The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a severe economic contraction in many developing countries, especially those in Africa. COVID-19 has exposed and exacerbated inequalities between countries just as it has within countries, leaving the most vulnerable groups further behind. To effectively counter the consequences of the pandemic, further international and national efforts are needed, including coordinated policy actions and reforms, creating an enabling policy environment.
In the context of Africa, there has been an alarming emergence of new variants. The recent research study conducted in nine Sub-Saharan African cities* highlights how low trust in central governments is leading to low trust in vaccines; and how women are more likely to refuse to get vaccinated than their male counterparts - a big issue since women are more likely to be exposed while taking care of children, the elderly, and their families.
Opened by Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences of UNESCO, the online discussion "Measuring attitudes & perceptions on the impact of COVID-19 in Sub-Saharan African cities: an urban dialogue", held on 12 March 2021, emphasized the central role of data, such as the results of surveys, which contribute to an informed policymaking process to address the crisis. By making these facts and figures available, local governments can design customized policy responses.
With the aim of looking at how research and data could play a vital role in the COVID-19 response and recovery processes, local city officials gathered to discuss how data and key policy recommendations arising from the research study can be translated into concrete results-based policies and interventions. Contributing to the discussion were Dr Jack Jedwab, Chair of the COVID-19 Social Impacts Network; Dr Kudzai Masunda, Acting Director of Health Services, City of Harare, Zimbabwe; and Mr Bheki Sibeko, Head of Social Development Cluster, City of Johannesburg, South Africa.
One year into the pandemic, we are continuing to face a health crisis, a social crisis, and an economic crisis. Even if we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, we need to be really careful. We still need to assess what the impact has been and how we address the issues.
In many of the cities covered by the study, one of the elements that was analyzed is how to encourage people to get vaccinated. The high frequency of negative news about vaccines has a countereffect and tends to discourage and worry people. As in many countries across the world, there is a clear need for a sustained campaign to reassure the population and trigger an increase in uptake. The collective effort from civil societies, communities, and business sectors is also very important to ensure that the messaging is not just coming from health officials. And the side effects of vaccines always need to be put in context to ensure that people can take well informed decisions.
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* This initiative is based on a research study conducted by Metropolis Canada and the Canadian COVID-19 Social Impacts Network, in partnership with UNESCO, in nine Sub-Saharan African cities: Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; Dakar, Senegal; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Harare, Zimbabwe; Johannesburg, South Africa; Kampala, Uganda; Libreville, Gabon; Maputo, Mozambique; and Nairobi, Kenya.
It is part of UNESCO's efforts to upscale its anti-racism and anti-discrimination programme. Together with Member States, UNESCO is currently developing a roadmap that includes a scanning project to strengthen institutional and legal frameworks against racism and discriminations, affirmative actions in public and private sectors and anti-biases training that fight stereotypes and promote positive role models.
- Download the research study
Launched on 11 December 2020, the study aims to identify key issues, indicators, and socio-demographics in hopes of generating evidence-based policy responses addressing the socioeconomic dimensions of the COVID-19 crisis. This report explores the most salient societal issues, such as public trust in institutions, access to services, and social status, the most widely reported form of discrimination.