DECEMBER 2021 - UNICEF South Africa, in partnership with South African Red Cross Society, World Vision, and provincial and national Health Departments, are supporting localized community engagement and awareness raising on COVID-19 in high-risk areas through #TheTruck.

The Afrittude Communications’ digital truck broadcasts multimedia public health messages through video and sound, partnered with dedicated ground support teams delivering education campaigns. The Truck has enabled proactive and personal reach at a local level and has been very well received by communities.

The Truck has gained attention as a promising practice at a global level, and was recently highlighted in Bill Gates’ personal blog, GatesNotes, featuring an interview with UNICEF’s own Pumla Ntlabati, a Community Engagement Specialist with South Africa Country Offfice.

Gates writes, “As COVID-19 swept across South Africa, one of the most pressing needs was access to public health information. People needed to know about the virus and how to stay safe. And as South Africa started rolling out COVID vaccines this year, health officials were also tasked with counteracting the spread of misinformation about the virus and vaccines. This was especially challenging in hard-to-reach communities in South Africa, where people don’t have access to television and other media.

But UNICEF, in partnership with the national government, had an answer to this challenge: A truck. Not just any truck but a multi-media messenger on wheels. The truck has LED screens, which allows the truck’s organizer to broadcast videos telling local stories about COVID-19. They also organize presentations in communities to raise awareness of the virus, teach people how to prevent its spread, and promote COVID testing and vaccinations. The truck has logged more than 40,000 miles and delivered messages to hundreds of thousands of people”.

Pumla Ntlabati describes in her interview, “We were looking for solutions on how best to combat the pandemic. We came up with the idea for the truck and we brought it to government. And it was love.”

Read more about The Truck from UNICEF South Africa here and here.