'This is what is going to help me': Developing a co-designed and theoretically informed harm reduction intervention for mobile youth in South Africa and Uganda

Young migrants in sub-Saharan Africa are particularly vulnerable to HIV-acquisition. Despite this, they are consistently under-served by services, with low uptake and engagement. We adopted a community-based participatory research approach to conduct longitudinal qualitative research among 78 young migrants in South Africa and Uganda. Using repeat in-depth interviews and participatory workshops we sought to identify their specific support needs, and to collaboratively design an intervention appropriate for delivery in their local contexts. Applying a protection-risk conceptual framework, we developed a harm reduction intervention which aims to foster protective factors, and thereby nurture resilience, for youth ‘on the move’ within high-risk settings. Specifically, by establishing peer supporter networks, offering a ‘drop-in’ resource centre, and by identifying local adult champions to enable a supportive local environment. Creating this supportive edifice, through an accessible and cohesive peer support network underpinned by effective training, supervision and remuneration, was considered pivotal to nurture solidarity and potentially resilience. This practical example offers insights into how researchers may facilitate the co-design of acceptable, sustainable interventions

A global outlook to the interruption of education due to COVID-19 Pandemic: Navigating in a time of uncertainty and crisis

Uncertain times require prompt reflexes to survive and this study is a collaborative reflex to better understand uncertainty and navigate through it. The Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic hit hard and interrupted many dimensions of our lives, particularly education. As a response to interruption of education due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this study is a collaborative reaction that narrates the overall view, reflections from the K12 and higher educational landscape, lessons learned and suggestions from a total of 31 countries across the world with a representation of 62.7% of the whole world population. In addition to the value of each case by country, the synthesis of this research suggests that the current practices can be defined as emergency remote education and this practice is different from planned practices such as distance education, online learning or other derivations. Above all, this study points out how social injustice, inequity and the digital divide have been exacerbated during the pandemic and need unique and targeted measures if they are to be addressed. While there are support communities and mechanisms, parents are overburdened between regular daily/professional duties and emerging educational roles, and all parties are experiencing trauma, psychological pressure and anxiety to various degrees, which necessitates a pedagogy of care, affection and empathy. In terms of educational processes, the interruption of education signifies the importance of openness in education and highlights issues that should be taken into consideration such as using alternative assessment and evaluation methods as well as concerns about surveillance, ethics, and data privacy resulting from nearly exclusive dependency on online solutions