Gabon's Experience: Factors Enabling and Impeding the COVID-19 Response.

This case study examines Gabon's national-level experience and response to the COVID-19 pandemic from December 2020 to December 2022, structured around an action cycle of engagement, assessment and surveillance, planning, implementation, and evaluation. Gabon's response involved multisectoral coordination led by government committees and supported by international partners, employing measures such as curfews, travel bans, lockdowns, mandatory mask-wearing, and vaccination campaigns. A participatory monitoring and evaluation (M&E) process, conducted with the WHO Regional Office for Africa and the WHO Collaborating Centre at the University of Kansas, facilitated systematic reflection ("sensemaking") by stakeholders to identify factors influencing increases and decreases in COVID-19 cases and to assess enablers and barriers to the response. Key lessons highlighted the importance of high-level political engagement, strong coordination, community involvement, and adaptive strategies to guide future public health crisis responses.