Fy, a social media influencer on Facebook, is appointed as UNICEF Madagascar’s Youth Advocate to raise children’s voices about the importance of vaccination and the fight against polio.

Antananarivo, 18 July 2024 – Rajaonarivelo Mamisoa Fiderana or Fy, 15, joins UNICEF Madagascar as a Youth Advocate. The signing of the collaboration agreement was carried out with the UNICEF Madagascar Deputy Representative for Operations, Mr. Mahamat Nour Molli.

As a Youth Advocate for immunization, Fy’s role will be to raise public awareness about the importance of immunization, fight against polio, and advocate for UNICEF-supported immunization activities.

Through her page on the social network Facebook, she will also promote routine vaccination for children, notably through raising public awareness of the “big catch-up” initiative to reduce the number of zero-dose and under-vaccinated children. As a reminder, Madagascar is one of the 20 countries in the world and the 10 African countries with the largest number of zero-dose children, with about one million children in all of the countries. Zero-dose children are those who have not received any dose of vaccine, making them vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases. The fight against polio through the response campaigns conducted in the country since 2023 is still relevant.

“Vaccines save lives! And I want to use my voice to improve the health of children and youth, especially in promoting immunization and fighting polio,” said Fy.

The year 2024 was declared “Year of Vaccination” by the President of the Republic of Madagascar in April and marked by the strong commitment of the First Lady, godmother of vaccines since March. To strengthen vaccination, it is important to have the responsibility and involvement of all stakeholders, including young people.

As UNICEF’s Youth Advocate, Fy will give a voice to children because vaccine-preventable diseases are still a major threat. As a young influencer, she can significantly contribute to disseminating useful information about vaccination among parents and peers.

UNICEF looks forward to working with Fy to build a better world for every child.