Lockdowns were announced in the country at the onset of the covid-19 pandemic last year inorder to curtail the spread of the corona virus, a recent study conducted by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (CMUL) showed how these lockdowns affected the public.
Findings from the study were disclosed On Thursday October 14, 2021, in Abuja, at a dissemination meeting to present findings from the Data4COVID19 Africa challenge, Nigeria Project.
TheFact Nigeria recalled that people who made daily income were stranded during the lockdowns while some trending videos trending in October last year showed palliatives donated by CACOVID for the masses being hoarded in warehouses.
The Data4COVID19 Africa Challenge is a data challenge hosted by l’Agence française de
développement (AFD), Expertise France, and The GovLab for projects that use data to address COVID-19 and its consequences across Africa.
The Nigerian project was titled ‘Understanding facilitators and barriers to compliance with non-pharmaceutical COVID-19 preventive measures in Nigeria’.
Findings from the project would provide scientific evidence to inform public health action for Nigeria’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The study was aimed at analysing existing conventional and non-conventional data on COVID-19 to understand the social, economic, and political factors that influence knowledge and perception of COVID-19 among Nigerians, and how these knowledge and perceptions shape population behaviour and response to COVID-19 safety protocols.
The study utilised non-traditional data sets from six distinct online and telephone-based surveys that were conducted during different phases of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria.
Participants in 5 out of 6 datasets were randomly selected across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Quantitative and qualitative data were triangulated for indepth analysis and results computed.
The duo (NCDC and CUML) stated that key findings from the study suggested overall lower perception of risk of COVID-19 in the second wave compared to the first and this was associated with increased risky
behaviour.
The study also showed that risk perception was lowest in the southern parts of the country compared to the north during both waves with the southwest geopolitical zone having the lowest perception of risk for COVID-19.
It was gathered from the study that gender, marital status, educational status, employment status and geopolitical zone of residence were factors that influenced perception of risk of COVID-19 in Nigeria during the first and second waves.
In examining challenges that Nigerians faced during the lockdown, the study revealed that most Nigerians were likely to run out of food, money and medical prescriptions if a lockdown exceeds seven days.
In addition to presenting the study results, the dissemination meeting provided an opportunity for critical stakeholders to discuss how the important findings can enable
relevant authorities navigate the COVID-19 response.
The NCDC on its part, reaffirmed its commitement to utilise recommendations from the project to improve COVID-19 response and strengthen health security for the future.
This, they said will include strengthening risk communication and community engagement across the states of the country by leveraging trusted voices; engaging in activities that will improve public trust which in turn could improve compliance to public health and social measures.
