A disconnected policy network: The UK's response to the Sierra Leone Ebola epidemic

The COVID-19 response system and collective social service provision. Strategic network dimensions and proximity considerations

“…We build on the idea that the role of the different socio-economic actors within the response network and their interactions will shape their contribution to mitigate the effects and overcome an unexpected health outbreak (Hossain and Kuti 2010 ). Although literature in disasters and emergency recently delved into the role of the attributes of response networks (Kapucu et al 2011 , 2020 ; Guo and Kapucu 2015 ; Georgalakis 2020 ; Mingxuan et al 2020 ), certain debates remain open, such as the rationales underlying the existence of sub-network structures or the relative weight of organizational similitudes in the creation of linkages (Kim et al 2019 ).…”

“…Being aware that transdisciplinary research represents a cornerstone for understanding and solving systemic problems in crisis (Farmaki and Christou 2019 ), both network approach to emergency (Kapucu et al 2011 , 2020 ; Guo and Kapucu 2015 ; Georgalakis 2020 ; Mingxuan et al 2020 ) and social services (Akehurst 2008 ; Bendle and Patterson 2010 ; Sanzo et al 2015 ; Proença et al 2018 ) are adopted. In line with methodological calls (Scott and Laws 2010 ), social network analysis-SNA tools (see Borgatti et al 2018 ) are applied to analyze traces of organizations' relationships found in traditional and digital regional media using content analysis.…”

“… 1 Valuable research has approached the COVID-19 crisis through the lens of the Ebola crisis using SNA (Georgalakis 2020 ). …”

When silence goes viral, Africa sneezes! A perspective on Africa's subdued research response to COVID-19 and a call for local scientific evidence

“…and (2) How does the African research community account for the lack of scientific opinions, viewpoints, and scanning and horizon scoping reviews which can even be accomplished under lockdowns? In fact, Africa still relies on external experts to tackle cholera and the Ebola virus ( Ahmed et al, 2011 ; Georgalakis, 2020 ; Halabi et al, 2020 ). For example, a study using social network analysis of the Sierra Leone Ebola epidemic showed that United Kingdom biomedical scientists dominated the response network while Africans were almost entirely absent ( Georgalakis, 2020 ).…”

“…In fact, Africa still relies on external experts to tackle cholera and the Ebola virus ( Ahmed et al, 2011 ; Georgalakis, 2020 ; Halabi et al, 2020 ). For example, a study using social network analysis of the Sierra Leone Ebola epidemic showed that United Kingdom biomedical scientists dominated the response network while Africans were almost entirely absent ( Georgalakis, 2020 ). Similar cases have been reported for cholera outbreaks in African countries such as Zimbabwe ( Ahmed et al, 2011 ).…”