Around the world, governments have taken unprecedented measures to fight COVID-19. Efforts to evaluate such measures have not yet consistently looked at the governance and accountability of the response ─ e.g. who are the people, groups, and institutions making decisions? Through which mechanism(s) and in which space(s)? Based on which information? These aspects are crucial for ensuring acceptable, appropriate, and sustainable responses.

The issue is of particular importance in countries whose COVID-19 context is marked by:

• economic, political, and social realities very different from the countries with an early experience of COVID-19 (e.g. fragile political settlements, informal economies, many vulnerable groups), but also by
• experiences in managing other deadly epidemics (e.g. Ebola, HIV/AIDS) that can be of interest to all.

Using a unique network of in-country expertise in health systems and governance via core partners and communities of practice, we seek to produce an interactive public dataset that explores:

• the socio-political environment (e.g. state of emergency);
• the actors/institutions involved; and
• the nature of the measures.