By Yunus S Saliu
Six months ago, 2nd March, 2021 to be précised, the first batch of the Covid-19 vaccine known as AstraZeneca was received at the Banjul International Airport. This first tranche of the Covid-19 AstraZeneca vaccine was 36,000 doses shipped by UNICEF to the country through Covax Facility, and it added The Gambia to the list of African countries like Angola, Ghana, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire to have received the vaccine at early stage.
Following the receipt of the first tranche of the AstraZeneca vaccine, in June, the Gambian government, through a press release, approved and authorized the use of Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine in the country as approved by the WHO. And on 5th July, it was rolled out in different vaccination center. Also, 20th July, the country again received 151,000 doses of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) vaccine under the Covax facility.
In spite of arrival of all these vaccines, The Gambia like any other countries, where all activities is been ravaged by the Coronavirus pandemic, still grappling with inability to have everyone take the vaccine to curb the spread, contact and to protect its population from the pandemic.
Meanwhile, as destination Gambia set to resume tourism session for 2021 winter tourism season, the Gambia Ministry of Tourism and Culture in August 2021 instructed ‘all operators within the Tourism, Culture and Leisure industry to have their staff fully vaccinated.”
According to the Ministry instructions, “tour and hotel operators, bars and restaurants, casinos and nightclubs, swimming pools, foreign exchange bureaux, taxi-cab operators, salon and barbershops, gymnasia, fruit vendors, boutiques and guest houses and lodges, Tourist guides, bird watchers, boat owners, guest houses, camps and lodges, travel agent operators , beauty and massage palours, mini/supermarkets, museums and art galleries, juice pressers, horse riders, equipment hirers, upcountry tourism facilities, cultural and historic sites and tourist markets within the Tourism Development Area (TDA) are strictly instructed to comply with this directive.”
And any operators who fail to heed to this directive according to the Ministry ‘shall be rendered unsafe to partake in the upcoming tourism season.’
As awareness campaign on Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy intensifies in The Gambia, among other efforts and steps taken by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture in The Gambia to fight the Coronavirus pandemic, which has rendered tourism, culture and creative sector dead since its discovery in the country included the recently launched three music videos to raise awareness of the people on the important of the Covid-19 vaccine and as well dissuade denial of its existing and mis/disinformation about the pandemic and the vaccine.
Denial, Misinformation and Disinformation
Out of population of over 2 million (as per worldometer) it is just only 10.3% that are fully vaccinated. Factor responsible for this as identified is due to misinformation, disinformation and denial circulating through social media, a concern for everyone.
Negative information from social media is thwarting efforts of government and other relevant organizations from convincing people to take the vaccine.
“I’m not going to take the vaccine, I heard of different things about it,” Bubaccar Jallow, a 40-yeaer-old man said. He said he’s very sure that he cannot be infected so preferred not taking the vaccine to avoid getting sick.
Aminata Ceesay, 25, working class young lady and a housewife said she will not take the vaccine too. She said about two weeks ago her husband got vaccinated but later fell sick. Aminata cannot establish the root cause of the sickness as she said “I only know that when he got back home he complained of general weakness of the body and sick for about three days. And he was not sick before taking the vaccine.”
Despite the husband is okay since then, Aminata still adamant that she will not take the jab because she had listened to some information from the WhatsApp group messages which are about the vaccines as shared by her friends.
However, Ebrima Danso took the jab because “it is mandatory for me hence I’m traveling out of the country.” Fortunately, after taking the injection he said nothing happen to him. “I didn’t suffer any effect as regarding to some negative news circulating about the vaccine.”
“In my own view, this vaccine is effective and it is good for everyone. I noticed that after taken it, I felt better than days before visiting the vaccination center. I can say since I took it I become healthier than ever,” Mohammed Mustapha, a bricklayer in his early 30s affirmed.
Nyima Fofana, a fulltime housewife, in her own opinion advised government to intensify on campaign to dissuade some of the unhealthy information circulating about the vaccine but she refused to disclose if she is vaccinated or not.
Awareness campaign on Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy
Hence Tourism, Culture and Creative Sector is one of the hardest hit, the National Centre for Arts and Culture (NCAC) in partnership with the ECOWAS and UNESCO kicked start awareness raising campaign with Gambia artists on Covid-19 prevention, and against vaccine hesitancy under a theme: Keep Safe by Masking and Stay Alive By Getting Vaccinated.
Supporting this campaign, the Gambia Minister of Tourism and Culture, Honorable Hamat NK Bah, assured that the campaign will help offset this dire situation and alleviate the suffering and help further create material to promote the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 and also promote prevention measures like wearing of masks among other precautionary measures.
To intensify on the awareness campaign on Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy, three music videos were launched as supported by the UNESCO-ECOWAS with different mounted billboards in different strategic areas across the country as campaign materials; while on daily basis the NCAC sends out different messages to individual through the national GSM Companies to raise people’s awareness and campaign on Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy.
Also, the campaign braces up with the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and institutions under its tutelage in conjunction with the Ministry of Health in 2020 prepared mandatory guidelines and regulations for the opening of the tourism industry in The Gambia.
Effect of Covid-19 on Culture and Creative Sector
The impact of Covid-19 on Gambia Tourism, Culture and Creative sector is enormous. However, the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic in The Gambia when the first case was discovered 17th March, 2021 sent tourism to rest and cracked culture and creative sector.
Culture and creative sector was quickly affected as museums, film shows, book launching, galleries, studios, festivals lost revenues and audiences, festivals and performances all stopped with immediate effect because of precautionary measures introduced to control the pandemic while as well contracts put on hold.
Hassoum Ceesay, Director General of National Centre for Arts and Culture moaned that the pandemic seriously affected the tourism; culture and creative sector, as the sector derives its audience from the crowd in “form of exhibitions, museums, galleries, crowd, music, nightclubs, festivals, sites, and so on. And because of the precautions that government takes to save its citizens from the scourge of the pandemic it means that a lot of this audience based had suffered because of the restrictions. Due to social distancing requirement and even the closure of performing venues, inability of artists to travel/tour to showcase their talents, film crews for a long time couldn’t have the opportunity to go to location or be on set. Definitely, the pandemic has seriously affected the Gambia culture and creative sector.”
“Women and youth suffered a lot in this industry as they constitute large number in the industry and you can find them in all areas as the sector is concern,” the NCAC Director General disclosed.
However, tourism sector consumes a lot of the creative sector products like museum, monument, site, gallery, which are mostly visited by tourists, and even hotel entertainment, physical concert. In fact some tourists come to The Gambia for enjoyment and entertainment offers by the creative and artist sector but with the pandemic tourists cannot visit the country to experience the culture, tradition and hospitality.
Vaccination Highlight
According to the Gambia Ministry of Health situational report of 30th– 31st August, 2021 issued number 364, of the total national target population (≥ 18 years), “10.3% are fully vaccinated (2 doses of AZ/Sinopharm or 1 dose of J&J; 11.3% received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose (AZ or J&J or Sinopharm),” as The Gambia confirmed cases stands at 9,736 with 323 Covid-19 related deaths registered.
This story was produced with support from Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), through its Mobilizing Media in the Fight Against Covid-19 in partnership with Mai-Media and The Voice newspaper