Abstract
Upon the announcement of lockdown of Kinshasa (The capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo) due to increase cases of corona virus infections, a wave of fear and concern arose among the population of the city causing a massive population’s displacement towards neighboring provinces. This is to contextualize a phenomenological qualitative study exploring the social representation of COVID-19, the motivations influencing the shift of population and the discourses of the subjects on the care strategies, or “therapeutic artifacts” proposed by this population of Kinshasa. The analysis of 19 semi-structured interviews highlighted the presence of five categories of representations of COVID-19: imaginary disease, disease for businessmen, invention for demographic purposes, war between states and, divine punishment. In addition, four types of motivation have influenced the movement of the population: socioeconomic crisis, insecurity, ban of churches and, easy access to traditional treatment. This study finally shows that the fugitive population uses traditional therapies (herbalists and traditional beliefs, including prayers and sorcery) to cope with this pandemic. Improving knowledge, strengthening the communication system and interventions aimed at changing social representations causing negative images of COVID-19 are recommended.
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