Improving the integration of women and adolescent girls in the informal sector into pandemic response measures

The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to control it have threatened livelihoods, introduced new workplace risks and made unstable work relationships even more precarious, especially for women. This project will address the involvement of women and adolescent girls in the informal sector in developing response measures to pandemics. To achieve this, the team will conduct an analysis to assess the degree of inclusion of adolescent girls and women in the definition of economic and mental health response measures to the pandemic. Once the assessment is completed, the team will co-develop and implement more inclusive strategies in response measures with all stakeholders. Thirdly, the team will assess the implementation and costs of the co-constructed strategies. The project will provide a better understanding and improve integration of the basic needs and interests of adolescent girls and women in the informal sector in post-pandemic COVID-19 response strategies and in programs that respond to health crises more generally. A series of outputs, including scientific papers and policy briefs, will be produced. This project is funded under Women'Äôs health and economic empowerment for a COVID-19 Recovery that is Inclusive, Sustainable and Equitable (Women RISE), an initiative of IDRC, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Its aim is to support global action-oriented, gender-transformative research by teams of researchers from low- and middle-income countries and Canada