World Aids Day 2019
I want to share this very important message with YOU! The youth! Please, HIV/AIDS is preventable. Your body is your temple and you have to take care of it! Use protection, love yourself and test yourself. And no matter how much you think you love someone, no one is worth your life! HIV/AIDS is not a death sentence, but it is a life sentence. I don’t want any of you to go through what I have been through and going through. It’s a looooooooong disease and you don’t only have to worry about taking your meds that will make you feel tired every day of your life and take them NON-STOP!! But you have to deal with stigma, discrimination, the anxiety of bloodwork! ‘Is my medication working? Am I developing resistance? Is my viral load up? Are my T-cells down?’ …And so much more!! PLEASE LISTEN TO MY MESSAGE AND SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS! You are important! Even if you are in a household where you are being told you are a NOTHING! Or will never amount to anything! YOU ARE SOMEONE! I am someone! Even though I was smashed since I was a little girl! I was that worm that became a butterfly! No matter what we all go through in life know we are worthy and we have to have self-love. AGAIN! HIV/AIDS is preventable! You don’t need this burden in life! Believe me… I hope you all listen closely because HIV is here… Don’t be another statistic when all you have to do is wear protection! Look at me! I am the face of HIV/AIDS I have been through it all…
#UkaniManje #WorldsAidsDay2019 #ahfzambia
For World AIDS Day 2019, the UkaniManje team paired with AHF Zambia to create a social media campaign to raise HIV awareness. The UkaniManje artists, whose collective social media platforms reach over 1 million people, posted pictures of themselves with signs explaining why they “wake up” to HIV. Followers were encouraged to post response pictures and AHF Zambia sponsored 50 t-shirts which were given to people who interacted with the social media campaign.
The UkaniManje artists shared on the platforms that they interact most with their fans. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter platforms were used. Each artist posted the following post and photos:
“UkaniManje! It’s time to wake up! Today is World AIDS Day, and HIV/AIDS is still the number 1 cause of death for Zambians aged between 15-59. Join us as we wake up to ending HIV/AIDS. Your best pictures with a message telling us how you will wake up to ending HIV/AIDS will win an UkaniManje t-shirt.” #ukanimanje #worldaidsday2019 #ahfzambia”
Artists (clockwise, starting top-left): Eprhaim – Son of Africa, Chileshe Bwalya, Able “God’s General,” Esther Chungu, Abel Chungu, Wezi Mhone, James Sakala
Collectively, the World AIDS Day posts over 7,545 “likes” and positive emoji reactions as well as 40 “shares” across the social media platforms. Additionally, many youth responded with their own pictures and responses creating an active and powerful dialog. Each artist gave away 5 t-shirts sponsored by AHF Zambia, thus further supporting and encouraging conversation.
Some sample responses from our campaign:
“Ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030, as we committed to in the Sustainable Development Goals, will require a continuous collaborative effort. #worldaidsday2019 #ahfzambia #ukanimanje”