It's an original idea. A way to involve the population directly in the fight against covid 19. What could be more powerful than communities taking ownership of the fight against covid?  When they take this responsibility, which falls to everyone to overcome this harmful virus, the message gets across more easily and reaches a maximum number of people.

The Ministry of Communication, in collaboration with UNDP, has set up a unique programme to raise awareness against this pandemic through an awareness campaign that calls for the creativity of the community by sharing awareness and prevention messages (videos, songs, photos, testimonials etc.) to sensitize the entire population and reduce the transmission of the virus within the family and in public places.

For this campaign, the Ministry did not spare any resources; all its communication structures were mobilized. Thus, on the Ministry's website, in La Nation and on radio television, this campaign is being carried out at full speed. Fatouma Abdi, adviser to the Minister of Communication, told us that "following the step-by-step deconfinement, we thought it would be useful to sensitize the population on barrier gestures, hand washing, the wearing of masks, and on all vigilance measures that can save lives".

On this occasion, a Whatsapp number was set up where people can send their awareness messages against covid 19 in four languages: French, Arabic, Afar and Somali.

For Hibo Mohamed, UNDP Programme Officer, the initiative is original in many ways. Some 20 videos in four languages were received, seven of which were shortlisted. Five of them have been validated and two have already been posted on the UNDP Facebook page. For example the one by Awad Hicham Amin who is making the buzz on the web. He has shot a video at his home to raise awareness about handwashing, wearing a mask and respecting the distance barriers. "We plan to publish eight videos a day. The winners of this competition will win between 3000 FD and 5000FD of communication credit. The video that will have more likes will also receive a special prize", says Hibo.
For her part, Samia Hamad of UNDP told us that "covid 19, like other crises, has more impact on the most vulnerable groups, including women, children, people with disabilities, people living in remote areas, refugee camps and others. We believe that this approach is essential to ensure the inclusion of communities in the fight against this epidemic. ». She added that "Governments can provide health services, provide clinical care, but stopping transmission is community-driven. »
This campaign by the Ministry and UNDP aims to stop the spread of covid 19 among the population by raising awareness of the respect of barrier measures and a better understanding of the dangers of the epidemic.

Kenedid Ibrahim