Fighting inequalities and changing lives at home and abroad

Across the world, and in our own city of Manchester, inequalities exist across food, healthcare, infrastructure and resources. Our researchers are dedicated to exploring the roots of inequality and co-creating sustainable solutions across its many aspects, from poverty to social justice, living conditions and equality in the workplace.

We bring together the best minds in medicine, business, law, social sciences and the arts to listen, collaborate and help to change the lives of communities at home and worldwide. Our approach involves actively engaging with and listening to communities, working together to instigate positive transformations in the lives of people both locally and globally. 

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UKRI award The University of Manchester £1.7m to investigate gendered energy inequalities

The £1.7m award will fund an ambitious 5-year programme, led by Dr Saska Petrova, Professor in Human Geography at The University of Manchester. GENERATE aims to offer original insights into the social, spatial, and political inequalities that drive energy-related injustices, and the struggles linked to the growth of new low-carbon energy production in disadvantaged regions and communities. Supported by UK Research and Innovation via the Horizon Europe guarantee scheme, GENERATE is a European Research Council Consolidator grant, and will involve research across six countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia) in Southeast Europe.  The project will undertake in-depth case studies involving range of rural and urban locations that have experienced rapid investment in renewable energy and housing retrofits. The knowledge gained from this region will be extended and applied globally, through a series of collaborations with practitioner and academic organisations in Asia, Africa, North America and Europe. 

Transformational gift set to redefine global development research for the 21st century at University of Manchester

The Global Development Institute (GDI) at The University of Manchester has received a further transformational donation of £2 million from the Rory and Elizabeth Brooks Foundation.

African Cities Research Consortium starts new research pilot projects

The African Cities Research Consortium (ACRC) based at The University of Manchester is commencing pilot action research projects in four African cities: Nairobi, Kenya; Harare, Zimbabwe; Maiduguri, Nigeria and Mogadishu, Somalia.

Peace in Sudan depends on justice for the Darfur genocide

I asked the pilot to deviate from our approved flight path and go low over Darfur. It was 2003 and I was the United Nations Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator in Sudan investigating reports of violence. What I saw was a genocide unfolding on my watch.

New research funding for sustainable forest transitions announced

Reversing forest loss is essential for climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. We are pleased to announce that Dr Johan Oldekop has been awarded a grant of €2 million to investigate sustainable forest transitions from the European Research Council.

Manchester revealed as a ‘Northern Humanitarian Powerhouse’

Greater Manchester humanitarian organisations benefited the lives of more than five million of the world’s most vulnerable people in 2020, it has been revealed.

Tackling inequality is key for post-Covid economic recovery say experts

Safeguarding people's living standards, re-evaluating the role of key workers in society, and reducing racial and social inequality are crucial for the UK’s economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Healthcare workers are still coming under attack during the coronavirus pandemic

  From balconies, windows and door fronts around the world, citizens are applauding healthcare workers on the frontline of the COVID-19 response for their commitment and care. Despite these visible shows of support, all is not well – because in addition to the risks of exposure to a largely invisible enemy, these medics also face threats of various kinds in the workplace. We usually think of attacks on healthcare as something that happens in the context of war or political repression. Such attacks have been reported in Yemen, Afghanistan, Syria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. In these cases, the attackers are usually aiming to gain a military advantage or to deny healthcare to enemy forces and civilian populations. But what the COVID-19 pandemic illustrates is that attacks against healthcare can – and do – happen everywhere. Since the start of the pandemic, different forms of aggression have combined to interfere with the professional and personal lives of healthcare workers. As well as exposing them, in some cases, to real physical danger it also increases psychological pressure at a time when many are already under a huge amount of stress. Intimidation Silencing is a key example. Healthcare workers in China, Thailand, Turkey and Pakistan have faced intimidation or arrest for casting doubt on government policies or for suggesting that casualty numbers and infection rates have been minimised or obscured. In the UK and US staff also report being gagged for criticising the lack of proper personal protective equipment made available to them. This lack of transparency about the response and the difficult working conditions can be partially attributed to the politicisation of the COVID-19 response. In a contentious political environment, observers and authorities are more likely to interpret criticism in a partisan way. Authorities are judged by the success of their actions, often in comparison to other governments. Xenophobia, nationalism and competition for resources are byproducts of this politicisation. The need to demonstrate governmental competence is visible in the one-upmanship on victories over the virus and public spats and controversies. For example, Germany accused the US of “modern piracy”, after much needed face masks were diverted while in transit. The US denied any wrongdoing. Death threats and assaults There is public pressure too. Anthony Fauci, a key figure in the US national response and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has received death threats accusing him of contradicting the president and politicising the response. He now requires a personal security detail. The fact that healthcare workers and scientists around the world are discouraged from speaking freely directly hampers the effectiveness of the response on a local, national and international level. Healthcare and other key workers in New Zealand, Australia and the UK have all been subjected to deliberate coughing and spitting. This constitutes a deliberate weaponisation of COVID-19. People have also been physically assaulted and mugged due to their association with the COVID-19 response and assumed access to medicine and food. In the UK, spitting and other assaults on emergency workers were already happening regularly and were addressed in the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act. With the COVID-19 lockdown, widespread uncertainty and economic repercussions have contributed to a rise in domestic violence. In one case in Italy, a man is alleged to have killed his partner, who was a medical student. He falsely accused her of exposing him to COVID-19. Medics have been experiencing stigma and ostracism and been verbally assaulted or evicted by fearful landlords in the UK, US, India, Myanmar and the Philippines. These incidents contribute to safety issues and economic hardship at a time of profound personal and professional pressure. In general, healthcare workers are subject to severe psychological stress, raising concerns about their mental wellbeing. One Italian nurse tragically took her own life – an act that colleagues attributed to the stresses of her work caring for COVID-19 patients. Recently, fact checkers had to rectify social media reports claiming that an Italian doctor had been charged with killing over 3,000 COVID-19 patients. Disinformation campaigns have resulted in a backlash against suspected patients. In Ukraine, residents attacked busses with evacuees from China after a hoax email falsely attributed to the Ministry of Health suggested some carried the virus. The virus highlights preexisting pressures and violence against healthcare workers. In many cases, it has aggravated them. Like the spread of the virus, COVID-19-related violence has proliferated around the globe, so far largely out of sight and unchecked. It is in all our interests that such violence is closely monitored, addressed and – where possible – prevented. Only then will the people responsible for keeping us alive be able to work without fear for their safety.   Sophie Roborgh, Presidential Academic Fellow in Medical Humanitarianism, University of Manchester and Larissa Fast, Senior Lecturer, Humanitarian Studies, University of Manchester. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The University of Manchester has a growing list of scientists and academics who are either working on aspects of the COVID-19 outbreak or can make a valuable contribution to the national discourse. Please checkout our COVID-19 expert media group.  Our people are also working together and with partners from across society to understand coronavirus (COVID-19) and its wide-ranging impacts on our lives. Make a gift today to support the University’s response to coronavirus or visit the University’s volunteering website to lend a helping hand.

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