{"id":1787,"date":"2020-07-03T11:42:22","date_gmt":"2020-07-03T08:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unhabitatyouth.org\/?p=1787"},"modified":"2023-06-22T12:30:54","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T09:30:54","slug":"covid-19-in-africa-how-youth-are-stepping-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unhabitatyouth.org\/es\/covid-19-in-africa-how-youth-are-stepping-up\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 in Africa: How Youth Are Stepping Up"},"content":{"rendered":"
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This is a shortened and slightly updated version of a post by Alcinda Honwana<\/a> and Nyeleti Honwana<\/a>, which first appeared on the SSRC\u2019s Kujenga Amani blog<\/a><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The African continent has, thus far, fared comparatively well in the pandemic, with just under 400,000 confirmed infections and about 10,000 fatalities at the end of June 2020<\/a>. Even so, the heavy economic, social, and emotional toll of the pandemic on the continent is already clear, and some analysts believe that the situation will worsen in the coming months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not the \u201cSame Old\u201d Response<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given its under-resourced health-care systems and lack of social safety nets, Africa\u2019s best hope for mitigating the spread of Covid-19 lies in community-based prevention. We contend that Africa\u2019s large youth population must play a prominent role in that. In fact, young volunteers are already involved in a myriad of actions to support their communities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) mitigating contamination<\/em> through communication and accessibility to information, control of digital spaces, and provision of health and related services; and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) promoting community cohesion and social solidarity<\/em> with appreciation for local values and kinship bonds, and with support for the most vulnerable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mitigating Contamination<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young people are using social media platforms to communicate and disseminate information as well as organizing within their communities through canvassing campaigns and public awareness programs alongside community leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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DRC. Credit: Amani Institute<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Joseph Tsongo, a young leader of the Amani Institute, enlisted a group of young volunteers to visit markets, town squares, and businesses<\/a> and go door-to-door distributing informational pamphlets on how to stop the spread of Covid-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Burkina Faso, the National Youth Council established Battalion 2020 against Covid-19, a training program on health, sanitation, and social measures for 1,500 young volunteers working in various communities across the country. In addition, young Burkinabe leader Emmanuella To\u00e9 and her colleagues are collaborating with the Femmes Riposte Covid-19 (women\u2019s response to Covid-19) program to produce informational pamphlets urging people to wear masks and respect physical distancing guidelines. Isaac Olufadewa from Nigeria is a young man running the Slum and Rural Health Initiative that has produced \u201cStop Covid-19\u201d infographics<\/a> in more than sixty local African languages to spread accurate information about the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media influencers, musicians, poets, painters, social and political activists, and television and sports stars are using their own talents and social platforms to reach out to others, reaching millions of people. In Mozambique, the popular reggae fusion band GranMah released \u201cLava as tuas M\u00e3os\u201d (wash your hands), a video with instructions on proper handwashing techniques and alternatives to handshakes. In South Africa, the famous Ndlovu Youth Choir composed<\/a>, performed, and filmed a musical rendition of the World Health Organization\u2019s (WHO) Covid-19 safety advice, featuring translations in various South African languages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, Ibrahima Diabat\u00e9 and the Youth Peace and Security Network recorded a series of awareness-raising videos in different local languages to propagate information about the new coronavirus. All of these videos went viral on social media platforms, especially Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp. The use of local languages and the cultural translation of the messages in ways that make sense to the communities they target have enhanced their accessibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The control of digital spaces has been an ongoing battle for many young activists on and beyond the continent, with many building their own independent platforms to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. Stowelink<\/a>, a youth-led digital enterprise in Kenya is gathering and disseminating up-to-date, accurate information about Covid-19 in English, Kiswahili, and Amharic. Also, in an effort to curb fake news and quell panic, two recent graduates of the University of Cape Town established the Coronapp<\/a>\u2014a tool that centralizes information flow about the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In South Sudan, Nelson Kwaje from #DefyHateNow launched a digital community of youth from various fields who collaborate to fight misinformation and raise awareness on coronavirus prevention. Likewise, the Community Mutual Aid Crisis Response online platform<\/a> created by Mbiydzenyuy Ferdy, a young Cameroonian entrepreneur, connects people in need of assistance with service providers and community volunteers. Online digital platforms are also bringing together young people and the wider population to share ideas and prevention practices. In Uganda, using the slogan \u201cOur challenges, our solutions!,\u201d a group of young people from Zetu Africa (Our Africa) launched the campaign #SmarterThanCorona to bring people together to share information and discuss solutions to problems caused by the Covid-19 outbreak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Credit: Youthlead<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Young people in many countries have also taken an active role in providing access to preventive health services and equipment. In Kenya, Victor Odhiambo, a young entrepreneur, and his team at the Garden of Hope Foundation raised money to set up several handwashing stations in Kibera<\/a>. In Cameroon, a group of young people started the One Person One Hand Sanitizer initiative<\/a>. They produce homemade hand sanitizer following WHO guidelines, and to date they have produced and dispensed over 10,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to communities in need and disinfected neighborhoods and public spaces in Douala. The initiative is now supported by the Cameroonian Ministry of Youth Affairs and the Ministry of Health. Collaboration with government institutions often facilitates the work of volunteers and bolsters their impact through the use of state resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the greatest show of solidarity has been the production of masks in communities across the continent, made in Kente cloth, Ankara fabrics, Capulana textiles, and more. Indeed, from Nigeria to Liberia to Mozambique, young people are at the fore of mask making and distribution. The masks are donated to medical institutions, made available to the public for free, or sold at discounted rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enhancing Community Cohesion and Solidarity<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Combating Covid-19 requires a strategy that also addresses the social, cultural, and emotional consequences of the lockdown, widespread illness, and death. Information about contamination and calls for behavioral changes are more effective when embedded within local understandings of sociability and interpersonal relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The majority of Africans live in community. The Zulu notion of Ubuntu <\/em>means that we are all bound together. Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu <\/em>(I am, because we are) speaks to human interconnectedness and represents the various threads that bind together the human spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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