Misinformation hampers fight for virus vaccine in Africa
The task of introducing a vaccine for the coronavirus faces an uphill struggle in Africa, where a flood of online misinformation is feeding on mistrust of Western medical research.
Across the continent, Facebook, WhatsApp and other platforms have been swamped by messaging that characterises vaccine research as harmful or even part of a plot to kill black people. The world's poorest continent - and the most vulnerable to the disease, given its poor health infrastructure – number of cases and death are below that of other continents, although the true figure may be considerably higher, given the lack of access to testing.
The absence of a cure has sparked a flurry of claims for purported remedies.
They range from consuming onions and ginger and drinking one's urine to a herbal formula touted by Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina - assertions that fly in the face of stern scientific warnings.
But it is the quest for a vaccine that has sparked particularly toxic disinformation, an investigation by AFP Fact Check has found.
A Facebook post shared thousands of times warned against a "Bill Gates" vaccine, after the billionaire pledged $250 million to fight Covid-19.
The message, circulated widely in Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Benin, falsely claimed that French doctor Didier Raoult - a maverick who promotes the malaria drug chloroquine as a possible treatment - said the vaccine "contains poison" and that "the West wants to destroy Africa".
Experts point to entrenched suspicions in Africa that the continent's role is to be a test bench for novel drugs.
"There is a long history of mistrust," Keymanthri Moodley, director of the Centre for Medical Ethics and Law at South Africa's Stellenbosch University, told AFP.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has flagged earning public trust as an urgent health challenge and warned of an "infodemic" - a deluge of information, including misinformation on social media - that is hampering the Covid-19 response.
The body says concerns that Africa could be abused as a vaccine testing ground are unfounded.
"I would really reassure people that the clinical trials currently ongoing on the continent respect international standards and follow the same protocol as other developed countries," Richard Mihigo, the WHO's Programme Area Manager for Immunisation and Vaccine Development in Africa, told AFP.
Sara Cooper, senior scientist at the South African Medical Research Council, said misinformation had to be tackled by targeting underlying sentiment. She said ethical research led by African scientists rather than by "top-down" foreign programmes could "go a long way in rebuilding community trust and reducing resistance". – Nampa/AFP
Across the continent, Facebook, WhatsApp and other platforms have been swamped by messaging that characterises vaccine research as harmful or even part of a plot to kill black people. The world's poorest continent - and the most vulnerable to the disease, given its poor health infrastructure – number of cases and death are below that of other continents, although the true figure may be considerably higher, given the lack of access to testing.
The absence of a cure has sparked a flurry of claims for purported remedies.
They range from consuming onions and ginger and drinking one's urine to a herbal formula touted by Madagascar President Andry Rajoelina - assertions that fly in the face of stern scientific warnings.
But it is the quest for a vaccine that has sparked particularly toxic disinformation, an investigation by AFP Fact Check has found.
A Facebook post shared thousands of times warned against a "Bill Gates" vaccine, after the billionaire pledged $250 million to fight Covid-19.
The message, circulated widely in Nigeria, Burkina Faso and Benin, falsely claimed that French doctor Didier Raoult - a maverick who promotes the malaria drug chloroquine as a possible treatment - said the vaccine "contains poison" and that "the West wants to destroy Africa".
Experts point to entrenched suspicions in Africa that the continent's role is to be a test bench for novel drugs.
"There is a long history of mistrust," Keymanthri Moodley, director of the Centre for Medical Ethics and Law at South Africa's Stellenbosch University, told AFP.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has flagged earning public trust as an urgent health challenge and warned of an "infodemic" - a deluge of information, including misinformation on social media - that is hampering the Covid-19 response.
The body says concerns that Africa could be abused as a vaccine testing ground are unfounded.
"I would really reassure people that the clinical trials currently ongoing on the continent respect international standards and follow the same protocol as other developed countries," Richard Mihigo, the WHO's Programme Area Manager for Immunisation and Vaccine Development in Africa, told AFP.
Sara Cooper, senior scientist at the South African Medical Research Council, said misinformation had to be tackled by targeting underlying sentiment. She said ethical research led by African scientists rather than by "top-down" foreign programmes could "go a long way in rebuilding community trust and reducing resistance". – Nampa/AFP
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