- One in six Burkinabè (16%) said a member of their household lost a job, business, or primary source of income due to the pandemic, while 1% said a household member became ill with COVID-19 or tested positive for the virus.
- Six in 10 citizens (59%) said they had been vaccinated against COVID-19.
- Almost two-thirds (65%) of citizens said the government was doing “fairly well” or “very well” in managing the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- A majority (59%) of Burkinabè said they believe that their government is prepared to deal with future public health emergencies.
On 18 March 2020, Burkina Faso reported sub-Saharan Africa’s first coronavirus death, nine days after the country’s first two cases were confirmed (Konaté et al., 2023; Asiedu, 2020). The government took prompt measures to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus, including shutting down schools, limiting public gatherings, and closing land, rail, and air borders (Zidouemba, Kinda, & Ouedraogo, 2020). The Ministry of Health elaborated a national emergency response plan with directives for the management of COVID-19 cases in early 2020 (Konaté et al., 2023).
The latest World Health Organization (2025) counts show 22,208 COVID-19 cases and 400 deaths in Burkina Faso. As of 31 December 2023, 29% of the population had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. The pandemic also worsened living conditions by exacerbating unemployment, internal displacement, and food insecurity (Eimieho, 2022; Parisotto & Elsheikhi, 2020; Zidouemba et al., 2020).
This dispatch reports on a special survey module included in the Afrobarometer Round 9 survey to explore the pandemic-related experiences and perceptions of citizens in Burkina Faso.
The findings show that one in six Burkinabè households lost a job, business, or primary source of income due to the pandemic. One-fifth reported that their household received pandemic-related assistance from the government, but most citizens said that assistance was distributed unfairly and that resources intended for the COVID-19 response were lost to corruption.
Even so, a majority of citizens approved of the government’s performance in managing the response to the pandemic and said they think the government is prepared to deal with future public health emergencies.
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