Nigerians divided on COVID-19 vaccines, united in calling for aid to vulnerable families

Summary

The economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have not spared Nigeria. The country reported its first COVID-19 case in February 2020 (Federal Ministry of Health, 2020) and has subsequently suffered three distinct waves of infection, peaking in June 2020, January 2021, and August 2021 (Lain & Vishwanath, 2021).

Despite containment and public sensitisation measures coordinated by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the virus spread throughout all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The country had reported 256,573 confirmed cases and 3,144 deaths as of 20 June 2022, and had administered about 46.4 million vaccine doses to 27.4 million people (World Health Organization, 2022). 

Following a full lockdown starting on 30 March 2020, Nigeria’s economy has reopened gradually, with incremental reductions in restrictions on travel and public gatherings (International Monetary Fund, 2021). But the economic impact of COVID-19 has been severe in a country where only 4% of the poorest 40% of households had access to any form of social safety net program before the pandemic (World Bank, 2019). As Lain and Vishwanath (2021) reported, “in the later stages of the COVID-19 crisis, even though economic activities began to recover, inflation started to accelerate, eroding purchasing power, especially for food items that are crucial for consumption among the poor and vulnerable citizens.”

A new Afrobarometer survey in Nigeria shows that more than one-fourth of Nigerian households lost a primary source of income due to the pandemic, while only about one in 10 received pandemic-related assistance from the government.

While a majority of Nigerians are satisfied with the government’s overall handling of the pandemic, they are critical of the government’s assistance efforts, and most believe that COVID-19 resources have been lost due to corruption.

A majority of Nigerians remain unvaccinated against COVID-19, and about one-third of all adults say they are unlikely to accept the vaccine.

Fewer than half of citizens think their government will be ready for future health emergencies, and a majority want the government to invest more in preparation for such crises, even at the cost of other health services.

Afrobarometer surveys

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, nonpartisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. Eight rounds of surveys have been completed in up to 39 countries since 1999. Round 9 surveys (2021/2022) are currently underway. Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice.

The Afrobarometer team in Nigeria, led by NOIPolls, interviewed a nationally representative, random, stratified probability sample of 1,600 adult Nigerians between 5 and 31 March 2022.

A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-2.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Previous standard surveys were conducted in Nigeria in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2020.

Key findings

   Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic:

o Three in 100 Nigerians (3%) say a member of their household became ill with COVID-19 or tested positive for the virus, while almost three in 10 (28%) say someone in their household lost a job, business, or primary source of income due to the pandemic.

   Attitudes toward vaccines:

o Close to four in 10 Nigerians (37%) say they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.

o One-third of citizens say they are “somewhat unlikely” (10%) or “very unlikely” (22%) to try to get vaccinated.

o Citizens who say they are unlikely to get vaccinated cite a variety of reasons for their hesitancy, including that COVID-19 doesn’t exist (29%), that COVID-19 is not serious or life-threatening (18%), and that they do not trust the vaccine or are worried about fake vaccines (14%).

o Fewer than half (47%) of Nigerians say they trust the government “somewhat” or “a lot” to ensure the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.

   Government response to COVID-19:

o A majority (56%) of Nigerians say the government has done “fairly well” or “very well" in managing the response to the pandemic.

o But majorities also say they are dissatisfied with the government’s efforts to provide assistance to vulnerable households (71%), to keep disruptions of children’s education to a minimum (61%), and to ensure that health facilities are adequately resourced to deal with the pandemic (56%).

o Only 11% of Nigerians report that their household received COVID-19 relief assistance from the government, and a large majority (83%) say they believe that “some” or “a lot” of the resources intended for the COVID-19 response have been lost to corruption.

o Only half (50%) of Nigerians say the government is justified in using security forces to enforce public health mandates during a pandemic. Fewer consider it justified to postpone elections (43%) or censor media reporting (35%) in response to a public health emergency.

   Looking ahead:

o Four in 10 Nigerians (41%) think their government will not be prepared to deal with future public health emergencies.

o Six in 10 Nigerians (61%) think the government needs to invest more in preparing for future public health crises, even if it means that fewer resources are available for other health services.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on Nigerian families by weakening the country’s already embattled economy. 

While a majority of citizens are satisfied with the government's overall handling of the pandemic, they are critical of the government’s efforts to provide pandemic-related assistance, and most believe that resources meant for fighting the pandemic were lost due to corruption.

A majority of Nigerians remain unvaccinated against COVID-19. Fewer than half trust the government to ensure that the vaccines are safe, but many vaccine-hesitant citizens also doubt that COVID-19 exists or represents a serious threat.

These findings point to opportunities for government action when it comes to assistance, public sensitisation on COVID-19 and vaccines, and citizens’ call for greater investment in preparations for future health emergencies.

Sunday Joseph Duntoye is the head of data analytics/senior survey methodologist at NOIPolls, the Afrobarometer national partner in Abuja, Nigeria. Email: sduntoye@noi- polls.com.

Raphael Mbaegbu is the head of social research at NOIPolls. Email: rmbaegbu@noi- polls.com.

Afrobarometer, a nonprofit corporation with headquarters in Ghana, is a pan-African, non- partisan research network. Regional coordination of national partners in about 35 countries is provided by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR) in South Africa, and the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. Michigan State University (MSU) and the University of Cape Town (UCT) provide technical support to the network.

Financial support for Afrobarometer Round 9 has been provided by Sweden via the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) via the U.S. Institute of Peace, the National Endowment for Democracy, the European Union Delegation to the African Union, Freedom House, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda, GIZ, and Humanity United.

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Afrobarometer Dispatch No. 527 | 21 June 2022