Webinar: Urban internally displaced persons in an era of COVID-19 in Africa

On 8 October 2020, the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, in collaboration with the Global Engagement Network on Internal Displacement in Africa (GENIDA), hosted a webinar on the situation of urban Internally Displaced Peoples in time of COVID-19 and how protection can be secured and enhanced.

The project is an international collaboration between the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University of Pretoria, South Africa and the Refugee Law Initiative at School of Advanced Study, University of London, United Kingdom, supported by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). The expertise and networks of these two specialised research centres underpin the success of this open network, which will draw in researchers from universities, research institutions and civil society across Africa, as well as key development policy-makers from countries affected by serious dynamics of internal displacement.

Panellists

Moderator: Dr Romola Adeola
Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria;
Coordinator, Global Engagement Network on Internal Displacement in Africa (GENIDA)

  • Mr Jerome Tembei
    Guest Speaker
    My experience as an internally displaced person in an urban region of Cameroon (Bafoussam)
  • Mr Unyime Eyo
    Staff Attorney, Justice and Empowerment Initiatives, Lagos
    The realities of urban slum-dwellers in the wake of COVID-19: a case study on forced evictions in Lagos, Nigeria
  • Mr Joseph Geng Akech
    Advisor, Advocacy and Governance, Save the Children
    Urban IDPs: The South Sudan experience with a focus on Juba

Background

What provisions are being made for urban IDPs in an era of COVID-19? This is a pertinent question at the centre of the discussion in this webinar. Evidently, the impact of COVID-19 has become a concern across various regions and states. For displaced populations, there have been concerns related to social distancing, sanitation and access to health care. While there have been some steps by international organisations and governments, an important issue is how to protect IDPs who are displaced in urban centres. With a focus on experiences from urban cities in Africa, the speakers in this webinar will discuss the situation of urban IDPs in an era of COVID-19 and how protection can be secured and enhanced. 

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