Photos and narratives from 38 participants in Malawi and South Africa from the 3-year-long Life Maps journey that detailed the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, water and sanitation, treatment access and more.
The exhibition was launched via webinar on the 27th of June where ITPC explained the programme and participants shared their stories.
Webinar Launch: hear from some of the participants
How Life Maps Started
The Life Maps Project was started in 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The original Citizen Science budget included focus group discussions in South Africa and Malawi but when the life maps project started in November 2020 we couldn’t travel or easily meet in person, so we needed to find a new methodology for data collection that enabled recipients of care to share their experiences of accessing HIV treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We brainstormed ways to collect data safely while allowing recipients of care to share insights into how the pandemic impacted all aspects of their daily life. We recruited 10 participants in South Africa and 10 in Malawi, provided them with mobile phones, data and PPE and trained them to take photos, record video and audio.
By the end of 2021 we had collected thousands of images, videos, voice notes and text submissions, successfully documenting the impact of COVID -19 on access to healthcare services for people living with HIV both during the pandemic and as the world started getting back to normal again.
In November 2020 we couldn’t have imagined how incredibly successful this methodology would become.
What is the Life Maps Virtual Exhibition?
The exhibition features photos and narratives from 38 participants in Malawi and South Africa from the 3-year-long Life Maps journey. From mental health to the impact of poor water and sanitation, treatment access as well as the economic impact of COVID-19, the exhibition tells each of the participants stories.