Read this fascinating paper from @PJGCampbell, @eric_herring + others on how COVID is hitting Somaliland & Somalia

Tl;dr- People can't afford a socially distant life and so are risking infection in countries with little available healthcare

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23779497.2020.1824584

(1/5)

Almost everyone (85% +) was worried about either the health effects of COVID-19 or losing income because of it

Unsurprising because there is (almost) no social safety net nor much of a healthcare system

People therefore face a choice between health & wealth ....

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... and are choosing to break lockdown/curfew rules in order to work and survive

It's not because they don't understand the risks - more than 98% are washing their hands more often and 85% are avoiding crowds

It is because they can't afford not to

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Only 25% in Hargeisa can afford/access major healthcare

And the poor state of the health system means that even if they can access it, most (75%) feel they could not trust it if they faced a life threatening illness

(4/5)

Finally, and perhaps the most interesting finding:

*Everyone* (i.e. 100 %) are in favour of social distancing restrictions. Odd to think we might be less supportive of restrictions in the UK

P.S. Reported Somaliland results in thread for sake of ease

(5/5)