Paper details

Paper authors	Andrew Seal
In panel on	Novel and innovative approaches to advance health research in humanitarian crises.
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

Background:
Innovative data collection systems within ongoing humanitarian programs can be crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic and other similar outbreaks in humanitarian settings due to the multiple challenges in collecting data, especially in low income and conflict-affected countries. Somalia reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19 in March 2020 and has experienced fluctuating infection levels since then.

Objectives:
This study aimed to assess the impact of COVID-19 on beneficiaries of a long-term cash transfer programme in Somalia and assess the utility of a syndromic score case definition and rapid mortality surveillance tool.

Methods:
Five rounds of telephone interviews were conducted from June 2020 – April 2021 with 1,046 -1,565 households participating in a cash transfer programme. The incidence of COVID-19 symptoms and all-cause mortality were recorded. Carers of the deceased were interviewed a second time using a rapid verbal autopsy questionnaire to determine symptoms preceding death. Data was recorded on mobile devices and analysed using COVID Rapid Mortality Surveillance (CRMS) software and R.

Results:
The syndromic score case definition identified suspected symptomatic cases that were initially confined to urban areas but then spread widely throughout Somalia. During the first wave the peak syndromic case rate (285 cases/million people/day) was substantially higher than the average laboratory confirmed case rate reported by WHO for the same period. Suspected COVID-19 deaths peaked at 14.3 deaths/million people/day, several weeks after the syndromic case rate. Crude and under-five death rates did not cross emergency humanitarian thresholds.

Conclusion:
Use of telephone interviews to collect data on the evolution of COVID-19 outbreaks is a useful additional approach that can complement laboratory testing and mortality data from the health system. Further work to validate the syndromic score case definition and CRMS is justified

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