Adejoke Adeboyejo is a freelance writer based in Lagos, Nigeria. She writes about healthcare, women and other development issues. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, conspiracy theories have flourished and spread like the virus itself. Some believe the virus is bioengineered, while others say the pandemic is a conspiracy of big pharmaceutical companies or a plot hatched by Bill Gates. A

Not much fun on today’s links – if that’s what you’re looking for, head to Friday’s Corona-Cartoon competition, (example, right), where voting is still going strong How to feed your family during Zimbabwe’s lockdown Lockdown must be getting to me. I’m starting to agree with Piers Morgan What’s going on in Africa? According to the FT, ‘Low Covid-19 death toll

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Pablo Suarez discusses the role of humour in driving change, and introduces today’s Corona-cartoon Competition Why cartoons in the midst of a pandemic? Humor keeps us honest. It helps bridge the gap between what is and what could be. The argument is simple: by overlooking reality, people and organizations often fail to anticipate and address risks, and humor helps to

It’s Friday and weeks in lockdown can be loooong. Time for some fun. We had a lot of it with last month’s Coronavision Song Contest (Bobi Wine just about won that one, thanks to all his Ugandan fans), so to accompany Pablo Suarez’ piece today on the use of humour, it’s time for …[drum roll]… the Corona-Cartoon Competition! Here’s a

Guest post by Ana Caistor Arendar, Head of Inequality Campaigns and Policy at Oxfam GB Over the past weeks, we’ve seen some of the richest countries in the world struggle with the effects of Covid-19 and the health and economic emergency it has brought in its wake. But at least they have the resources to cushion the blows (should they

I’ve been thinking about feedback in terms of the way Covid is playing out on the ground. Or rather, the lack of it. Lockdown interrupts/diminishes the flow of information from the ground to governments. Decision makers, be they politicians or senior officials, can’t send out researchers or underlings to find out what’s going on in the villages, cities and shanty

Interface Journal are putting together brilliant compilations of readings by/on social movements and how they are dealing with the current Coronavirus pandemic. We will be republishing these compilations as they are rolled out, to join efforts in amplifying the voices of activists and those organizing communities through the crisis. They have a call for submissions below, please write in! And

My essay on Covid-19 as a Critical Juncture and the Implications for Advocacy has been published by Global Policy. Huge thanks to all the people who commented on earlier drafts, including the 130 who rocked up to the Global Policy/LSE webinar – video here. My plan is now to move on to monitoring the impact and response in developing countries,

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Guest post by Yogesh Ghore and Farouk Jiwa, of the Coady International Institute For the last 60 years the Coady Institute has been working with community leaders and organisations supporting leadership and knowledge building at the grassroots level. Many of our 9,000 graduates from over 133 countries, and partners across the world, are on the frontlines in the fight against

I’m a huge fan of the work of Saskia Brechenmacher and Thomas Carothers at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who regularly contribute brilliant pieces like this one to FP2P on issues of democracy and civil society. They (along with Richard Youngs) have just published a really useful survey of the impact of Covid-19 on civil society worldwide, drawing on