A new survey shows that 85% of enrolled school-aged children had some form of education services during school closures between March and July 2020. While some received educational services through multiple means, 54% of students received information, instructions, notes, or assignments sent to smartphone, tab, or computer, 50% had live lessons delivered over Zoom and other applications (potentially alongside other methods).
A recent national survey showed that only 10% of Indians aged 15 and above who were employed during what they considered the most severe lockdown worked from home. 68% of respondents considered the Janata curfew and subsequent nationwide lockdown between March and May 2020 to be the most severe lockdown.
A recent national survey showed that only 20% of school-aged children who were enrolled in the formal education system received remote education during COVID-19 induced school closures. School aged children were considered those between the ages of 5 and 18.
A recent national survey showed that Internet use had more than doubled in the past four years, and that COVID-related shutdowns contributed significantly to the increased demand for connectivity. Among the aged 15-65 population, 49% said they had used the Internet, compared to only 19% of the aged 15-65 population claiming the same in late 2017. This translates to 61% of households in 2021 using the internet compared to 21% in 2017.
LIRNEasia and ICRIER will present the findings of a nationally representative survey with a 7,000+ sample across India. We explore the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 by analyzing access to education, healthcare and work, with a focus on digital technologies.
This study looked to understand the experiences of 35 individuals during a lockdown in the Gampaha district. The last mile service delivery experiences – particularly in the areas of access to goods, education, cash and medicine – were some of the areas to which particular attention was paid.
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented stresses on food supply chains due to momentous shifts in demand and significant restrictions in the supply value chain and supply.
The theme of this year's SIF was "Mobilising for Digital Resilience – a free, open, and secure internet in the shifting landscapes of the pandemic". The opening panel set the stage for discussing issues that fit under this topic, and will be followed by 2 days of further panels that explore each issue further.
The fears are that those who are connected or corrupt will get free vaccines, even if they are not on the priority list; or that vaccines obtained for the free channel will be diverted to the pay channel, allowing private providers to make excessive profits which will feed the corruption.
Rohan Samarajiva and Ramathi Bandaranayake presented preliminary findings from our work on risk communication during COVID-19.
Rohan Samarajiva and Ramathi Bandaranayake presented preliminary findings from our work on risk communication during COVID-19.
Key considerations and recommendations for public health officials in developing wearable contact tracing solutions during COVID-19
A great deal of our work starts off with rigorous demand side research; knowing what, how and why users engage with digital technologies provides us with a solid evidence-base to make our policy recommendations. For example, the nationally representative data that we had collected through our AfterAccess surveys in six Asian countries, provided us with a solid evidence base to argue for various policy changes as soon as the pandemic hit. https://lirneasia.net/AfterAccess-COVID19. But going forward with current projects getting off the ground, and in the midst of designing new ones, we’ve had to think about what the pandemic, lockdowns, social distancing, etc.