Improving the Agency and Equity of Marginalised Communities in the COVID-19 Crisis

This advocacy brief is based on a study conducted in 2021 under the Approaches in Complex and Challenging Environments for Sustainable Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Rights (SRHR) (ACCESS) program. It explores the equity and relative agency of selected marginalized communities in Lebanon, Mozambique, and Uganda, with consideration for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic 2020-2021. Data were gathered through a literature review and 20 qualitative interviews with representatives of several marginalized communities, including sex workers, transgender people, men who have sex with men, lesbian, bisexual, queer, and intersex people, people living with HIV, people living with a disability, and adolescent girls and young women.

This brief is a summary of the key findings, and recommendations for humanitarian and development actors on how to better address the barriers to marginalized people realizing their power, equity, and agency, and challenges across the humanitarian/development nexus.