Abstract

In March 2020, the Oyo state government of Nigeria introduced lockdowns measures including stay-at-home orders, closure of markets and schools, and curfew to control further spread of Covid-19 in the state. Although all citizens are affected by the lockdown measures, those working in the informal sector of the economy, who own small businesses and earn daily income, are more vulnerable to the impact of these measures. The knowledge that operators in this sector have on Covid-19, their compliance, responses, and the impact of these measures on the social and economic lives of these individuals is not known. This study will provide answers to four research questions: (1) What do the operators in the informal sector know about Covid-19 and what are their sources of information about the virus? (2) How have these persons complied with Covid-19–related lockdown measures imposed by the government? (3) In what ways have they responded to the lockdown measures? (4) What are the reported social and economic effects of lockdown measures on the lives of these persons? The expected results are insights into citizens’ knowledge-compliance gaps on Covid-19, which may be used to tweak existing public enlightenment strategies to make them more responsive to the needs of this population. Data from this research will also provide useful information on the effects of lockdown measures among operators in the informal sector that will improve pandemic preparedness in this population in the future.

Principal Investigator

Ademola Ajuwon

Professor, Department of Health Promotion and Education, University of Ibadan

Bio

Ademola Johnson Ajuwon earned a bachelor of science (BSc) degree in sociology from the University of Lagos, Nigeria, in 1984, and a master of public health (MPH) and doctor of philosophy (PhD) in health promotion and education from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in 1990 and 2000, respectively. He is a professor at the Department of Health Promotion and Education, Faculty of Public Health, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, where he is currently teaching, conducting research, and supervising and mentoring young faculty. His areas of research interests are adolescent reproductive health, HIV/AIDS prevention, social media, and research ethics. Professor Ajuwon has participated in many international scholarly training programs, including being a visiting scholar at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, University of California, San Francisco, in 1997 and a postdoctoral research fellow at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA. Professor Ajuwon has published in many peer-reviewed journals, including the Bulletin of the World Health Organization; BMC Public Health; BMC Medical Ethics; Reproductive Health Matters; African Journal of Reproductive Health; Public Library of Science; and AIDS and Behavior. Professor Ajuwon is a recipient of many research grants from agencies including the Fogarty International Center.