Community feedback considered in this report was collected through information received from Community Engagement and Accountability (CEA) focal points in 24 African countries, as well as through primary data collection in DRC and Nigeria.
Red Cross and Red Crescent National Society CEA focal points were asked to share the main rumours, observation, beliefs, questions or suggestions they are hearing in their countries and to grade them according to their frequency. Focal points from the following countries provided information: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Congo-Brazzaville, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, São Tomé e Príncipe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Togo and Uganda.
Community feedback was collected during social mobilization activities in North Kivu/DRC and Lagos/Nigeria. Community comments were recorded during household visits and mass sensitization activities in North Kivu and social mobilization conducted in public places in Lagos. Information was not gathered through structured surveys, but volunteers documented comments relating to coronavirus they heard during their interactions with community members. A total of 142 community comments were recorded in Nigeria, a total of 483 in DRC.
Information included in this report was collected between 24 January and 21 March.
These highlights are not representative for the countries mentioned in the update but indicate broad trends in community perceptions of COVID-19.