- As of early 2021, seven in 10 Sudanese (71%) said they were “somewhat” or “very” well informed about the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to combat it.
- One in 10 citizens (11%) said they or a member of their family became ill with COVID19, and 21% reported losing a job, a business, or a primary source of income because of the pandemic.
- More than three-fourths (78%) of Sudanese said lockdown restrictions were necessary, even though 66% said they found it difficult to comply with them.
- Two-thirds (65%) of Sudanese said the government was doing “fairly badly” or “very badly" in managing the response to the pandemic.
- Almost nine in 10 citizens (86%) said they believe that prayer is more effective than a vaccine in preventing COVID-19 infection, including 67% who think prayer is “much more effective.”
- A majority (57%) of citizens said they were worried that Sudanese politicians might use the pandemic as an opportunity to increase their power and authority.
- Fewer than half (43%) said the government should invest more in preparing to respond to health emergencies like COVID-19 if it means fewer resources would be available for other health services.
Shortly after Sudan recorded its first COVID-19 case on 13 March 2020, the government announced a raft of containment measures, including restrictions on visas and air travel and a lockdown closing schools and universities, shops, markets, restaurants, and other commercial activities (SUNA, 2020; Al-Ghad, 2020).
With more than half of the population living below the poverty line (World Bank, 2020), pandemic-related restrictions represented a significant threat to people’s livelihoods and were not consistently followed (Assal, 2020; Anadolu Agency, 2021).
As of 6 February 2022, the country had reported 58,874 COVID-19 cases and 3,588 related deaths and had administered more than 3.7 million vaccine doses (World Health Organization, 2022).
According to findings from an Afrobarometer survey in early 2021, a majority of Sudanese considered lockdown restrictions necessary to limit the spread of COVID-19, in spite of the toll they took on the economy and people’s livelihoods. Two out of three citizens say they found it difficult to comply with lockdown restrictions. A similar majority say the government is doing “fairly badly” or “very badly” in managing the response to the pandemic.
Few Sudanese trust their government to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines are safe, and only half say they are likely to try to get vaccinated.
