Community-Based Organizations Mobilize COVID-19 Vaccine Uptake in Africa

October 20, 2021
Ruth Mapara
Director, ECGP
The ELMA Philanthropies

As COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled-out in Africa, vaccine hesitancy has emerged as one of the major bottlenecks to vaccine uptake.

Leaning into their years of experience encouraging use of and providing HIV/AIDS and other treatments and services, CBOs are proving that they are important vehicles in driving uptake of the COVID-19 vaccine. Benefitting from their communities’ trust and their local proximity, CBOs are able to provide access to accurate COVID-19 vaccine information and testing, lead by example as CBO staff get vaccinated, provide transportation to, and host vaccination sites.

These ELMA Community Grants Program partners have been spearheading vaccine rollout efforts to ensure their communities are protected against COVID-19:

● Kawempe Home Care (KHC) (Uganda) runs a community-based clinic in a Kampala informal settlement, and is providing World Health Organization-approved COVID-19 antigen tests to patients. In addition, through health education talks at the clinic, KHC is actively mobilizing patients, particularly those with underlying health conditions, to get vaccinated at accredited public health centers.

● Thuso E Tla Tsoa Kae Handicapped Centre (Lesotho) is a special school for children living with disabilities that partnered with the Botha-Bothe District Education Department to launch a vaccination campaign for the school district. All eligible children at the school, staff members, the school’s board members, and some members from the surrounding communities have been vaccinated. Thuso is providing information on vaccines to parents and community members who have expressed fear of being vaccinated.

● Bulungula Incubator (South Africa) has made it possible for more than 380 members of their rural community of Elliotdale District in Eastern Cape Province to be vaccinated; 95% of people over the age of 60 have received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Bulungula Incubator has been providing vaccine registration support and transportation to vaccination sites from their hard-to-reach villages.

● The Westlake United Church Trust (WUCT) (South Africa), in partnership with the Department of Health, is an officially designated vaccination site where 228 community members were vaccinated in September of 2021.

● Woza Moya Development Project (South Africa), in partnership with the Department of Health, has supported over 100 elderly community members and staff members to be vaccinated. Community caregivers have received training on vaccine effectiveness and benefits, and have been sharing this information in Ufafa Valley communities to dispel myths associated with vaccines.

● Chiedza Community Welfare Trust (Zimbabwe) is providing transportation for the vaccination team from the District Department of Health and the local Bonda Mission Hospital to carry out vaccinations in the rural and hard-to-reach communities of Mutasa District. Chiedza’s regular community sensitization program is mobilizing communities to get vaccinated, and all staff members at Chiedza have been vaccinated.

● NZEVE Deaf Center (NZEVE) (Zimbabwe), the only CBO in Manicaland Province serving the deaf community, has been ensuring that its deaf members have access to accurate vaccine information by communicating in the local sign language. 45 NZEVE staff and youth attending the vocational training center have been vaccinated. Leaders from the deaf community have been encouraging vaccine uptake by making home visits to raise vaccine awareness and debunk myths, and by posting photos on social media of themselves getting vaccinated. In addition, NZEVE is providing transport and interpretation support to any eligible deaf person wanting to get vaccinated.

● Africa Directions (Zambia), a youth-led organization in Lusaka, is using its well-established partnerships with local radio and television stations to widely broadcast accurate information on the importance of COVID-19 vaccinations.

● Mapalo Support Group (Zambia) has incorporated vaccine awareness into its weekly health meetings held at clinics and in community settings within the 11 zones of Mapalo and Nkwazi villages.