HUMANITARIAN TASK FORCE

The Population Council’s global and in-country epidemiologists, laboratory scientists, public health specialists and researchers, evaluation experts, and data analysts are producing relevant and timely evidence to support national health ministries, government agencies, and international non-governmental organizations worldwide to control the spread of coronavirus, evaluate the effectiveness of prevention and mitigation measures, and assess immediate and longer-term health, social and economic effects of the pandemic.

Our biomedical laboratories, and regional and national presence, including long-standing global offices in 13 countries, are making it possible to share knowledge, resources and insights to inform the national and international response effort.

 
 

To contribute to the immediate COVID-19 pandemic response, we are:

  • Gathering social and behavioral data remotely utilizing innovative mobile technologies and conducting rapid analysis leveraging existing studies of populations in Bangladesh, Guatemala, India, Kenya, and Zambia.

  • Conducting secondary data analysis of existing data to draw lessons from the HIV and Ebola epidemics and humanitarian crises to identify best practices for prevention, control and mitigation strategies.  

  • Assessing social and behavioral campaigns and interventions related to public health messages and social distancing to help others understand their level of awareness of COVID-19 symptoms and perceptions of risks and fear among vulnerable populations. 

  • Identifying the needs of vulnerable populations and evidence on what works to guide a response effort that is inclusive and equitable, including women and girls, migrants and refugees, people with disabilities and poor health conditions, and gender minority groups.     

  • Exploring the potential of a protein the Council has developed for HIV prevention to protect the upper respiratory tract from coronaviruses.  Read more about the Council’s work with Griffithsin as an antiretroviral microbicide. 

  • Publishing COVID-19 research in the Council's scholarly journals: Ensuring that the research is rigorous, fast-tracking papers through peer review, and making research openly available. Read more about our commitment to COVID-19 papers.