UK provides vital support to vulnerable global communities impacted by COVID-19

Global communities most at risk from the impact of coronavirus due to long-term conflict, food, and water shortages, and crowded living conditions will receive vital funding from the UK government.

Bringing together scientists and researchers from across the world, 20 new projects will benefit from a share of £7.2 million of UK government funding to develop new technology and processes to address the challenges faced by some of the world’s most vulnerable people, such as refugees and children.

In partnership with some of the UK’s leading research institutions, these international projects include:

• the University of Oxford will work with the University of Cape Town to develop a parental advice app for families affected by COVID-19 school closures across Africa;
• Birmingham City University will partner with Lusaka and Ndola Colleges of Nursing to help improve the clinical decision making of nurses in Zambia, helping to free up their time and prevent healthcare systems from becoming overwhelmed;
• the University of Sheffield will work with the UN Refugee Agency to make personal protective equipment with digital and 3D printing for Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp, home to approximately 80,000 Syrian refugees, helping to protect those living in crowded conditions that are most vulnerable to the virus;
• the University of Edinburgh will work with the Open University of Tanzania to identify measures to make voting safer and more secure in African elections to promote social distancing and to slow the spread of coronavirus.

The £7.2 million UK government funding will be managed by UK aid programmes, the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and the Newton Fund, through UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

Original source: DFID