
The political economy of pandemic prevention and preparedness in Africa - Policy Brief 13
The huge costs of the COVID-19 crisis have revealed a global failure to learn lessons from previous health crises, and to invest sufficiently and consistently in the public goods of pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. This health security agenda has been seriously neglected in sub-Saharan Africa, which is in a weak position to respond to the present crisis and future pandemics.
Based on research conducted for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)-funded Tackling Deadly Diseases in Africa Programme (TDDAP), this Policy Brief suggests that the neglect of the health security agenda in sub-Saharan Africa is above all a political economy problem best understood in terms of the political incentives facing leaders, institutionalised power relations and the collective action problems shaping health security systems and international funding. The Policy Brief explores five political economy problems that are found to be particularly undermining of pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and develops recommendations for addressing each of these.
Latest News from The Policy Practice - February 2025
In this month’s newsletter we discuss:
🔹The launch of the next Political Economy Analysis for Climate Action training course starting in May
🔹 Issues-Based Programming (IBP): A fresh look at mobilising stakeholders for change, with insights from TPP Director Gareth Williams.
🔹 New Work in the Francophone Sahel: Addressing governance, conflict, and development challenges in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Senegal.
🔹 Political Economy of Disaster Management & Climate Adaptation: A new collaboration with UNDP to assess governance and institutional responses to climate disasters.
Launch of our next Political Economy Analysis for Climate Action training course
Our Political Economy Analysis for Climate Action training course is an interactive 8-session online course (two sessions per week) running from 19 May - 19 June 2025. It focuses on how political economy analysis can maximise the effectiveness of action on climate change. See our flyer to register.
Policy and Practice Brief 18 - Nine lessons from Issue-based programming
This Policy and Practice brief from TPP Director Gareth Williams discusses Issues-Based Programming (IBP), a development approach which mobilises stakeholders to drive change around locally defined issues. This paper examines its application in several countries through case studies of UK-funded projects and assesses IBP's effectiveness, highlighting successes and failures.