COVID -19 Advocacy

KUBORESHA -AFRICA is in collaboration with FIND and UNITAID Geneva in response to requests for application to create awareness on COVID-19 in Mukono Municipality’s two divisions of Goma and Central under the project titled ACOATT-22 (Advocacy for COVID Awareness Testing and Treatment-2022),

The ACOATT-22 (Advocacy for COVID Awareness Testing and Treatment-2022) is a 6 months (half a year) project aimed at using strategic advocacy communication and social mobilization approaches to create awareness of COVID -19 testing and treatment in Mukono Municipality’s two divisions.

The COVID -19 pandemic threatens to reverse the extraordinary gains made by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria partnership in the fight against the three epidemics. In 2020 we saw increases in deaths and new infections across all three diseases for the first time in many years as health and community systems got overwhelmed, treatment and prevention programs were disrupted and resources diverted. In many of the countries most heavily affected by HIV, TB and Malaria, the knock-on impact of COVID-19 on these three diseases in terms of incremental deaths outweighed the direct impact of the virus.

At Kuboresha-Africa in Uganda we are engaged in COVID-19 related risk mitigation measures for programs to fight HIV, TB and Malaria. -Protection of front-line health workers with PPE and training.- carrying out advocacy for reinforcement of systems for health, such as laboratory networks, supply chains and community-led response systems and raising awareness for COVID -19 testing, treatment and vaccination and other COVID-19 control and containment interventions as specified in WHO guidance and aligned with National Strategic Preparedness and Response Plans.

Mukono Municipality is the fastest growing industrial hub in the country with an industrial park providing an avenue for value addition as well population growth as a result of rural-urban migration in search of jobs. The Municipality’s two Divisions account for approximately 29% of the total District population of 701,400 projected from 596,804 National Population and Housing Census 2014. The two divisions have a total population of 202,142 in a total of 79 villages (Source: Mukono Municipality District Development Plan 2020/21-2024/25).

The project will commence with COVID-19 vulnerability mapping in the Municipality. Then this will be followed with creating COVID-19 awareness through outreach programmes that will reach worship centres, and households, use Dunamis radio station to reach all people with mobile phones that have radios and using social media as effective communication and reach out channels to disseminate COVID-19 information to the general public on the need to test and get treated and the need to get vaccinated. Information education and communication materials on COVID-19 shall be developed and distributed in the 79 villages of the two divisions.  According to data from the National Population and Housing Census 2014 area specific profiles,

By age group and sex (source National Population and Housing Census 2014—Area Specific Profiles data, shows the highest number of females are in the age group (20-39) totaling 94,150 and males in the same age category totaling 78,613. The age bracket (10-18) females are 76,668 and males are 72,753, the numbers go down as age ascends indicating the (40-59) females are 32,291 and males 29,900, the most at risk and vulnerable age group (69+) males are 10,987 and females 13,920. The bigger portion of the population falls in the (0-9). The National COVID-19 vulnerability classification recommends the 69+ as priority and they are encouraged to take the two jabs and a booster six months after the second jab. This is the age with increased risk of dying of COVID-19 related complications and needs a lot of sensitization as they are into ignorance and myths about vaccines. Focus on areas with the highest concentration of elderly people will be priority.

The project will also make use of community-based audio towers with speakers to ensure the COVID-19 prevention and vaccination messages could be heard by people inside their homes during weekends and weekdays for those who don’t work and stay in the village cultivating and engaged in domestic work. The ACOATT-22 campaign will use traditional and social media, engaging with local leaders and media personalities, and leveraging widespread chat apps like Whatsapp. We believe that despite most people having heard of COVID-19 vaccines, there is still significant remaining challenges in terms of building trust and boosting vaccine demand. Acceptability of vaccine uptake is still very low despite a high-risk perception of COVID-19 infection.

The project will rely on the use of information communication technology taking advantage of the rate of mobile phone ownership in the district where people who own at least one mobile phone  in the age category of (18-30) males stand at 73,3 % whereas females stand at 70.0% according to the National Population and Housing Census 2014. For internet usage, males between (18-30) stand at 22.7% and females 19.2%. The project will use these numbers for social media as well as phone radios for successful COVID-19 awareness campaign.

The project will create awareness and do social mobilization of communities in the 79 villages of the prior to this we shall conduct orientation for engagement meetings with the 5 government health facilities in the two divisions of Goma and Central, with the aim to promote and strengthen COVID-19 testing and treatment referrals to Mukono General Hospital which is the only COVID-19 Vaccination Centre earmarked for the Municipality. People from all the nine parishes in the two divisions will be referred here since the other accessible health facilities are not accredited to offer COVID-19 services.

The ACOATT-22 project will recruit and train community mobilizers and partner with village health teams in the two divisions to ensure house to house access to address contact tracing risks and continued preventive measures.