Maureen Okpe
As part of strategies to get vaccines to the unvaccinated ,the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) is launching a U-Report challenge to create awareness in communities across Africa.
In a statement made available to Global Sentinel on Wednesday, the agency said the challenge will engage the organisations 13.3million U-Reporters in getting messages to the qualified.
According to the statement, “the #GiveitaShot challenge aims to activate young people in motivating those eligible in their community to get vaccinated.
“With an initial focus on six countries on the continent,Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe,the U-Report #GiveitaShot challenge will be rolled-out for eight weeks.
“Covid-19 information and advocacy messages have been packaged and disseminated via SMS, Facebook Messenger and other communication channels.
“Weekly messages will be sent on U-Report to encourage young people to learn about COVID-19 vaccines. They will be engaged in community actions,both online and offline.
The statement disclosed that,Nigeria and South Africa celebrities, also U-Report supporters, Kate Henshaw and Maps Maponyane will be teaming up with UNICEF on this initiative.
Nigerian celebrity,Kate Henshaw said,
“Africa has been battling COVID-19 for two years now. At a time of Omicron, it is more important than ever to get vaccines to the unvaccinated.”
On her part Maps Maponyane, reiterates the need for efficient dissemination of informationnto persons on the availability of vaccines.
Maponyane said,“If we want to combat misinformation, it is key to mobilize the continent’s U-Reporters and provide much-needed information on Covid-19 vaccines to save people’s lives.”
U-Report is a messaging tool that empowers young people around the world to engage with and speak out on issues that matter to them.Active in 88 countries worldwide, with 19.3 million U-Reporters all over the world, and works with SMS, Facebook Messenger, Viber, Telegram, and Whatsapp.
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