Community Health Dialogues provides a safe space for young people

Like many young people in Eswatini, Nokwanda Sibandze’s life was  was upended by COVID-19. She had just started her Grade 7 at Dwaleni Primary School in the Shiselweni region, 2020 was set to be her final year of primary schooling. Little did she know that it would take her almost two years to complete. 

She had just turned 12 years old,  and her life was punctuated by school hours and moments with friends.  Overnight, her world was turned upside down, leading to restricted movements and prolonged isolation—a new norm she had to reluctantly accept. Amidst the relentless influx of information, the devastation wrought by the pandemic, both locally and globally, propelled Nokwanda to take action, joining the fight against the pandemic. The chance to contribute materialized in 2021 when vaccines were introduced. She had learnt about the vaccines through social media, getting acquainted as well with the large amount of myths and misconceptions that was surrounding them. Disinformation hindering  the return to normal life and an obstacle in her quest to complete primary school.  “The vaccine gave me the confidence to resume my normal life and hope for a healthy future,” - says Nokwanda - “I realized, however, that my peers did not want to take the it, because of the myriad of myths and misconceptions they had come across on social media”.

Oblivious to the parallel narrative, when the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with various partners, brought the vaccine to her community in Mahlalini, Nokwanda promptly received her first Pfizer dose, completing her series on December 22. Her resolve solidified: to counter the misinformation impeding her community's protection against the virus.

Using her experience as a catalyst, Nokwanda encourages vaccination among the youth, debunking the myth that vaccinated individuals face imminent peril. “I have often used my story to motivate young people to get vaccinated. I have been vaccinated and I am still alive contrary to what was said that vaccinated people would die within two years”.

Her determination was further fueled by participating in the 'Healthy Me=Healthy Generation' dialogue, facilitated by PSI and other organizations. This platform fostered discussions on various topics, notably the COVID-19 vaccine, where Nokwanda highlighted the persistence of social media-driven misinformation.

“I got the chance to share my testimony and challenged the young people to consider it as motivation to do right for themselves and be safe against any future variants of COVID-19" the young ambassador recalls. “I was even prepared to take my booster in front of everyone to show them that the vaccine is the same as other vaccines”.

During the session, health officials presented data demonstrating the vaccine's impact on reducing infection rates. 

The dialogues levelled the playing ground for health service providers and clients and provided the platform for feedback. states Health Promotion Officer Clement Diamini, praising the initiative for its unique approach to engaging with the community, and acknowledging two participations.“I realized that community engagement is one critical pillar in the health sector that we need to prioritize”. - he reflects - “The general public still has trust in the healthcare system and is open to contributing to the service delivery models so that they meet their needs”.

With funding from  Canada and UNICEF, PSI Eswatini hosted a series of Indaba (Youth Community Dialogues) under the Theme: Healthy Me = Healthy Generation. The intervention aims to integrate COVID-19 vaccination, HPV Vaccination, Menstrual Health Management (MHM), Gender Based Violence (GBV), HIV prevention and UNICEF’s U-report platform, with the aim of cultivating health seeking behaviour amongst young people. The engagements presented a safe space for young people to provide feedback to health care workers, as well as voice out challenges hindering access to vaccination. The dialogues were implemented at low COVID-19 vaccine uptake constituencies  Sigwe, Matsanjeni North and Shiselweni II.

A total of 585 young people were reached with COVID-19, MHM, GBV, HPV, as well as U-Report information in the three tinkhundla. 186 were males and 399 females. 277 T-shirts with integrated messaging were distributed to the youth of the area. Furthermore, a total of 9 girls received the HPV vaccine during the three activities.

Ensuring additional funding would directly increase young people's opportunities to engage, enhance their understanding of the importance of vaccines, and effectively address myths and misconceptions, leading to a higher uptake of all vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine.