Providing legal and policy advice during the Covid-19 pandemic

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, the Oxford Policy Fellowship (OPF) has worked to provide government partners in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with vital support as they respond to the pandemic and develop long-term recovery plans. In our latest Story of Change, we outline how we have collaborated with government partners through these challenging times. 

The Story of Change showcases how we have contributed to different country responses to the pandemic across a range of sectors including health, environment, budget support, finance and education amongst others. Here are a few examples of the impact of OPF Fellows, taken from the Story of Change:

• Designed programmes addressing both Covid-19 related illnesses and non-Covid-19 related illnesses at the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone.
• Successfully negotiated grants of $US 360 million to implement various health, educational and economic elements of the Ugandan Covid-19 Preparedness and Response Plan.
• Developing protocols for safe burials of patients dying from suspected or confirmed Covid-19 infection in Liberia.
• Providing the legal framework of Djibouti’s Covid-19 Emergency and Solidarity Fund.

Our Oxford Policy Fellow served as an indispensable resource by providing seamless strategic and legal guidance to projects that were constantly forced to adapt to the challenges of Covid. The expertise of the Fellow meant that we could change direction and design novel approaches with the knowledge that they were on a firm legal footing.

Yvonne Aki-Sawyer, Mayor of Freetown, Sierra Leone