The economic impact of COVID-19 is being felt globally, but economies classified as ‘emerging’ and ‘developing’ by the World Bank, which includes those in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America, are likely to be hardest hit. The combination of largely informal workforces, a decrease in export demand, and existing economic instability is expected to result in an outsize impact in countries such as South Africa, Brazil, and Indonesia.

In sub-Saharan Africa, it has been predicted that coronavirus will result in the first recession in that region for 25 years. Most countries in the region have not yet experienced their peak in COVID-19 cases, and it’s possible that coronavirus-related measures and the related economic impacts will continue for some time.

Coronavirus’ Effect on the Economy, Employment and Income in sub-Saharan Africa

Despite these predictions, we don’t know yet how the economic impact of COVID-19 varies based on country, job type, income level, and other factors. In order to provide a more complete picture of the economic impact of COVID-19, GeoPoll has conducted a study in five countries in sub-Saharan Africa: Kenya, Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, Mozambique, and South Africa. The main areas of GeoPoll’s study are:

• Ability to work and income change since the outset of COVID-19
• Concern over expenses and the ability to pay for basic needs
• Usage of loans, savings, and income to pay for expenses
• The impact of COVID-19 on loans and mobile money services
• Receipt of aid and opinions of government priorities

The study was conducted by SMS from June – July 2020, with 500 respondents per country or 2,500 total, and a nationally representative sample by age, gender, and location. To download the full PDF report, a 16-page report including breakdowns and analysis by country, job type, income level, and more, please click below. You can also view the results in our interactive dashboard.

Data: COVID-19’s Economic Impact

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GeoPoll and Cyclone Idai

In March of 2019, Cyclone Idai caused devastating destruction in Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. In order to support the humanitarian response, GeoPoll deployed a remote, SMS-based survey to the regions hardest hit in Mozambique to gather on-the-ground data on infrastructure damages, food security, and the aid needed most by communities. The data from this initial research was released for free on our blog, which was then picked up by the Humanitarian Data Exchange, or “HDX.”

Shortly after, an organization called Visualst, a public-interest data firm based in Maputo, Mozambique, came across GeoPoll’s data on the humanitarian need following the storm. This data was then used during a workshop hosted by the organization called Cyclone Idai Data Stories, which is a 3-part workshop series that is still in progress.

Cyclone Idai Data Stories by Visualst: A GeoPoll Facilitated Data Workshop

In the first workshop, Visualst used data from the GeoPoll facilitated study, to spur thoughtful and reflective dialogue about how to better respond to natural disasters and climate refugees in poor countries. The self-initiated Visualst workshop series uses data visualization to explore the supply and demand of the relief efforts to Cyclone Idai in Mozambique.

Visualst just hosted its first workshop of the series. During this first session, small groups were assigned a district and provided a map with community population numbers, ‘expected displacement time’, and the top three most urgent needs. Participants were tasked to build a ‘needs’ map, represented with clay. Each group was then to allocate resources, represented with small metal hardware pieces called washers, and simulate, through the use of crafting wire, the ‘supply chain’ of resource distribution across the whole district. The available resources that participants could allocate included resettlement camps, food, home rebuild, and seeds/agricultural aid.

Each group took a unique approach to shape the clay and warp the wire to create their group’s data sculpture. One group used nests and small spheres to demonstrate population size while another group used stacked, colored balls to indicate high, medium, and low priority populations. Through the creative process of ideating and refining their sculptures, groups found themselves struggling to balance the many considerations of providing adequate aid in the face of a natural disaster, particularly how to balance the number of people and period of times of displacement. Color, size, and proportionality, though used in different ways, united the groups in how to demonstrate both need and supply. One of the workshop participants even took to Twitter, stating, “Creating solutions to help people affected by #CycloneIdai is not  easy work, but through data sculptures the relief worker strategy becomes more intentional and less ‘maybe-maybe’.”

Fast, Reliable Information for Humanitarian Crisis Response

Due to Visualst’s work, participants of the first Cyclone Idai Data Stories were able to simulate the magnitude of impact that mobile-phone-based survey research can have on humanitarian aid response in the wake of a natural disaster. Participants were informed of what problems were afflicting people in different areas of Mozambique post-cyclone and how many people in the respective areas needed resources, which gave a voice to those struggling. The information provided by data also gave the participants the opportunity to utilize location and resource information to strategize humanitarian assistance methods and distribution channels, which is essential for efficient resource management and distribution during crisis response.

At GeoPoll, we think that Visualst’s Cyclone Idai Data Stories workshop series is an incredibly creative way to encourage immersive interaction with data. It is hard to emphasize enough how important and worthwhile data analysis is, yet the first Cyclone Idai Data Stories workshop illustrates data’s importance with ease. Although the project focused on data visualization, the participants were able to interact with data in a non-intimidating way. This aspect of the workshop is important especially for people in professions where data analysis is not their expertise. The interactive and creative nature of the workshop allowed participants to focus on what they could do with the information that data provides them and truly find the value in it, rather than getting overwhelmed by rows and columns of seemingly arbitrary strings of numerals, which aligns closely to Visualst’s mission of creating connections between people and compelling data for the purpose of informed decision making.

Mobile-phone-based survey research has many benefits, but the speed, accuracy, and capabilities provided by mobile research can be invaluable to the humanitarian aid response. GeoPoll is a leader in conducting research in hard-to-reach areas around the world, with a specialty in African countries. To learn more about GeoPoll’s capabilities to help gather on-the-ground information in the wake of a natural disaster, contact us today.

The post Data Visualization for Humanitarian Crisis Relief appeared first on GeoPoll.

Data from Mozambique on Destruction and Aid Needed following Cyclone Idai

GeoPoll’s initial data, which is represented in an interactive dashboard below, was collected on March 21st from Sofala, Inhambane, Manica, and Zambezia provinces in Mozambique. GeoPoll was able to reach 700 respondents over the age of 18, all of whom were impacted by cyclone Idai, and who represent households of over 4,700 total individuals. The survey was conducted in Portuguese.

Out of the 700 respondents, 206 are located in Sofala province, which was directly hit by the cyclone, and 185 respondents were from Beira, a coastal city of 500,000 which has been devastated by flooding following the cyclone. The data represents those we have been able to reach so far via mobile phone, and does not provide a complete picture of the situation, but does give valuable insights on the level of destruction across the region. Highlights from the data include:

• 78% in Sofala do not have access to clean drinking water
• 78% in Sofala do not have access to electricity
• 85% total say they had damages to their home, with 39% characterizing damages as major – in Sofala, 90% had damages, with 56% saying they are major damages
• Just 19% overall and 12% in Sofala have received aid since the cyclone
• Of those who have received aid, 60% received food aid, 21% shelter, 20% clean water, 7% electrical connection and 4% cash
• Aid most needed is quite split with 32% saying food is most needed, followed by shelter at 18% and cash at 16%. In Sofala they say food aid is needed more, at 40%, followed by clean water at 19% and cash and shelter both at 13%
• In terms of food security, 75% report they have eaten fewer meals on 3 or more days in the past week. In Sofala 77% have eaten fewer meals on 3 or more days, and  10% have eaten fewer meals on 7 of the past 7 days.

Open-ended responses on the damage to people’s homes provide further details into the individual’s situations and include the following statements:

• “Lost almost all goods including home”
• “The living room wall and ceiling fell left, farm buildings flooded and destroyed the vegetables.”
• “Fallen ceiling, I lost my chickens, duck and my goats”
• “My house is destroyed, my bovine cattle dead, I had 4 heads and a machine”
• “In my house I lost 3 windows and the roof cover made of zinc sheets were all ruined”
• “The house has been removed almost all sheets, and one of the bedrooms collapsed, the land is totally flooded, and my small farm was devastated by the wind”
• “All the sheets went out of the house, one of the walls of the house went down, several fallen trees and practically wet all the food we had.”
• “House is destroyed, homeless, we had little food, wet with rain”
• “Still homeless, rice in the farm rotted because of the excess”
• “All destroyed, no place to stay, inside full of water”
• “Destruction, everything is lost”

To be alerted when GeoPoll collects more data from communities affected by cyclone Idai please fill out the form below and we will notify you as soon as new data is released. To get in touch with a member of GeoPoll’s team contact us here.

Get Alerted to New Data on Cyclone Idai

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