Responding to COVID-19 in African Countries

Ipsos conducted public opinion polls on behalf of the Partnership for Evidence-Based Response to COVID-19 (PERC), a consortium of global public health organisations and private sector firms. PERC was created in March 2020 with the objective of providing African Union Member States with real-time information and guidance to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on the continent.

The polling was conducted in 18 African Union Member States to understand the public’s knowledge, risk perception, attitudes, access to information, reactions, behaviours and practices related to COVID-19.

Key findings in Ghana:

1. Public Health and Social Measures (PHSMs) support and adherence: In general, the majority of respondents support PHSMs, but support is lower for public gathering measures and even lower for measures that restrict economic activity.
2. Risk perceptions and information: Perceptions of personal risk of COVID 19 and severity of the disease are markedly low, according to survey results, despite the size of the outbreak. In addition, there is substantial misinformation, including narratives around anti foreign sentiment.
3. Essential health services: A high proportion of Ghanaian respondents who needed health care delayed or skipped a visit (43%) or medicines (34%) during the COVID 19 crisis, and those with chronic conditions are particularly affected. Those who have reported a missed health facility visit are primarily concerned about the risk of catching COVID at the health facility.
4. Economic burden and food security: A majority of Ghanaian respondents (69%) report having lost income, and many are facing difficulty accessing food. Only one in three (36%) surveyed had received aid from the government in the previous month, as the government stopped all assistance programs in June.

This Executive Summary is supplemented by the Data Deck with the full set of data.

Access first wave findings