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Article History

Received: 25 April 2024

Accepted: 18 July 2024

First Online: 23 July 2024

Declarations

:

: Ethical approval was granted by the Equatorial Guinea National Ethics Committee (CENGE, Nr Reg-2019–028). Administrative authorizations were obtained from the public health Direction of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare; Nr Reg- 56–150. The Regional Delegation of the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare in Bata (reference number: 2018) and the Government Delegation of the Ministry of Interiors and Local Corporations in Bata – Littoral (reference number 937) were also included. The study objectives and procedures were explained to the community leaders, sampled household heads, and selected participants. All adult participants provided written consent before they participated in the survey. For illiterate participants, the informed consent to participate was provided by a legal guardian or an appropriate representative and participants were asked to provide a thumb-printed. For participants younger than age of 18, informed consent to participate was obtained from parents or legal guardians, in addition to thumb-printed consent for children aged 10–17 years. Participation was completely voluntary; for confidentiality, an identification number was given to each participant encoded with a given number and participants’ initials.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare no competing interests.