September 2022 — The YAZ programme aims to help improve demand and uptake for integrated COVID-19 prevention, vaccination and sexual reproductive health (SRH) services for adolescents and young people through developing a series of youth-led, integrated social behavior change (SBC) multimedia advocacy campaigns. It is supported by UNICEF Zimbabwe through funding from USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance COVID-19 Emergency (USAID BHA) and European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Operations (ECHO).

Between September 2021 and February 2022, UNICEF Zimbabwe undertook a U-Report Poll to assess COVID-19 perceptions in schools and communities in 10 provinces. Key highlights from the polls indicated that the top drivers for adolescents and young people not practicing prevention behaviours are the belief that youths are not at risk for catching COVID-19, and general complacency on practicing COVID-19 prevention behaviours. The top drivers for not vaccinating are concerns about vaccine safety and effectiveness as well as mistrust.

To enhance youth advocacy and engagement in the COVID-19 and SRH responses, an integrated COVID-19 Human-centred Design (HCD) workshop was organized by YAZ with funding from UNICEF, USAID BHA and ECHO in Domboshava. This workshop focused on human-centered approaches to identifying factors that enable or affect demand and uptake of integrated COVID-19, SRH and substance abuse prevention and services. 24 Youth Ambassadors from 10 provinces attended the workshop and informed a series of youth-led, integrated SBC campaigns using a mix of innovative digital and interpersonal communication and community engagement approaches.

The youth ambassadors use various knowledge sharing and feedback platforms, including social media, the Youth Helpline 393 and bulk SMS, to help adolescents and young people access accurate and confidential information and referrals on SRH and COVID-19. To discuss COVID-19 myths and mental health issues, they created WhatsApp groups for young people in their respective communities. The youth ambassadors also innovatively painted murals infusing COVID-19 and integrated SRH messaging in high-traffic zones to grab the attention and improve the awareness of community members. Categories for feedback include rumors, questions, suggestions, appreciation, and sensitive information related to the COVID-19 humanitarian response and access to essential services. A systematic approach will be applied for collating and analyzing the information to inform the key stakeholders and the COVID-19 task force pillar on how and when best to respond to the needs of the youths. The campaigns have so far benefited 18,795 young people in 12 districts across Manicaland, Bulawayo, Masvingo, Harare, Mashonaland East and Matabeleland South.