From De-Emphasizing Public Health and Social Measures for Covid-19 to Vaccine Acceptance: An Analysis of Two Tanzanian Administration’s Responses to Covid-19

Abstract

Recent global public health literature on politics and pandemics has explored the diversity of African political leaders’ responses to COVID-19. In this article, analysis is done of two Tanzanian administrations’ responses to COVID-19 to show how they departed from each other. For instance, the late President John Magufuli’s administration promoted ‘Afrocentric’ medical knowledge, endogenous initiatives, and spiritual prowess while de-emphasizing ‘Western’ biomedical and public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. His successor, President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s administration, however, favoured and promoted public health and social interventions and authorized the importation and use of COVID-19 vaccines in Tanzania. Drawing on document analysis and in-depth interviews, argument is built on the concept of ‘Contested Truths’ and geopolitics of power and knowledge to argue that the approach taken by President Magufuli’s administration in curbing the spread of COVID-19 appeared as progressive because it articulated a decolonial turn, and gave people moral and practical orientation to navigate a highly uncertain time in their lives. However, it lacked the robustness for controlling the pandemic as it drew on a non-evidence-based approach. The intervention of President Hassan’s administration, instead, drew on evidence-based medicine and public health measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, as championed by global North epistemologies. This article emphasizes the significance of considering diverse COVID-19 responses and the various aspirations these responses serve within a nation and internationally.