A new Afrobarometer survey in Zambia shows that most citizens approve of the government’s performance in managing the response to COVID-19.
But majorities also think that resources for the pandemic response were lost to government corruption and that the government cannot be trusted to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are safe.
Most citizens say the pandemic does not justify postponing elections or limiting political campaigning, a finding that is particularly important ahead of the country’s general election scheduled for 12 August.
The study shows that despite mistrust of the government’s ability to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are safe, more than half of Zambians say they are likely to try to get vaccinated when a vaccine becomes available.
Zambia has recorded more than 82,000 cases of COVID-19 to date, with 1,124 deaths as of 8 March.