‘One has to manage and it’s who you know’: social support and coping strategies among urban poor residents during COVID-19

This chapter reviews how in the absence of formal power structures and voice in slum settlements in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, informal settlement dwellers drew on social relationships and informal networks with others in their communities such as neighbours, landlords, local shopkeepers, and slum leaders for their survival during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. Many also built on connections with NGOs to access health and other related services. These both stable and temporal networks supported informal settlement residents by providing cash or food support, receiving goods on credit, or assisted families with access to relief materials, health services and even income earning opportunities. This illustrates the critical importance of informal relationships which are based on trust, providing a system of solidarity and crucial support for poor communities which were badly affected, helping to mitigate the effects of the pandemic in the absence of formal long-term State support.