[Panel] COVID-19 & Informal Settlements: What’s happening on the ground in Brazil and Kenya?

Since March, experts and media reports have speculated that informal settlements may be some of the hardest hit communities by the health, social, and economic challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, as the COVID-19 pandemic is finding its way into informal settlements around the world, most of us are unaware of how it is affecting these communities and what is being done to prevent and manage the effects of the virus, both in the short-term and long-term. The purpose of this first panel discussion is to highlight the voices of local experts and community members who are living and working in these settlements as they share their experiences with and recommendations for preventing and managing the challenges being exacerbated or created by the COVID-19 pandemic in these communities.

Moderator: Professor Zahirah McNatt

Panelists: 

Dr. Kennedy Odede
Founder and CEO at Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO)

Julia Nyambura
Local Human Rights Defender and Community Mobilizer

Esther Hamburger
Professor of History of Film, Television, and Digital Media at the School of Communication and Arts of University of São Paulo

Thiago Nascimento
Local Leardeship at the Jacarezinho Community in Rio de Janeiro