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While the COVID-19 pandemic and associated mitigation measures have had a devastating impact on children and youth (CY), they were rarely consulted or their views incorporated into the approaches to address the pandemic.The main objective of this review is to present the voices and opinions of CY relative to the impact of the first year of the pandemic, on their lives and the lives of their families, and to present their recommendations as a call to action to adults and governments.The origin of this review was an iterative consultation process involving an international collective of Child Health professionals specialising in Child Rights. The recruitment of articles began by soliciting articles written or recommended by members of our international Child Health professional organisation. We then developed search strategies which were conducted in two phases, with the assistance of medical librarians. We limited our search to articles that sought the direct perspectives and experiences of CY in regard to the first year of COVID-19, and published between February 2020 and February 2021.Two phases of searches identified 8131 studies for screening. Following removal of irrelevant literature, 28 studies were included for the final analysis.CY articulate the detrimental impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to their health, education, protection and basic needs, clearly and intelligently. They make specific recommendations to address the issues they elucidate. They state a need for accurate information that is targeted for them. They ask for recognition as stakeholders and social actors in the pandemic response planning and implementation processes.We assert that the recognition of CY as stakeholders in response planning for COVID-19 and other emerging crises such as climate change, must become a statutory requirement for local, national and international policy-makers. Evidence of CY participation should specifically be reported to and tracked by the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Background: As the search for effective treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection continues, the public opinion around the potential use of chloroquine (CQ) in treating COVID-19 remains mixed. Aim: To examine opinion and uptake of CQ for treating COVID-19 in the sub-Saharan African (SSA) region. Setting: This study was conducted through an online survey software titled SurveyMonkey. Methods: Anonymous online survey of 1829 SSA countries was conducted during the lockdown period using Facebook, WhatsApp and authors’ networks. Opinion and uptake of CQ for COVID-19 treatment were assessed using multivariate analyses. Results: About 14% of respondents believed that CQ could treat COVID-19 and of which, 3.2% took CQ for COVID-19 treatment. Multivariate analyses revealed that respondents from Central (adjusted odds ratios [aOR]: 2.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.43, 4.43) and West Africa (aOR: 1.79, 95% CI 1.15, 2.88) had higher odds of believing that CQ could treat COVID-19. Respondents from East Africa reported higher odds for uptake of CQ for COVID-19 than Central, Western and Southern Africans. Knowledge of the disease and compliance with the public health advice were associated with both belief and uptake of CQ for COVID-19 treatment. Conclusion: Central and West African respondents were more likely to believe in CQ as a treatment for COVID-19 whilst the uptake of the medication during the pandemic was higher amongst East Africans. Future intervention discouraging the unsupervised use of CQ should target respondents from Central, West and East African regions.

# Background Globally, the conspiracy theory claiming 5G technology can spread the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is making the rounds on social media and this could have a significant effect in tackling the spread of the pandemic. This study investigated the impact of the myth that 5G technology is linked to COVID-19 pandemic among sub-Saharan Africans (SSA). # Methods A cross-sectional survey was administered on 2032 participants between April 18 - May 16, 2020, corresponding to the mandatory lockdown period in some SSA countries (April 18 - May 16, 2020). Participants were recruited via Facebook, WhatsApp, and authors’ emails. The outcome measure was whether respondent believed that 5G technology was the cause of the coronavirus outbreak or not. Multiple logistic regression analyses using backward stepwise were used to examine the associated factors. # Results About 7.3% of the participants believed that 5G technology was behind the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants from Central Africa reported the highest proportion (14.4%) while the lowest proportion (5.4%) was among those from Southern Africa. After adjusting for potential covariates in the multivariate analysis, Central Africans (adjusted odds ratio, AOR 2.12; 95% confidence interval, CI=1.20-3.75), females (AOR 1.86; 95% CI=1.20-2.84) and those who were unemployed at the time of this study (AOR 1.91; 95% CI=1.08-3.36) were more likely to believe in the myth that 5G technology was linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants who felt that COVID-19 pandemic will not continue in their country were 1.59 times (95% CI=1.04-2.45) more likely to associate the 5G technology with COVID-19 compared to those who thought that the disease will remain after the lockdown. Participants who were younger were more likely to believe in the 5G technology myth but the association between level of education and belief that 5G technology was associated with COVID-19 which was significant in the univariate analysis (unadjusted odds ratio OR 1.69; 95CI **=1.02, 2.80**), was nullified after adjustments for all potential confounders. # Conclusions This study found that 7.4% of adult participants from SSA held the belief that 5G technology was linked to COVID-19 pandemic. Public health interventions including health education strategies to address the myth that 5G was linked COVID-19 pandemic in SSA are needed and such intervention should target participants who do not believe that COVID-19 pandemic will continue in their country, females, those that are unemployed and those from Central African countries in order to minimize further spread of the disease in the region.

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic and associated high mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, there is panic among healthcare workers because of the higher risk of being infected. This study compared knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of COVID-19 among healthcare workers (HCWs) and non-healthcare workers (non-HCWs) and examined common associated factors. A web-based cross-sectional study of 1,871 respondents (430 HCWs and 1,441 non-HCWs) was conducted while lockdown measures were in place in 4 regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Data were obtained using a validated self-administered questionnaire via an online survey platform. Mean scores were calculated and summarized using a t test for both groups. Multivariate linear regression analysis was conducted to assess the unadjusted (B) and adjusted coefficients (β) with a confidence interval (CI) of 95%. The mean scores were slightly higher among HCWs than non-HCWs, but not statistically significant. Being worried about contracting COVID-19 was the only common factor associated with knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions between the 2 groups. Knowledge of COVID-19 was associated with attitudes and perceptions between the 2 groups. Other significant associated factors were: the sub-Saharan Africa region, ages 29 to 38 years (β = .32; 95% CI, 0.04 to 0.60 for knowledge among non-HCWs), education (β = -.43; 95% CI, -0.81 to -0.04; and β = -.95; 95% CI, -1.69 to -0.22, for knowledge among non-HCWs and HCWs, respectively), practice of self-isolation (β = .71; 95% CI, 0.41 to 1.02 for attitude among non-HCWs and HCWs (β = .97; 95% CI, 0.45 to 1.49), and home quarantine due to COVID-19, in both groups. Policymakers and healthcare providers should consider these factors when targeting interventions during COVID-19 and other future pandemics.

Misinformation about coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a significant threat to global public health because it can inadvertently exacerbate public health challenges by promoting spread of the disease. This study used a convenience sampling technique to examine factors associated with misinformation about COVID-19 in sub-Saharan Africa using an online cross-sectional survey. A link to the online self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 1,969 participants through social media platforms and the authors' email networks. Four false statements-informed by results from a pilot study-were included in the survey. The participants' responses were classified as "Agree," "Neutral," and "Disagree." A multinomial logistic regression was used to examine associated factors. Among those who responded to the survey, 19.3% believed that COVID-19 was designed to reduce world population, 22.2% thought the ability to hold your breath for 10 seconds meant that you do not have COVID-19, 27.8% believed drinking hot water flushes down the virus, and 13.9% thought that COVID-19 had little effect on Blacks compared with Whites. An average of 33.7% were unsure whether the 4 false statements were true. Multivariate analysis revealed that those who thought COVID-19 was unlikely to continue in their countries reported higher odds of believing in these 4 false statements. Other significant factors associated with belief in misinformation were age (older adults), employment status (unemployed), gender (female), education (bachelor's degree), and knowledge about the main clinical symptoms of COVID-19. Strategies to reduce the spread of false information about COVID-19 and other future pandemics should target these subpopulations, especially those with limited education. This will also enhance compliance with public health measures to reduce spread of further outbreaks.