Young South African men are less likely to be hospitalised and severely affected by Covid-19 and are, therefore, less likely to take preventative measures, according to preliminary research from the United Nations Verified initiative.
With pandemic fatigue on the rise in South Africa, this group is also less inclined to follow safety guidelines, making them especially important in the spread of infections.
This research has formed the basis for a new campaign from the United Nations Verified initiative, 'Zwakala', which aims to increase the willingness of young people to adhere to Covid-19 safety measures in South Africa.
"MultiChoice believes in the transformative power of media and we are supporting Verified to amplify its communication on Covid-19," says Joe Heshu, head of corporate affairs at the MultiChoice Group.
"We are enabling them to increase awareness and steer key conversations and education around prevention measures through public service announcements and by driving the conversation across our social media platforms," adds Heshu.
'Zwakala' is being driven by social media and public service announcements on DStv, alongside community activations.
The campaign aims to get young people who are fatigued by adhering to COVID-19 rules to demonstrate their support for mask-wearing and handwashing, modelling safe behaviour practices for themselves and others.
The campaign will be broken down into two engagement steps. The first phase will focus on building community trust and support, while the second phase will move to community engagement with more on-the-ground tactics.
Mask-wearing and handwashing (where possible), are the most salient prevention measures for COVID-19. Until a sufficient number of South Africans are vaccinated, these remain the most important measures and it’s important to increase uptake of these behaviours among the youth, according to the campaign.
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