The Mastercard Foundation in partnership with Strategic Communications Africa (Stratcomm) has sensitised the Agbogbloshie market community on the COVID-19 safety protocols especially handwashing.
The campaign dubbed: “It’s Up To US” is aimed at creating awareness about the pandemic and how to prevent its spread.
Ms Myra Ankrah, a Representative from Mastercard Foundations speaking at the awareness creation event said the Foundation was determined to support Ghanaians, especially the youth, to withstand and overcome the devastating short-term impact of the pandemic and strengthen their resilience in the long term.
She said young people were at the heart of the Foundation’s interventions and in 2020, when the world faced the COVID-19pandemic, it began to partner with the local creative industry to run digital campaigns across social media to sensitise and encourage Ghanaians to observe and take up COVID-19 protocols.
“This involved the likes of M.anifest as partners, who came up with a theme song for the #ItsUpToUs campaign. If we are to protect our families the community and ourselves, it is UP TO US,” she said.
The Representative said the Foundation has come a long way since 2020, but, even now, many were still being infected and affected by COVID-19, because some of them continue to let down their guard or even refuse to work with the preventive protocols and “this puts us all at risk.”
Ms Ankrah said the negative impacts of the pandemic were known to all with some young people having their lives cut short.
“Some older people we care about dearly have also been taken away from us through this pandemic. Many, many businesses have been severely affected; some even collapsed,” she added.
She currently said many young people who were previously gainfully employed were now part of the unemployment statistics and this should not continue, young people, especially, have a lot to look forward to, a great deal to do and live for.
Ms Ankrah said Agbogbloshie, and its surrounding areas constituted a vibrant commercial center for many young people. The Representative said the ways to prevent COVID – 19 from disrupting businesses and lives, how to ensure that loved ones,
especially parents and grandparents were not taken away from by Covid -19 was the conversation the Foundation, in partnership with Stratcomm Africa and others, have come here to engage with the people.
She said the Company believed that communication was a critical tool for national development and livelihood enhancement.
“For us, therefore, partnership with the Mastercard Foundation falls in line with our continuous effort to facilitate change using communications,” she added.
He said as a mature communications agency with cultural sensitivity as their hallmark, “we can deliver messages, including health-related messages, effectively in different cultural contexts.”
The Consultant said the Foundation, Stratcomm Africa, and the local creative industry were working together to drive the message of preventive care for families, communities, and ourselves in a compelling and fun way.
Mr Akwasi Boadi known in Showbiz as Akroboto urged the people to take the message seriously and avoid the spread of the pandemic.
Source: Ghana News Agency
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