Technical Papers

This research is driven by a desire to better understand social policy formulation and execution in three East African countries: Ethiopia, Sudan, and Djibouti. This case study examines gender equitable and transformational social policy in Ethiopia, as well as the implications for post-COVID-19 policy responses. The case focuses on four aspects of Ethiopian social policy: […]

Mauritius is a small island developing state (SIDS) in the Indian Ocean off the East coast of Africa. It has a plural society entirely composed of the descendants of migrants from France, India, Africa, Madagascar and China. The island gained independence from Britain on 12 March 1968 and became a republic on 12 March 1992. […]

While the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on South African women has been highlighted, it is the depth and breadth of social policies that existed prior to the pandemic and the extent to which they addressed gender that aggravated or ameliorated the plight of women along racial, ethnic and geographical contours. In order to […]

The research was undertaken to establish the trajectories of social policies in the education; health; work and employment; and water, sanitation and hygiene in Uganda. This is because there is a dearth of empirical evidence on these policy domains since colonial time, yet these are the sectors which have significant effects on social development. Unfortunately, […]

This study discusses social policy dynamics in Zambia in the colonial and post-colonial periods and how to rethink social policy to attain gender equitable and transformative social and economic development. The report focuses on five social policy instruments: education, work and employment, health care, social assistance and agrarian reform. During Zambia’s colonial period, functional social […]

This report presents a comparative examination of the evolution of social policies in Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique. The study aimed to analyse how social policies have been conceptualised and framed from colonial times to the present and how these policies have influenced the pursuit of gender equality, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The […]

This is part of the research output of the GETSPA project to examine the trajectories, processes and outcomes of education, health, employment and water, sanitation and hygiene social policies in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda. The goal of this research was to recommend post-COVID-19 gender equitable and transformative social policy in the said sectors. Methodologically, […]

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) compelled governments to implement strict measures to curb the rapid transmission of the deadly virus. These preliminary epidemiological measures were composed mainly of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as stringent national lockdowns; the closure of workplaces, schools and all public places; a ban on local, regional and […]

This report examined the culture of social policymaking in the history of Tanzania (Mainland) to establish how policies have integrated gender-equitable and transformative elements. The report was developed as part of the Gender Equitable and Transformative Social Policy Approaches in Africa (GETSPA) research project (2020- 2022).