Vulnerable but resilient: Indigenous communities facing COVID-19

When COVID-19 struck, and many research projects around the world were shutting down, Dr James Ford managed to do the opposite.

He was leading an international project documenting how Indigenous populations were affected by, and responding to, climate change. Concerned by the potential impact of the pandemic on these already at-risk communities, Dr Ford and his team changed the focus of their research to COVID-19.

Impact

• Tackling health inequalities: the research sought to understand the ways that different Indigenous communities faced health inequalities and how they are exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It also documents how the communities' resilience, spirits, and ways of life supported their health
• International collaboration with colleagues on the ground in Peru, Canada, Fiji, Russia, India, Sri Lanka, Ghana, Uganda, Namibia, South Africa, and Australia, including Indigenous community members
• Research culture: uncovered new ways of doing research throughout a global pandemic, by utilising international networks and colleagues.

Key information

• Major funders: New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF), National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)–Wellcome Partnership for Global Health Research
• Partners and collaborators: Organization of Indigenous Women of Asháninka People of the Central Jungle (OMIAASEC), The Indigenous Peoples Observatory Network (IPON)
• Disciplines: public health, global health, health inequalities
• Investigators: Professor James Ford.

Keywords: Indigenous populations, community, international collaboration, climate change adaptation, climate change resilience, coronavirus, health crisis, pandemic, farming, smallholder farms, agriculture, food, food systems, climate change mitigation and adaptation