There is growing evidence on the role of science in political processes to shape policies that respond to societal needs. This requires that adequate attention is paid to the sciencepolicy interface, particularly dialogues between scientific, technological communities as well as the policy process. This supports the goal of the science-policy interface to jointly develop evidence-based solutions for various societal challenges. Yet, this interface is multifaceted, with various models pursued in different contexts posing varied outcomes, especially for the poor who suffer most from the impacts of global challenges such as COVID-19 and other pandemics and shocks. Through questionnaire interviews, case studies, and science-policy dialogues convened during the African Research and Impact Network International Conference on COVID-19, this paper assesses the models of science-policy interface that have been applied to respond to COVID-19 in four African countries (Malawi, Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya) and the implications for the poor. Our insights reveal that the pandemic has exposed and re-enforced the traditional top-down science-policy linkages where politically aligned expert committees are set up to inform decisions on COVID-19. A plethora of decisions resulting from this expert model has widely been driven by what is happening elsewhere, narrow epidemiological trends, i.e. infection rates, and globally established narratives around flattening the infection curve but with little attention to the holistic socio-economic contexts of African communities, especially the poor. Ultimately, emergency policy directives involving lockdowns and secession of movements are not fit for purpose for most African contexts. These have caused devastating impacts on the poor, including loss of jobs, loss of businesses, gender inequalities, and overall long-term poverty. In responding to the emergency directives and in the bid to survive, local communities in the four African countries have developed new survival strategies and locally driven solutions to counter not only the health effects of the pandemic but also the socioeconomic impacts. Some of the solutions present spaces for home-grown innovation and opportunities for bottom-up science-policy models that are pro-poor in the face of COVID19.

Suggested citation: Atela, J., Ndege, N. and Pelling, M. (2021). Science-policy Interface in
the Pro-poor Response to COVID-19 in Africa: Lessons for post-COVID planning. UJ-TRCTI
Working Paper Series (WP 2021-09). University of Johannesburg: South Africa.

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