SSHAP West Africa Hub: Health Emergency Cycles and Social Context in West Africa

The SSHAP West Africa Hub brings together academics, humanitarian responders and public health practitioners primarily working in Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone to explore socio-political and historical issues shaping crises, with the intention of enhancing national and humanitarian programmes seeking to reach vulnerable groups.

In this landscape paper, we aim to summarise the contextual factors that shape health emergencies and responses to health emergencies in the West Africa region (termed ‘health emergency cycles’). Drawing on examples from Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone, we explore the interrelationship of disease outbreaks with socio-cultural, economic and political contexts, and we address issues of response governance and local capacity within national health systems. We demonstrate how different emergencies are interconnected and related to long-term stressors in the region, arguing for a less siloed approach to response. Whilst we recognise the vast heterogeneity in the region, we draw on thematic commonalities that speak to wider regional issues. We conclude with some social science priorities for responding to crises.