Page 15 - UNAM Forum ED2-2021
P. 15
#COVIDNamVacc awareness
campaign off to a good start
Story by: Simon Namesho
The University of Namibia, through its UNAM Cares Project, has combined
efforts with the Cardiff University Phoenix Project in a Covid-19 vaccination
awareness campaign in Namibia, code-named #COVIDNamVacc Project.
The multi-million dollar vaccination awareness project comes at the right time
as it is set to impact positively in the fight against the pandemic in Namibia.
The #COVIDNamVacc Project is a Welsh government-funded development,
working in close strategic and operational support of the Ministry of Health
and Social Services and the Namibian Correctional Services.
Dr Rachel Freeman, the Lead of UNAM Cares Project, said: “The campaign
targets to reach out to 8 regions in Namibia, over a period of 5 months.
“This involves getting closer to communities through clinic visitation, engaging
regional and constituency leadership, in an effort to help citizens from all
over Namibia to better understand the benefits of Covid-19 vaccination
and thus, getting vaccinated to reach herd immunity.”
To achieve its objectives, during the campaign’s preparatory stages,
members of the vaccination awareness project considered pertinent
questions.
Explaining some of the questions they considered, Professor Judith Hall,
Leader of Cardiff University Phoenix Project, had this to say: “Some of these
professionals to choose their
niche areas and start writing. questions include: How do you get effective health messages out to people
In academia, academics living in a very rural country with low population density? How do you get
make their names through understandable messages out when languages are many, languages may
research and publications,” he not be written, and the cultural nuances of words and phrases can easily be
emphasised. ‘lost in translation?’ How do you engage with their leadership to enlist support
for a new vaccination drive for a novel disease? How do you communicate
a new type of viral respiratory disease?”
His articles mine “Moreover, Covid-19 is very complex scientifically, especially to those who
have not had the advantage of, perhaps, even basic science education.
the archaeology How do you communicate things like particle size, variants, anosmia,
of academia and reproduction numbers and exponentials?
the surrounding “These are complicated things even to fully-fledged Viral Scientists and
Public Health Doctors at the very best institutions. These concepts are
issues that have difficult. We’ve all have to try and learn about them.”
garnered interest
But in the face of these communication challenges, communication must
among a number still happen. As a result, the Ministry of Health and Social Services in Namibia,
working with the University of Namibia and Cardiff University has developed
of the national a fully-fledged communication strategy based on local knowledge and
languages, local leadership and people of influence, based on illustrations
newspaper’s and graphic messaging.
readers.
The next outreach is planned to go to the Hardap and //Karas regions during
15 Official Newsletter the second week of June.
