Cameroonians Approve of Pandemic Response but Dubious About Vaccines

19 September 2024
Afrobarometer (Accra)
By Wallelign S. Hassen

Only about one in four citizens say they trust the government to ensure the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

Key findings

  • Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic: o One in five Cameroonians (20%) say a member of their household lost a job, business, or primary source of income due to COVID-19, while 7% say a household member became ill with COVID-19 or tested positive for the virus.
  • Attitudes toward vaccines: o One-fifth (20%) of Cameroonians report that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19. o A majority (53%) of respondents say it is "very unlikely" (41%) or "somewhat unlikely" (12%) that they will try to get vaccinated. o Among those who say they will probably not try to get vaccinated, a majority cite concerns related to the safety of COVID-19 vaccines as their main reason. o Only about one in four Cameroonians (27%) say they trust the government to ensure the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.
  • Government response to COVID-19: o A slim majority (54%) of Cameroonians say the government has done "fairly well" or "very well" in managing the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, while 45% assess its performance as poor. o About half express satisfaction with the government's efforts to minimise disruptions to children's education (49%) and to ensure that health facilities are adequately resourced to deal with the pandemic (52%). But only 38% are satisfied with the government's provision of assistance to vulnerable households. o One in 10 Cameroonians (9%) report that their household received pandemic related assistance from the government. Most citizens say that assistance was distributed unfairly (76%) and that "some" or "a lot" of the resources intended for the COVID-19 response were lost to corruption (83%). o More than two-thirds (68%) of citizens approve of using the police or military to enforce public health mandates during a pandemic, but views are more divided when it comes to controlling media reporting (48% approval) and postponing elections (52%) in response to the pandemic.
  • Looking ahead: o A majority (56%) of Cameroonians believe that the government is prepared to deal with future public health emergencies. o Fewer than half (47%) think the government needs to invest more in preparing for future health crises.

Cameroon confirmed its first two cases of COVID-19 on 5 March 2020 (Esso, 2021). Since then, 125,242 cases have been reported, claiming 1,974 lives (World Health Organization, 2024; Worldometer, 2024).

The Cameroonian government's strategies for limiting viral transmission and the pandemic's impacts included the closure of land and air borders, protective measures such as social distancing and masking, the closure of schools and universities, and restrictions on travel and economic activities (Esso, 2021; Takoguen & Sieleunou, 2021; International Labour Organization, 2020). Cameroon has also been noted for integrating mental health care into the national response (Mviena et al., 2020). As of December 2023, 14% of the population had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (World Health Organization, 2024).

This dispatch reports on a special survey module included in the Afrobarometer Round 9 (2022) questionnaire to explore Cameroonian citizens' pandemic-related experiences and perceptions.

Survey findings show that one in five adults say they received a COVID-19 vaccination, and a majority say it's unlikely that they will. The most common reasons they cite are related to vaccine safety, and most say they don't trust the government to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are safe.

Only about one in 10 households received pandemic-related assistance from the government, and majorities think that assistance was distributed unfairly and that more than a little of the resources intended for the pandemic response were lost to corruption.

Despite these concerns, more than half of citizens approve of the government's overall performance in handling the pandemic and think the government will be at least "somewhat prepared" for the next public health emergency.

Wallelign S. Hassen Wallelign S. Hassen is a researcher at the University of Florida.

Read the original article on Afrobarometer.

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