Peer-to-peer communication in East and West Africa may help promote COVID-19 policy compliance

Containing the COVID-19 pandemic requires the public’s cooperation in adopting health behaviours such as mask wearing and physical distancing. An online survey conducted in April 2020 shows that respondents in Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda had accurate information about COVID-19 but underestimated their peers’ support for COVID-related health policies. However, a majority of respondents were willing to encourage others to practice physical distancing, suggesting that peer-to-peer communication could be used to increase compliance with public health policies.