After some anxiety following a prolonged wait, the winning submissions for the Students COVID-19 Digital Awareness Challenge have been determined and announced.
In the video category, the winners are; Kenya Students’ One Health Innovations Club, followed by Ethiopia Students One Health Innovations Club, while Pascaline Uyisaba and Eric Ndihiziwe (Rwanda) came third.
In the poster category, the winning entries are; Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST) Uganda, Cyubahiro Leo Barbara (Rwanda) and in third place, Aly Kamila (Tanzania).
AFROHUN received 39 submissions in videos and flyers/posters. These were in English or French, while some were produced in respective local languages.
The Students COVID-19 Digital Awareness Challenge was organized to provide students an opportunity and space to raise awareness on the COVID-19 pandemic in their communities through preparing outreach materials (posters/cartoons/videos).
The Students COVID-19 Digital Awareness Challenge entries were expected to answer at least one of the following questions:
- What is COVID-19?
- How is the COVID-19 transmitted?
- How do we prevent ourselves from getting infected?
- What message would you share with your community about COVID-19?
Submissions were judged by a multi-disciplinary team of judges on strength, relevance, artwork and communication skills.
The winners were announced recently by the AFROHUN Program Manager, Dr. Irene Naigaga at the AFROHUN Secretariat in Kampala – Uganda.
She congratulated the winning teams on a job well done and also acknowledged the efforts and intellectual input of all the challenge participants, including those who did not make it to the winners’ podium. “Overall, entries exhibited a good level of understanding of COVID-19; what it is, transmission dynamics and how it can be prevented. With a little guidance and mentorship, they can ably cover the human resource gap during this period and support risk communication and community engagement processes. She also appreciated the team that put together this challenge. Noting that the challenge provided a platform for the future workforce to engage in finding solutions to the prevailing complex health issues surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. “Such hands-on experiences help to build the much-needed practical skills making students field ready by the time they leave university.” On behalf of AFROHUN, she offered to continue supporting related efforts.
The judges hailed all the students for the quality of the products put together. “The information relates well with the community”, noted one of the judges in relation to majority of the entries. Other comments given included excellent coverage of all required areas/components, creativity and appropriate messaging for community consumption.
The winning entries can be accessed here;
Videos:
Kenya Students One Health Innovations Club video
Ethiopia Students One Health Innovations Club video
Pascaline Uyisaba and Eric Ndihiziwe video – Rwanda
Poster and flyers: