Fighting COVID-19 in The Gambia: Efforts, Challenges, and way Forward

Lowe, Mat; Ceesay, Fatou Kineh; Musa, Shuaibu Saidu; Amos, Abimbola; Lucero‐Prisno, Don Eliseo; Akpan, Edikan Friday

doi:10.2174/1874944502114010492

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…Thirty-six thousand doses of Oxford Astra-Zeneca vaccines arrived under the COVAX facility with the launch. The first contingent of vaccines was prioritized for healthcare workers, people with chronic conditions, and those 65 or older to minimize the severity of the disease if exposure occurred [ 3 ]. In April 2021, The Gambia received an $8 million funding grant from the International Development Association for “safe and effective vaccine purchase and deployment” through the Gambia COVID-19 vaccine preparedness and response project [ 4 ].…”

Section: Commentarymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Furthermore, while projects such as the IOM campaigns targeting mobile at-risk groups present a step in the right direction, the continued low vaccination rate increases the risk for virus transmission and novel, more-transmissive variant emergence. In addition, although COVID-19 vaccinations are available in The Gambia, challenges such as misconceptions about and lack of trust in COVID-19 vaccines, lack of a robust electronic database to track vaccinated individuals, limited vaccination points and staffing shortages may also be significantly affecting the efficiency of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in The Gambia [ 3 ]. Of these issues, mistrust in COVID-19 vaccines driven by misinformation may be the most important to consider and the most difficult to address [ 9 ].…”

Section: Commentarymentioning

confidence: 99%

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COVID-19 vaccinations in The Gambia: efforts, challenges, and future directions

2022

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On March 11, 2020, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic. Since the declaration, countries have implemented response measures to stop the spread of the virus, while multiple vaccines combatting the virus have also been developed. However, vaccine rollout and providing vaccine access has been very challenging in many African countries, including The Gambia. This article briefly assesses the efforts and challenges facing The Gambia´s COVID-19 vaccine rollout and implementation. The article also provides recommendations that policymakers and program implementers can use to address the low COVID-19 vaccination rate in The Gambia. It is based on a narrative review of existing literature on COVID-19 vaccination efforts and challenges in The Gambia.

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Section: Commentarymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Commentarymentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 vaccinations in The Gambia: efforts, challenges, and future directions

2022

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“…As the pandemic progressed, self-isolation for suspected and confirmed cases was introduced and the quarantine period was reduced to 10 days [37]. From July 2020, the government made the wearing of face masks compulsory in public, and introduced curfews and social distancing measures in public, including in health facilities and on public transport [39].…”

Section: Maternal Health Percentagementioning

confidence: 99%

Barriers to accessing mother, new-born and child health services in urban Gambia during COVID-19: An interview-based qualitative study

Bah¹,

Russo

2022

Preprint

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Introduction: Evidence is being consolidated that shows that the utilisation of healthcare services has declined in low-income countries (LICs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly for mother, new-born, and child health (MNCH) services. Very little is known about the effects of the pandemic on healthcare utilisation in the Gambia, one of West Africa’s least developed and least researched countries. We set out to explore the COVID-19-related factors affecting the utilisation of antenatal and immunisation services in the Gambia, with the objective of contributing to the evidence on the pandemic’s effects on health systems in the African continent, and of drawing policy lessons for future health emergencies in LICs. Methods: A qualitative methodology was used to explore patients’ and providers’ experiences of MNCH services during the pandemic in two Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the Gambia. The study was conducted in four health facilities purposively selected from among LGAs with the highest prevalence of COVID-19 cases and deaths. Thirty-one study participants were recruited from these health facilities, applying a theory-driven sampling framework, including health workers as well as female patients. Qualitative evidence was collected through theory-driven semi-structured interviews, and was recorded, translated into English, transcribed, and analysed thematically, applying a social-ecological framework. Results: In our interviews, we identified five main themes and sub-themes relating to factors that were responsible for the reduction in the uptake of antenatal and immunisation services, ranging from individual factors to interpersonal, community, institutional and policy factors. Individual factors revolved around patients’ fear of being infected in the facilities, and of being quarantined, and their anxiety about passing on infections to family members. Interpersonal factors involved the reluctance of partners and family members to seek care in the facilities, as well as perceived negligence of, the possibility of mistreatment by, and being treated with disrespect by, health workers. Community factors included misinformation within the community on the origins and consequences of COVID-19, as well as mistrust of vaccines. On the other hand, institutional factors included perceptions relating to the shortage of health workers, closures of health facilities, the general suspension of MNCH services, and the perceived lack of personal protective equipment and essential medicines. Finally, policy factors were identified in relation to a general preoccupation with the consequences of COVID-19 prevention measures, particularly in regard to the shortage of transport options and mandatory wearing of face masks. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that patients’ fears of contagion, perceptions of poor treatment in the health system, and a general anxiety around the imposing of prevention measures, might have compounded the already difficult provision of MNCH services in the Gambia, contributing to a decline in utilisation. In future emergencies, the government in the Gambia, and governments in other LICs, will need to consider the unintended consequences of epidemic control measures on the uptake of MNCH services.

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“…As the pandemic progressed, hotel quarantine was replaced with self-isolation at home for both suspected and confirmed cases for a period of 10 days [ 37 ]. From July 2020, the government made the wearing of face masks compulsory in public, and introduced curfews and social distancing measures in public, including in health facilities and on public transport [ 39 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors that influenced utilization of antenatal and immunization services in two local government areas in The Gambia during COVID-19: An interview-based qualitative study

Bah

Russo

2023

PLoS ONE

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Introduction Evidence is being consolidated that shows that the utilization of antenatal and immunization services has declined in low-income countries (LICs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Very little is known about the effects of the pandemic on antenatal and immunization service utilization in The Gambia. We set out to explore the COVID-19-related factors affecting the utilization of antenatal and immunization services in two Local Government Areas (LGAs) in The Gambia. Methods A qualitative methodology was used to explore patients’ and providers’ experiences of antenatal and immunization services during the pandemic in two LGAs in The Gambia. Thirty-one study participants were recruited from four health facilities, applying a theory-driven sampling framework, including health workers as well as female patients. Qualitative evidence was collected through theory-driven semi-structured interviews, and was recorded, translated into English, transcribed, and analysed thematically, applying a social-ecological framework. Results In our interviews, we identified themes at five different levels: individual, interpersonal, community, institutional and policy factors. Individual factors revolved around patients’ fear of being infected in the facilities, and of being quarantined, and their anxiety about passing on infections to family members. Interpersonal factors involved the reluctance of partners and family members, as well as perceived negligence and disrespect by health workers. Community factors included misinformation within the community and mistrust of vaccines. Institutional factors included the shortage of health workers, closures of health facilities, and the lack of personal protective equipment (PPEs) and essential medicines. Finally, policy factors revolved around the consequences of COVID-19 prevention measures, particularly the shortage of transport options and mandatory wearing of face masks. Conclusions Our findings suggest that patients’ fears of contagion, perceptions of poor treatment in the health system, and a general anxiety around the imposing of prevention measures, undermined the uptake of services. In future emergencies, the government in The Gambia, and governments in other LICs, will need to consider the unintended consequences of epidemic control measures on the uptake of antenatal and immunization services.

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Fighting COVID-19 in The Gambia: Efforts, Challenges, and way Forward

Cited by 3 publications

References 3 publications

COVID-19 vaccinations in The Gambia: efforts, challenges, and future directions

COVID-19 vaccinations in The Gambia: efforts, challenges, and future directions

Barriers to accessing mother, new-born and child health services in urban Gambia during COVID-19: An interview-based qualitative study

Factors that influenced utilization of antenatal and immunization services in two local government areas in The Gambia during COVID-19: An interview-based qualitative study

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