By Kemo Cham
Awareness about the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic is high among Sierra Leoneans, a survey on preparedness among the public has revealed.
The survey which was conducted by a newly established local research firm randomly sampled 203 adults who live in the country to measure perception, opinion and behavior towards preparedness for response to the pandemic.
Over three-fourths of those sampled, representing 78%, said that they knew how and where to report a suspected case, according to the report of the survey done by the Sanusi Research Center.
Some 72% say they are getting the information they need to deal with the virus which is codenamed Civid-19.
According to the findings, 33% say they were somewhat prepared to deal with the virus, while 22% say they were extremely prepared, 17% very prepared, 17% not so prepared, and 8% not at all prepared.
A fourth question in the survey asked the respondents about their level of satisfaction with the measures been put in place by the government. Some 61% say they were somewhat satisfied, while 17% were very satisfied and 16% neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. Only 6% say they are somewhat dissatisfied.
The survey was conducted between March 18 and 24, 2020. Eighty-three of the respondents responded via an online platform, while 120 answered the questions by filling papers presented to them by the researchers.
Abu Bakarr Jalloh, Chief Executive Officer of Sanusi Research Center, said while the survey isn't widely represented, given the small samples involved, it offers an idea about the state of preparedness and set the base for further actions.
According to the report, 61% of the respondents live in Western Urban and 28% in Western Rural. Only 6% and 5% come from Kono and Kambia districts, respectively. The data therefore did not capture the opinion, perception and behavior of people who live in many other district towns and villages and who might feel less prepared to deal with the Coronavirus, the authors of the study observed.
The authors also recognized that the accuracy of the data was vulnerable to problems associated with surveys, such as misunderstanding the questions.
Jalloh however said there is something to be gained from the study.
“We now know at least, for example, large majority of the population in the capital city are getting the information they need to deal with the Coronavirus. We still have the opportunity to reach out to more people in district towns and villages to find out how their opinion and perception differ from people in Freetown,” he told Politico.
“These findings will help authorities to evaluate how effective are measures being put in place. For example, they reveal that sensitization efforts of authorities on how and where to report cases of Coronavirus is paying dividend. Secondly, the findings laid the foundation for further research on the perception, opinion and behavior of the population towards the COVID-19. Also, to study correlations, the results are presented in such a way that they can be compared to other research that measure preparedness of the Coronavirus,” Jalloh added.
The report was published a day before the Sierra Leone government declared a state of emergency in response to the viral pandemic which has affected nearly 200 countries.
Sierra Leone became the last country in West Africa to record a case of the virus.
President Julius Maada Bio confirmed the news in an emergency press conference at State House. He revealed that the index case, which he described as “imported”, is a 37-year old man who traveled from France via Brussels Airlines and arrived in the country on March 16, when he was placed in quarantine.
The man only showed signs and symptoms on the day he was up for discharge from quarantine when he was subjected to test.
The man has been admitted for treatment, the president added.
The government had imposed several measures geared towards keeping the virus out of the country, including the banning of all international flights and closure of all land borders with its neighbors Guinea and Liberia, both of which have recorded cases.
Copyright © 2020 Politico Online
