Frimpong, L.K.Commodore, T.S.Okyere, S.A.et al.2024-06-062024-06-062021doi:10.1111/disa.12508http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh:8080/handle/123456789/42183Research ArticleFreetown, Sierra Leone, is confronted with health risks that are compounded by rapid, unplanned urbanisation and weak capacities of local government institutions. Addressing them implies a shared responsibility between government and non-state actors. In low-income areas, the role of community-based organisations (CBOs) in combating health disasters is well-recognised. Yet, empirical evidence on how they have utilised their networks and coordinated community-level strategies in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic is scant. This paper, based on a qualitative study in two informal settlements in Freetown employs actor-network theory to understand how CBOs problematize COVID-19 as a health risk, interact with other entities, and the subsequent tensions that arise. The findings show that community vulnerabilities and past experiences of health disasters informed CBOs’ perception of COVID-19 as a communal emergency. In response, they coordinated sensitisation and mobilisation programmes by relying on a network of actors to support COVID-19 risk reduction strategies. Nonetheless, misunderstandings among them caused friction.enactor-network theoryhealth disasterlocal responsesArticle