Hesistancy to Covid-19 Vaccine Uptake in Sub-Saharan Africa: a Systematic Review

Abstract

Abstract Background Information: COVID-19 vaccine coverage in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is behind the rest of the

world, given that the region is home to nearly 1.2 billion people which contribute to 15% of the global popula- tion. The hesitance to the COVID-19 vaccine in SSA has posed a great challenge to the public health. Therefore,

achieving high levels of COVID-19 vaccination in SSA is paramount to containing the pandemic globally. There- fore, this systemic review was carried out to synthesize existing literature on key factors that derailed the uptake of

COVID-19 vaccine in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Materials and Methods: The study searched and accessed articles from open- research journal through the fol- lowing databases; Pub-med, Research gate, Scopus, Google Scholar, Academia, and African Index Medicus for

studies published from May 1, 2020, to April, 2025, examining hesitancy towards uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine in Sub-Saharan Africa. Results: A total of 30 articles met the eligibility criteria and were included in this review. Majority of the studies included in this review were from pubmed, google scholar and Scopus. The reviewed research studies were from

Ethipopia, Botswana, Cameroun, Cote D’Ivoire, DR Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, So- malia, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The major reasons for vaccine hesitancy were;

vaccine safety, cultural beliefs and side effects, lack of trust for pharmaceutical industries and misinformation or conflicting information from the media. Factors associated with positive attitudes towards the vaccine included being male, having a higher level of education, and fear of contracting the virus. Conclusion: The review found that there is a combination of misinformation, cultural beliefs, public trust, and concerns on vaccine safety and efficacy as key drivers to hesitancy to COVID-19 vaccine uptake in SSA. Therefore, there is the need for context-specific interventions through tailored communication with culturally and linguistic acceptance among the target population.