'Let communities do their work': the role of community mutual aid and self-help groups in the Covid-19 pandemic response

Carstensen, Nils; Mudhar, Mandeep; Munksgaard, Freja Schurmann

How to respond quickly, effectively and sensitively to largescale crises is debated at length in the aid sector. Institutional focuses on projects and outcomes have led to an abundant literature on the efficacy of external interventions, with actions and responses of individuals and communities to meet their own needs remains under researched. This paper addresses this gap by joining global trends and specific case studies to explore the scale, breadth and characteristics of citizen and community-led responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. Using mixed methods, the paper draws on collaborative research with community groups in several different contexts, local and international media coverage, and communication with individuals and self-help groups in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali, Myanmar, Palestine (oPt), The Philippines and Sudan, arguing that mutual aid, self-help and other spontaneous community responses were vital to the early response to the Covid-19 pandemic globally. Such responses however have limitations and can be strengthened with the right support from national and international actors. The paper concludes by calling on authorities and aid actors to widen their understanding of 'first response' and provide meaningful support to mutual aid and local self-help initiatives in their ongoing responses to Covid-19 and in preparation for future crises. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.