ALPHA trains Calabarzon youth to promote vaccine

This is a press release from the Alliance of Public Health Advocates.

Addressing the youth’s waning vaccine confidence through education and awareness, the Alliance of Public Health Advocates (ALPHA) trained youth leaders to formulate campaigns for effective health services.

Dubbed the Angat Kalusugan Operations (AKO) Initiative, the campaign seeks to promote education and awareness of vaccination, particularly on   Measles-Rubella Oral Polio Vaccine Supplementary Immunization Activity (MR-OPV-SIA) and COVID-19 vaccines. The campaign was launched on February 1.

Led by health advocates from San Pablo, Laguna, the Angat Kalusugan Operations Initiative features an online information drive, youth governance camp, and a health education camp titled “BakUNA MUNA.” The activities aim to address youth’s concerns about vaccination.

Co-head mobilizer of the bakUNA MUNA camp Alynna Flor Escober mentioned that among the most noticeable challenge is the vaccine hesitancy itself.

Even before COVID-19, some people delay or refuse to get vaccinated despite the availability of these services.

As part of their campaign, ALPHA shared localized information on the pandemic, particularly about the accredited testing centers and information about available vaccines. Their information campaign was further strengthened with a responsive COVID-19 hotline and referral.

Mobilizing the Calabarzon youth

One of the goals of the AKO Initiative is to empower the youth and help them create a community of action towards vaccine education through its tCalabarzon Youth Governance for Health and Immunization Camp (YGC) and its health education camp bakUNA MUNA .

The YGC was convened on February 13 to 14 to capacitate the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) and Local Youth Development Councils (LYDC) in formulating campaigns for effective health services.

Youth leaders who joined the camp emphasized the importance of youth governance and leadership, especially in encouraging more people to trust MR-OPV-SIA campaign and COVID-19 vaccines.

At the end of the camp, the leaders were able to form concrete health action plans for the localization of the campaign in their own communities.

Tristan Jenesis Arbues, Pilipinas Rotaract Multi-District Information Organization’s membership and engagement officer, and one of the attendees of the camp shared that the activities equipped them with the knowledge needed to mount immunization campaigns. She added how the organization was able to apply their learnings in their “End Polio Now” campaign, one of their main projects.

Arbues also added that after the Youth Governance Camp, they were more equipped and inspired to amplify the vaccination campaign of their community, expressing utmost support in dealing with the vaccination plan of the Philippines. 

A week after, BakUNA MUNA: An Immunization Youth Camp in Calabarzon was launched to address concerns on vaccination myths, vaccine manufacturing and administration, and immunization strategies.

Youth from all around Calabarzon joined bakUNA MUNA camp last February 27 to 28, where they were able to craft empathy maps to understand the various perspectives of the masses on the different COVID-19 vaccines.

BakUNA MUNA attendee Charie Seson said that she was inspired to take concrete steps in utilizing one’s potential in the collective realization of the community’s goal.

ALPHA said that baKUNA MUNA camp focuses on the foundational concept of the pandemic, combined with mitigation strategies from the home up to the community.

The camp also gave individual ownership to one’s role in the country’s collective health solutions to the pandemic.

“You have the power. You can change other people’s opinions,” Department of Health medical officer Dr. Samuel Antone Quizon reminds the camp’s participants of their strengths and capability to make a change.

Reaching more communities

ALPHA chief executive Samuel Madriaga voiced out that the main objective now is to move forward through reaching out, educating, and empowering more communities through the Angat Kalusugan Information Toolkit and their other campaign materials. 

ALPHA will also be localizing the campaign in various cities, municipalities, and provinces in the region through partnerships with those who share the same vision of building a healthier Filipino society.

The organization will also work on tapping the youth and various youth-led institutions to participate in the COVID-19 vaccination process by collaborating with their respective local health offices for a more transparent, participative, and efficient vaccination program.

Organizations like ALPHA, together with other advocates and professionals continue to promote awareness and education on vaccines and health.

Check out the saved live videos of the bakUNA MUNA Camp and other materials of the online information drive on ALPHA’s Facebook page. — Rappler.com