COVID Observatories

The COVID Observatories and Indigenous Peoples

Completed

Title: The COVID Observatories: Monitoring the interaction of pandemics, climate risks, and food systems among the world’s most disadvantaged communities (2020-2023)

This project aims to monitor the interactions between the COVID-19 pandemic, climate risks, and food systems among Indigenous Peoples across 14 countries. It involves establishing observatories at both Indigenous community and policy-making levels to enhance understanding of the emergence of COVID-19 and assess its impacts on food systems. Eranga contributed to this study as a senior researcher, leading the Synthesis Working Group and overseeing the regional team in Sri Lanka. The project brings together Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers, senior and early- to mid-career scholars, community members, and international organizations such as the FAO Indigenous Peoples Unit and the UNESCO Small Island and Indigenous Knowledge Section, under the leadership of Prof. James Ford. This ongoing transdisciplinary network was later named the Indigenous Peoples Observatory Network (IPON).

People

Investigators

Galappaththi E.K (PI)

Student: Indunil Dharmasiri, Chrishma Perera, Sithuni Mimasha

Website: IPON

Outcomes

Country profiles,

Bezerra, J.C. et al. Galappaththi, E.K., Perera, C.D., Jayasekara, S.M., et al. Dharmasiri, I.P., et al. (2025) Addressing Food Insecurity Through Community Kitchens During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case Study from the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Urban Science. 9 (37): 1-20.
Pickering, K., Galappaththi, E.K., Ford. J., et al. (2024) Fiji’s policy response to COVID-19 and the integration of Indigenous voices. Environmental Science & Policy, 158: 103791.
Chicmana-Zapata, V., Arotoma-Rojas, I., Anza-Ramírez, C., Ford, J., Galappaththi, E.K., et al. *Perera, C.D., *Dharmasiri, I.P., et al. (2024) Justice implications of health and food security policies for Indigenous peoples facing COVID-19: a qualitative study and policy analysis in Peru. Health Policy and Planning, 39 (4): ii36-ii50.
Zavaleta-Cortijo, C., Ford, J.D., Galappaththi, E.K., et al. *Perera, C.D., *Dharmasiri, I.P., et al. (2023) Indigenous knowledge, community resilience, and health emergency preparedness. The Lancet Planetary Health, 7 (8): E641-E643.
Galappaththi, E.K., *Perera, C.D., *Dharmasiri, I.P., et al. (2023) Policy responses to COVID-19 in Sri Lanka and the consideration of Indigenous Peoples. Environmental Science and Policy, 144: 110-123.
Pickering, K., Galappaththi, E.K., et al. (2023) Indigenous Peoples and the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic scoping review. Environmental Research Letters, 18: 033001.
Ford, J.F., Zavaleta-Cortijo, C., Ainembabazi, T., Anza-Ramirez, C., Arotoma-Rojas, I., Bezerra, J., Chicmana-Zapata, V., Galappaththi, E.K., et al. (2022) Interactions between climate and COVID-19. The Lancet Planetary Health, 6 (10): e825-e833.