Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Uganda – 7th July 2021 — In order to combat the spread of misinformation and to mitigate the deadly spread of COVID-19, the One by One: Target COVID-19 Campaign, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the African Union and The Rockefeller Foundation have joined hands with celebrity influencers to launch Africa Covid Champions Campaign in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Uganda. The Campaign features influencers such as Awilo Longomba, DJ Spilulu, Top Congo Radio, Mama Radio, Wezi Victoria, Simon Mwewa Lane, Hot FM, Icengelo FM, Martha Kemigisha Kagimba (Martha Kay) and GNL Zamba. In order to extend the reach of the Campaign, One By One has partnered with Clouds Media International, a multinational multimedia company.
The Campaign’s celebrity influencers have been designated by the Africa CDC as ‘AfricaCOVIDChampions.’ One By One has equipped each of the influencers with Africa CDC approved “COVID Engagement Toolkits” which contain accurate messages about prevention of the pandemic and about COVID vaccines.
The Campaign is aimed at equipping citizens across Africa with accurate information on COVID-19 prevention and COVID vaccines. AfricaCOVIDChampions will help ensure that accurate, life-saving information about COVID-19 vaccines reaches Africans across the continent. As Martha Kay, media personality, Uganda, remarked, “A year into this pandemic, Uganda and Africa continue to fight this deadly disease. Now that Africa is experiencing a third wave of COVID-19, it is vital that all Africans are informed about the importance of vaccines to stop the spread of this deadly virus and prevent new infections.”
Seed Global Health has been instrumental in leading the efforts of the AfricanCOVIDChampions Campaign in Uganda.
“The last frontier is vaccines. Vaccines are about to hit Zambia. The biggest challenge we are going to have is convincing our people that it is important to take these vaccines,” said Simon Mwewa Lane, Campaign Ambassador, Zambia.
The Africa Covid Champions Campaign is made possible by the generous support of The Rockefeller Foundation. “These tools and resources are necessary to end the pandemic and recover in a way that enables sustainable and resilient growth well into the future.”
Partners involved in this campaign include:
One by One: Target COVID-19
One by One: Target COVID-19 is a pan-African, coalition-driven communications and advocacy campaign created by The Access Challenge, the African Union and the Africa CDC. The Coalition supports the African Union in its COVID-19 response by advocating for increased financing for the Africa COVID-19 Response Fund to strengthen the Africa CDC’s capacity for securing essential diagnostics and medical supplies. The Campaign also includes various mass media campaigns to mobilize influencers from all sectors to use their viral platforms to promote increased testing, vaccine uptake, and general COVID-19 prevention measures across Africa.
The Africa CDC
Africa CDC is a specialized technical institution of the African Union that strengthens the capacity and capability of Africa’s public health institutions as well as partnerships to detect and respond quickly and effectively to disease threats and outbreaks, based on data-driven interventions and programmes. Learn more at: http://www.africacdc.org
The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation to enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We work to promote the well-being of humanity and make opportunity universal. Our focus is on scaling renewable energy for all, stimulating economic mobility, and ensuring equitable access to healthy and nutritious food. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at rockefellerfoundation.org and follow us on Twitter @RockefellerFdn.
Clouds Media International
Clouds is a multinational, multimedia company with over 20 different brands. It is one of East & Central Africa’s most respected media houses and has been recognized as one of the region’s premier Superbrands. Our partnership with Clouds began 15+ years ago, and has proven to be a unique and unusual marriage of media and social impact. As part of this on-going engagement, The Access Challenge has recently partnered with Clouds Media on East Africa’s Got Talent.
Seed Global Health
Seed Global Health envisions a world in which every country is strengthened by a robust health workforce that can meet the health needs of its population. Rooted in local partnerships, building on local leadership, and driven by local insights, Seed seeks to catalyze lasting change in the health systems of the countries where we work by investing in the people at the heart of health systems. Through strong collaboration with the public sector, Seed equips current and future generations of physicians, nurses, and midwives to strengthen access to high-quality care so that good health is not the privilege of a few, but the right of all. Learn more at www.seedglobalhealth.org and follow us on Twitter @Seed_Global.
For media inquiries, please contact: Fardin Rahman, Communications and Partnerships Associate, The Access Challenge, partnerships@accesschallenge.com
DOWNLOAD PDF: Africa CDC, African Union, WHO, The Rockefeller Foundation, Join the ‘One by One: Target Covid-19 Campaign’ to Launch ‘AfricaCovidChampions’
