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Zambia COVID-19 response, No. 3: Risk Communication & Community Engagement (RCCE) sub-committee - Social listening report, 17-23 April 2020

Countries
Zambia
Sources
Govt. Zambia
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Publication date

Highlights

This report presents the results of social listening across a variety of platforms in Zambia by those in the RCCE sector in the week ending 23 April 2020. Among the contents are the results of three separate digital polls in Zambia which give an insight into the current levels of knowledge, attitudes and behaviours. Highlights for this week’s report include:

  • Face masks were a major point of discussion across all platforms, including with regards to their affordability, effectiveness, re-use and the value of home-made versions.

  • A U-Report SMS poll found just over a half of respondents knew about calling 909 in the case of symptoms, but more than a third still thought best practice was to go immediately to a medical facility.

  • In the same poll, more than a third of respondents said a mixture of garlic and lemon was an effective Covid-19 treatment.

  • The results of a separate poll by ZAZU are also highlighted below. Key findings include that those outside Lusaka aren’t taking the virus as seriously as those in Lusaka. Nearly a third of overall respondents are hungry for information on how to stay safe, though the recognition that everyone can be infected and levels of knowledge of the main symptoms seems to be high. Nearly 9/10 know that you can pass on the virus before / without showing symptoms yourself.

  • A third poll reported below by GeoPoll of 12 sub-Saharan countries found Zambians were among the most concerned about Covid-19. 68% said they did not know anyone who had been tested, and 96% said they had taken steps to protect themselves. 71% said they were in some form of self-quarantine; limiting travel and visits to people outside their household.

The report has been divided into sections below, and contains a full annex of Covid-19 media stories from the week.