A COVID-19 survivor lives to tell his tale
How a radio host became a COVID-19 vaccine champion
Lanao del Sur, 18 May 2023 – Before Prince Salic Dimacuta became a radio host for Marawi City’s Cool FM interviewing the youth, Muslim religious leaders, and health workers, he was a technical assistant for the municipality of Marantao, Lanao del Sur.
Also known as Xawie to his family and colleagues, he became an ‘influencer’ of sorts during the pandemic, persuading his community to get vaccinated.
His advocacy did not come from a purely intellectual standpoint, but from experience. Having contracted the virus early on in the pandemic, when vaccines were not yet developed and there was no clear end in sight, Xawie considers himself a survivor.
“It took an emotional toll on me. I was really scared,” Xawie shares.
Before that harrowing experience, he did not believe in COVID-19. Now, he’s going around the community with the social mobilizers of Relief International and UNICEF to spread factual information about COVID-19 and encourage people to complete their vaccines.
Mobilizing local leaders, engaging communities
“They speak from the heart and really strive for honest, open conversations.”
This is how Xawie described UNICEF and Relief and International in their community work.
UNICEF, with support from the Australian Government and in partnership with Relief International, supports local government actions in Lanao del Sur to increase acceptance and uptake of COVID-19 vaccines in communities. This includes support in conducting health promotion and education sessions for different sectors of the community, including local leaders, to draw more support for the vaccination campaign. In fact, this was how Xawie got involved in the first place, when he attended a session with barangay officials and health workers.
“They speak from the heart and really strive for honest, open conversations.”
When he was still a contact tracer, not a lot of people would come in sessions like this. But the social mobilizers are effective in engaging the local community
When he was still a contact tracer, not a lot of people would come in sessions like this. But the social mobilizers are effective in engaging the local community, Xawie realized, because people came. “I think more people came because they see us all working together to promote vaccination– social mobilizers from UNICEF and Relief International, health workers from the rural health unit, and their barangay leaders.”
Social mobilizers from UNICEF and Relief International also went house-to-house to listen to the feedback and concerns of community members, including their hesitations and misconceptions on COVID-19. This allowed the social mobilizers to gain their trust, address their questions, and allay their fears and hesitancies. These community engagement and preparation activities were scheduled and conducted to support the planned vaccination sessions of the rural health unit, especially for hard-to-reach areas and vulnerable groups.
According to Xawie, this contributed to getting more people vaccinated in Marantao. “Before the support of UNICEF and Relief International, our vaccination coverage was very low. The local government has done everything to ramp up the vaccination. There was a little progress for months, and COVID-19 cases were rising again,” he shares.
In July 2022, when UNICEF and Relief International started implementing its support, only 50 percent of Lanao del Sur’s viable population were vaccinated. Throughout the support, and by December 2022, the province was able to increase its vaccination coverage up to 73.2 percent of its target population. In the municipality of Marantao alone, it rocketed from 64.32 percent in July to 74.22 percent in December as reported by the Integrated Provincial Health Office of Lanao del Sur.
In July 2022, when UNICEF and Relief International started implementing its support, only 50 percent of Lanao del Sur’s viable population were vaccinated. Throughout the support, and by December 2022, the province was able to increase its vaccination coverage up to 73.2 percent of its target population.
Connecting to more people on the margins
In his stint as an invited radio host for Cool FM, an engagement also made possible through the support of the Australian Government, UNICEF, and Relief International for the public awareness raising component, Xawie says he learned a lot from his interviewees.
By sharing his COVID-19 survivor story on air, Xawie became more aware of the public’s hesitation to get vaccinated. And this understanding actually helped him persuade more people, especially from the most at-risk, vulnerable groups, to complete their vaccines.
“I learned how to listen more to others, including young people, whose voices are often unheard and unrecognized. While it’s important to listen and talk to our leaders, to those who have the decision-making power, we must never forget to listen to those on the margins,” emphasizes Xawie.
I learned how to listen more to others, including young people, whose voices are often unheard and unrecognized. While it’s important to listen and talk to our leaders, to those who have the decision-making power, we must never forget to listen to those on the margins.
Through the radio program, more communities and Muslims can access factual information on the virus and the vaccines.
“I know that if we just continue this good work and strive to protect more people and help communities recover from the pandemic, Allah will reward us.”
