Serge Mumbu, general manager of the market research firm Target took part this Friday, May 8, 2020, in the program "Stop covid-19" by Julie Sefu on the television channel B-One. For half an hour, only one subject was discussed on the set, the perception of the seriousness of the coronavirus in the DRC, a survey conducted from April 6 to 12. Serge Mumbu revealed the results of this study and the firm's recommendations for better management of this disease.

The results of this survey revealed that 58% of Congolese do not consider Covid-19 to be a serious disease. It is largely due to the absence of sick and dead people around the respondents. These Congolese also considered that this disease is the one that attacks the well-to-do social class because they are used to taking airplanes and, according to the same respondents, its dangerousness is amplified by the media, explains the number one of Target in this program. The coronavirus is commonplace in rural areas. Only in the cities is the disease considered real: "In rural areas, the tendency to trivialize is very high compared to the urban aspect.

But women are a little more aware than men and older people take more precautions against the pandemic," reveals Serge Mumbu in this program. He also mentioned the 39% of Congolese who believe in the seriousness of this disease. One of the reasons they believe this is global business paralysis. The firm has also issued recommendations for better awareness of the disease. Its Director General advocates proximity communication to reverse the negative curve.

Serge Mumbu wants a two-tiered communication, that is to say, one that takes into account all social classes. Among the richest people, the messages of various campaigns to fight the pandemic are understood, and hygiene rules are generally internalized. In contrast to the low-income populations forced to work daily to survive.

The first thing to do is to break the myth about the disease, says Serge Mumbu. And this will only be easier if it is done in the language that people understand best, their local language, and by people they know and trust in their immediate environment (neighborhood chief, religious leader, association leader). We must not trivialize or exaggerate the impact of Covid-19 in the DRC, but we must insist much more on prevention methods because prevention is better than cure, concluded Serge Mumbu.

Follow the entire program by clicking on this YouTube link.

Thursday, May 14, 2020 - 14:05