According to data from epidemiological surveillance systems, Malawi (a low-income country in southeastern Africa) has experienced a limited outbreak of SARS-CoV-2. In this presentation, I will use data from a 4-round panel study initiated shortly after the first cases of COVID-19 were recorded in Malawi. I will use these data to assess the completeness of epidemiological data on transmission of the novel coronavirus. Then, I will explore how local communities modified their behaviors and social contacts to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
Stéphane Helleringer is a demographer with interests in a) the development of new methods to measure demographic trends in countries with limited data, and b) measuring the impact of epidemics on population health and mortality. He has conducted several trials of innovative approaches to collecting demographic data (e.g., computer vision). He has also worked extensively on the impact of HIV/AIDS, Polio, and Ebola in several African countries. Helleringer is currently the principal investigator of a multi-country study on adolescent and adult mortality in Malawi, Uganda, Guinea-Bissau, and Bangladesh, funded by the US National Institutes of Health. He recently initiated a panel study of behaviors and mortality during the COVID–19 pandemic in Malawi.