Mozambique: Mozambicans Praise Government's Covid-19 Response but Claim Unfair Distribution of Aid

29 August 2024
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Asafika Mpako and Stephen Ndoma

Majority say the government should invest more in preparations for future health emergencies.

Key findings

  • Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: o One-fifth of Mozambicans (20%) say someone in their household lost a job, business, or primary source of income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, while 6% say a member of their household became ill with or tested positive for the virus.
  • Attitudes toward vaccines: o Among Mozambicans who say they are not likely to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the most common reasons are related to doubts about vaccine safety. o About half (49%) of Mozambicans say they trust the government "somewhat" or "a lot" to ensure the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.
  • Government response to COVID-19: o More than six in 10 citizens (68%) say the government has done "fairly well" or "very well" in managing the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. o Majorities are also satisfied with the government's efforts to ensure that health facilities were adequately resourced to deal with the pandemic (61%), to provide relief to vulnerable households (58%), and to ensure that disruptions to children's education were kept to a minimum (55%). o But only 34% think COVID-19 relief assistance was distributed fairly, and half (51%) believe that "some" or "a lot" of the resources intended for the COVID-19 response were lost to corruption. o A slim majority (52%) of Mozambicans approve of using the police or military to enforce public health mandates during a pandemic, but only minorities approve of censoring media reporting (37%) and postponing elections (37%) in response to a public health crisis.
  • Looking ahead: o Six in 10 Mozambicans (60%) think the government is "somewhat prepared" or "very prepared" to deal with future public health emergencies. o But about the same proportion (58%) say the government needs to invest more in such preparations, even if it means fewer resources are available for other health services.

Mozambique confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on 22 March 2020 (World Health Organization Mozambique, 2020). Taking early measures to contain the virus, President Filipe Nyusi declared a state of emergency a week later, placing unprecedented restrictions on movement, schooling, and tourism (Political Analysis, 2020; ReliefWeb, 2020; Africanews, 2020).

In August 2021, as the number of cases surged and ebbed in waves, the government launched one of Africa's most successful vaccination campaigns (Club of Mozambique, 2021; Vieira, 2021; VillageReach, 2022; World Health Organization Mozambique, 2022). Mozambique also became only the second country on the continent to vaccinate adolescents aged 12-17 (U.S. Embassy Mozambique, 2022; Club of Mozambique, 2022), pioneering innovative approaches such as using vaccine caravans that converted into entertainment spots with booming sound systems and huge video screens to engage and educate a young crowd (Desmon, 2022). The World Health Organization (2024) reports that as of December 2023, 73% of the total population had received at least one dose of COVID 19 vaccine.

But despite great success in some areas, others left much to be desired. Prolonged school closures compromised the welfare of children, especially girls, whose vulnerability to forced marriages and early pregnancy increased considerably (Amnesty International, 2023). Between January and April 2020, Mozambique's Child Helpline registered 16,244 calls, a two fold increase compared to the same period in 2019. Many of the calls were about cases of child marriage, abuse and neglect, and school dropouts (UNICEF, 2020).

In conflict-afflicted Cabo Delgado, children faced heightened risks due to the compounded effects of displacement, violence and insecurity, poverty, climate change, and COVID-19 (UNICEF Mozambique, 2020; UNICEF USA, 2021).

Overall, Mozambique has recorded 233,843 cases of COVID-19, with 2,252 deaths (World Health Organization, 2024).

A 2022 Afrobarometer survey in Mozambique shows that one-fifth of citizens say their household lost a primary source of income because of the pandemic. Most Mozambicans approve of the government's COVID-19 response, but many say pandemic-related aid relief was distributed unfairly and resources intended for the pandemic response were lost to corruption.

A majority of respondents report having been vaccinated against COVID-19, but among those who have not, most cite vaccine safety as the main reason for their reluctance.

A slim majority of Mozambicans endorse the use of the police or military to enforce public health mandates during a pandemic, but only minorities think censoring the media or postponing elections are acceptable measures. And while a majority of citizens believe their government will be prepared to deal with future public health emergencies, they also support investing more in preparations for such crises, even at the cost of other health services.

Asafika Mpako Asafika is the communications coordinator for Southern Africa

Stephen Ndoma Stephen is the assistant project manager for Southern Africa

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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