Covid-19 (prevention and vaccination)

Here I present two of the Covid-19 pandemic control programs I worked on.

In 2020 and 2021, I worked for the West African Health Organisation (WAHO, the health agency of ECOWAS), with funding from AFD. WAHO asked for a communication strategy, plans and tools in three languages for the 15 ECOWAS countries. In 2023 and 2024, I designed the communication strategy for AFROVAX, a program to strengthen immunization implemented by the French Red Cross in Niger, Guinea and the Comoros, with funding from AFD.

For both programs, we carried out a socio-anthropological survey of knowledge and perceptions of Covid-19: in Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone for WAHO, and in Niger for the French Red Cross.

The main findings of the first survey were that the population very largely knew that Covid-19 is caused by a virus, but was generally unaware that the virus can be passed on by people with no symptoms. People understood the point of preventive measures but rarely complied with them, because they often felt they were not exposed to the disease.

The second survey found a very favorable opinion of Covid-19 vaccines and acceptance of the messages promoting vaccination, but the great majority of respondents believed that the disease was not present in Africa, that only sick people transmit the virus, and that they never came across anyone who was sick.

Based on the findings of these surveys, I proposed communication strategies and designed awareness-raising tools. I also trained field workers in five countries for WAHO and in three countries for the French Red Cross.

The articles listed under “Publications” present the survey findings and the lines of communication proposed on the basis of those findings.