According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), as of February 22nd, 2023, Kenya had recorded a total of 342,874 cases of COVID-19, with 5,688 of them resulting in death. In staying true to our vision of empowering Kenyans to make healthy choices, Population Services Kenya (PS Kenya), in partnership with Population Services International (PSI) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) through the Division of Health Promotion (DHP), are working hand in hand on the Hygiene and Behaviour Change Coalition (HBCC2) campaign.
The HBCC campaign, funded by Unilever and the UK Government, was formed as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in a bid to contain the spread of the virus in low or middle-income countries. PS Kenya’s Chanjwa campaign under HBCC2 project aims to create awareness of COVID-19 vaccination and prevention measures such as handwashing, cough etiquette, social distancing, and the appropriate use of face masks.
The campaign is currently running in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kiambu counties and is being disseminated through mass media channels such as radio and television advertisements, both paid and organic social media posts, and out of home through digital screens and matatu and tuktuk branding. The mass media and digital campaigns have been further adapted in order to enable the different target audiences to relate to them. The social media messages have been specifically tailored to speak to youth, the elderly, people with disabilities, pregnant and lactating mothers, and healthcare workers. PS Kenya has incorporated the use of English, Swahili, and Sheng to get the message across to all groups.
To improve adherence to COVID-19 prevention guidelines, PS Kenya has held numerous capacity-building meetings and workshops with the Division of Health Promotion and MOH. Through these workshops, we have been able to co-create and come up with content that encourages the uptake of the vaccine on social media, a COVID-19 WhatsApp chatbot known as Jali that will be launched soon, and an online C4C course that aims to build the capacity of our health care workers on COVID-19 treatment measures. The most recent workshop was held in Machakos from the 9th to 11th of February 2023 with its main objective being to develop a proper structure in which health communication is delivered to the public.
PS Kenya has also supported the division in reviewing and updating the existing factsheet on COVID-19 vaccines and developing e-posters, booklets, flipcharts, flyers, and brochures that are meant to provide up-to-date information for the public to keep up with.
PS Kenya also carries out vaccination outreach in collaboration with MOH and has worked closely with its partners to develop a digital locator tool that enables the public to find a COVID-19 vaccination facility near them. So far, 23,359,310 vaccine doses have been administered to the population.
Through its Social Behaviour Change (SBC) approaches, PS Kenya will continue to align its priorities with those of the Ministry of Health in enforcing the measures required to limit the spread of the virus as we continue to combat the pandemic in the hopes of a COVID-19-free future