Understanding Community Response to the Fight against COVID-19: Lessons for Preparedness for Future Health Emergences in Sokoto State, Northwestern Nigeria

The article examines the Sokoto people’s misconception of the COVID-19 prevention and control measures and analysis how the misconception informed the people’s response to the measures. This is to address the problem for future health emergencies in Sokoto State, and northwestern Nigeria as a whole. In conducting this research, data was qualitatively obtained through in-depth interviews with key informants and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs). The FGDs and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) were conducted in three Local Government Areas (LGAs) across the three Senatorial Zones in Sokoto State. The participants in the FGDs and KIIs included religious and traditional leaders in the selected LGAs. The selection of participants was technically made based on their closeness and direct contact with the larger community. On the whole, 48 participants were engaged in FGDs, while 6 key informants were engaged in in-depth interviews. In all, 12 engagements were carried out; 6 FGDs and 6 KIIs. Primary data collected through direct contact with the selected participants indicate that Sokoto people like many others in northwestern states of Nigeria misconceived COVID-19 prevention and control measures as anti-Islam and Hausa culture. This religious-cum-cultural motivated misconception was the greatest challenge to the activities of all the State COVID-19 Task Forces in the region.