CAF teams up with Speak Up Africa to protect Africans against COVID-19
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has strengthened its commitment to help African communities to protect themselves and those around them from the threat of COVID-19, by partnering with Speak Up Africa, a Policy and Advocacy Action Tank based in Senegal, to support a “Stay Safe Africa” Campaign.
The Stay Safe Africa seeks to empower communities and individuals to take simple and proven preventive measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Africa. The campaign urges Africans to play their part against COVID-19 by following proven prevention methods.
A statement made available to the ghanabusinessnews.com said the campaign incorporates messages and advice tailored to African communities and leadership, taking into account language, literacy and cultural barriers.
It said COVID-19 is a deadly disease that poses an immediate threat to the African continent and has the potential to take many lives.
“It is crucial that coronavirus transmission in Africa is restricted as quickly as possible to prevent a surge in cases and deaths, which would have a devastating impact on Africa’s already strained health systems. For prevention measures to be effective, the time to act is now.”
“Stay Safe Africa seeks to empower communities and individuals to take simple and proven preventative measures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Africa, supporting the African Union, the African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and national governments’ response plans. Furthermore, the campaign aims to encourage individuals to pool resources to support the African Union COVID-19 Response Fund,” the statement added.
It noted that several risk factors mean the virus could spread quickly across the continent. High population densities, communal living, frequent and close contact between generations, weak health systems, as well as the constrained access to water and washing facilities all increase the likelihood of COVID-19 infections and fatalities.
The Stay Safe Africa campaign is an alliance of likeminded individuals and organizations united to stop the spread of Covid-19.
“Through their shared passion to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, CAF and Speak Up Africa are collaborating to bring the Stay Safe Africa campaign to a new audience and to ensure factual information are disseminated to a wider public, mitigating the amount of misinformation being spread about COVID-19,” the statement added.
To support the campaign, CAF will promote it through a series of social media activations. By lending its influential voices, clubs and legends to the campaign and CAF hopes to help protect one billion Africans from COVID-19.
“Football brings together so many people from different backgrounds, nationalities and languages. Even though domestic championships and continental tournaments have been put on hold, we must now come together, at a distance, to fight the spread of this disease and misinformation. We are proud to adopt the Stay Safe campaign and help protect the billion people on the African continent”, Abdelmounaim Bah, Acting CAF General Secretary, said.
“It is vital that individuals across Africa take responsibility to protect themselves, their families and their communities, by following the recommended prevention measures against COVID-19. We are thrilled to partner with the Confederation of African Football, as we know it will use its powerful platform to spread the all-important prevention messages to football fans across the continent. To prevent the spread of COVID-19, we must come together and work towards our common goal”, highlights Yacine Djibo, Executive Director of Speak Up Africa.
According to the statement, CAF and Speak Up Africa both share the ethos that increased awareness and knowledge on proper health prevention methods among communities in Africa are crucial to combat the issue of misinformation.
Sport is a powerful tool to transform the continent, particularly when it comes to health initiatives, and this partnership will incite positive change in health practices and behavior, the statement noted.
It added that in Africa, there are currently over 84,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2,771 deaths. Several risk factors mean the virus could spread quickly across the continent. High population densities, communal living as well as the constrained access to water and washing facilities all increase the likelihood of coronavirus infections and fatalities.
CAF) is the administrative and controlling body for African association football. With its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt and it represents the national football associations of Africa, runs continental, and club competitions, and as well draw up regulations and adopt provisions governing its activities.
CAF’s Social Responsibility encompasses five pillars: Education, Health and Sanitation, Youth Development, Women Empowerment, Peace & prosperity.
Speak Up Africa, with its headquarters in Dakar, Senegal is a strategic communications and advocacy organization dedicated to catalyzing leadership, enabling policy change, and increasing awareness for sustainable development in Africa – particularly around issues such as sanitation, immunization, malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).
By Eunice Menka