"Exploration of Practical Wisdom and Resilience Overcoming Downside Risk -Collecting grassroots voices in Africa under COVID-19"

Research Summary

Research period：from December, 2021 through November, 2024

Under the global pandemic of COVID-19, Africa has its own concerns.

First, there are difficulties in containing COVID-19 in an environment where health care systems and sanitation facilities are not in place.
Second, strict policies by governments, such as border closures and curfews, have made it difficult for local people to earn a living, while violent policing by governments’ officials has caused damage.
Third, violent policing has created mistrust between the government and the people, hindering the spread of infectious disease control and vaccines.
Fourth, other infectious diseases, such as Ebola and malaria, also exist in Africa, and the focus on COVID-19 control has increased the excess death toll from other diseases.

Given these situations, this research project aims to classify and assess the real and perceived risks associated with both COVID-19 and government responses to the pandemic in seven African countries. It also elucidates the people’s resilience in overcoming the risks by using their practical wisdom. Besides, we will make policy recommendations for containment policy against the pandemic by governments and aid agencies.
The study areas are South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Ethiopia. We establish an international collaborative research structure consisting of seven groups with research institutions in Japan and each target country.

Principal Researcher

Kazuyo Hanai, Project Assistant Professor,
Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo

Dr. Hanai earned a Ph.D. at Graduate School for Frontier Sciences of the University of Tokyo (Ph.D. in International Cooperation Studies). Prior to joining IFI, she served as Project Research Associate at Graduate School of Public Policy of the University of Tokyo. She also serves as Representative Director of NPO RITA-Congo. Her research focuses on the relations between the conflict in Africa and Japanese civil society. Her main books are Justice of Resource Issue: Responsibility of Consumers on Conflict Minerals Issue in DR Congo (Toshindo, 2016, in Japanese), and Dr. Mukwege, Struggle for Peace: “the Worst Place in the World to be a Woman” and Us (Iwanami-shoten, 2024, in Japanese).

International Team Organization and Cooperation Approach

Related Links

• Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo: Faculty members
• Institute for Future Initiatives, The University of Tokyo: Project page