Pan-African research network Afrobarometer says the majority of Zimbabweans bemoaned the unfair distribution of COVID-19 relief funds by the government.
According to the latest Afrobarometer survey most adults reported that their households lost their primary sources of income during the pandemic.
“Most Zimbabweans approve of the government’s overall management of the COVID-19 pandemic, although few report receiving pandemic-related assistance and a majority believe that assistance was distributed unfairly.
“More than one-third of adults report that their household lost a primary source of income during the pandemic, but far fewer say they benefited from government assistance. While most citizens say they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, about one in seven say they are unlikely to try to get vaccinated,” the survey states
The survey states that some respondents confirmed that they had lost their jobs and businesses as a result of the pandemic.
“Almost two in 10 Zimbabweans (18%) say a member of their household became ill with COVID-19 or tested positive for the virus. Twice as many (38%) say someone in their household lost a job, business, or primary source of income due to the pandemic
“More than seven in 10 citizens (72%) say have been vaccinated against COVID-19. One in 10 say they are “somewhat likely” (5%) or “very likely” (5%) to get vaccinated, while one in seven say it’s “somewhat unlikely” (4%) or “very unlikely” (11%) that they will try to get vaccinated.
“Vaccine-hesitant respondents cite a wide variety of reasons they are unlikely to get vaccinated, most commonly related to mistrust of available vaccines. Three-fourths (75%) of citizens say the government has done “fairly well” or “very well” in managing the response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Afrobarometer.
The network added “Zimbabweans overwhelmingly (92%) report that they did not receive COVID-19 relief assistance from the government. Two-thirds (67%) of citizens say that the distribution of government support to citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic was “somewhat unfair” or “very unfair.”
The Government responded well to the Covid-19 pandemic by sourcing vaccines which have seen the country inoculating more than four million people with twelve million doses having been administered to date.
