<p>COVID-19 and the related regulations and restrictions such as market and border closures, shelter-in-place, and product bans, are likely to significantly affect trade and food security in developing countries.This project explores how the pandemic affects Kenyan small-scale cross border traders’ businesses, food prices as well as trade informality, and corruption.It&nbsp;also looks at how resilience varies across traders' characteristics such as gender, trader size, and industry.</p>

<p>&nbsp; The coronavirus pandemic threatens unprecedented economic disruptions in Africa, where poverty and limited government resources for mounting effective responses may compound its negative effects (CGD 2020).This study will examine the pandemic’s impacts on small businesses in Rwanda, which play a unique role in the economy, comprising—as in many low-income countries—the vast majority of businesses and contributing more than 60% of employment and GDP (World Bank 2011).The pandemic jeopardizes not only the livelihoods of these firms but the wider economy through channels ranging from disruptions to inputs to negative shocks to demand and the health and earnings of employees.</p>

<p>The current COVID-19 pandemic requires rapid, evidence-based action to contain the spread of the virus and mitigate its direct and indirect negative consequences.Data for wider decision-making in poor and remote areas is largely missing, putting evidence constraints to potential development aid responses.In our project, we illustrate how a cooperative approach between researchers and non-governmental organizations, combined with high-frequency digitized panel data collection, can help to tackle some of these challenges.The focus lies on the early detection of disease outbreaks in clusters combined with simultaneous containment responses.We present results from an initiative that started in Pakistan.</p>