary document outlining preliminary priorities for data, research and learning in the area. Please feel free to complete yourselves, and/or circulate among your networks - we are hoping to gather a wide range of inputs, and the survey will remain live until the 29th of April.