Coronavirus-19 in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Public Views, Attitudes, and Beliefs in an Unaffected Area: The Case of the City of Mbujimayi

Abstract

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is rapidly spreading across the world. In Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), 11 out of 26 provinces have been affected on 19 June 2020. The purpose of this study was to assess the public views, attitudes and beliefs related to the COVID-19 pandemic among the population of an unaffected city.Methods: This is a descriptive observational study conducted in an unaffected city using a questionnaire. Findings: A total of 769 people participated. The average age was 36 ±14 years. The sex ratio (male: female) was 1.6. The majority of respondents (97%) is aware of the existence of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is well informed about the signs of the disease, its severity and barrier measures, however few of them have adopted the change in habit and behavior in respect of the barrier measures. Lack of water for handwashing is the most common difficulty in complying with barrier measures (71%). The COVID-19 is considered as an artificial virus designed to reduce the world population by 26%, God’s punishment (22%). Only 36% of the participants are in favor of vaccination against COVID-19. Vaccine is, a western conspiracy to spread COVID-19 in Africa (38%), testing it on Africans (35%), sterilize Africans’ people (12%).Conclusions: Cities not yet affected by COVID-19 in DRC are aware of the existence of the disease, but insufficiently prepared to deal with it. It is important to increase awareness on barrier measures, combating false information, and improving regular water supply for regular handwashing.

Knowledge, attitudes and practices among the population, towards COVID-19 in the Lubumbashi city (DR Congo): An online cross-sectional survey

“…These observations make it possible to know both the groups of people requiring additional awareness and the tools to be used to improve their level of knowledge. The proportion of people who reported knowing COVID-19 in this study is comparable to that observed in RD Congo, among ISTM students in Lubumbashi (91.6%) [6], the workers in the private pharmacies in Kinshasa (100%) [4], as well as the general population in Mbujimayi city (97.0%) [19], and Gbado-Lie city (91.5%) [18]. Such a level of knowledge of COVID-19 among population, has also been reported in other countries as well [7,8,14,16], and it can be explained with the popularity that this disease has gained by the speed of its spread and its socioeconomic impact across several countries [63].…”

“…To date, several works have already been carried out in this direction, in several countries around the world [2,8,[13][14][15][16][17]. In DR Congo, currently four studies have already been carried out on the KAPs especially among (i) workers in private pharmacies, in the commune of Kintambo in Kinshasa [4]; (ii) among students of the Higher Institute of Medical Techniques (from French, Institut Supérieure des Techniques Médicales, abbreviated ISTM) in Lubumbashi [6]; (iii) among the general population in Gbado-Lite city [18]; and (iv) general population in Mbujimayi city [19]. No such study has been carried out among the general population in Haut-Katanga province, and even less in the city of Lubumbashi.…”

Association of country-wide coronavirus mortality with demographics, testing, lockdowns, and public wearing of masks (Update August 4, 2020)

“…In a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo not yet affected by the pandemic at the time of a survey conducted from April 17 to May 11, 61% of respondents were aware of the value of wearing a face mask, 27% reported wearing a face mask since the pandemic began, and 65% felt that wearing a face mask was difficult. 94…”