While scrolling through their newsfeeds in August, nearly 28,500 Facebook users in Sierra Leone saw a graphic of a health worker wearing a superhero cape accompanied by the message: “Health workers know how to safely test for and treat malaria, even during COVID-19. If you have a fever, they’re ready to help you. Let’s fight malaria together! Defeat COVID-19!”
This was just one of 60 Facebook posts targeted at people in 10 U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) partner countries in sub-Saharan Africa during the #SeekCareForFever campaign. Featuring tailored messages in English, French (#SeFaireConsulterEnCasDeFièvre), and local languages, the campaign encouraged Facebook users to get tested for malaria within 24 hours of the onset of fever. Through memorable, easy-to-understand, multimedia posts, the campaign also assured families that health facilities and providers were taking precautions to keep patients safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Working closely with Facebook, PMI launched the campaign to overcome two challenges created by the current pandemic: (1) fewer people seeking care for fever due to fears about COVID-19 and (2) limitations on promoting malaria prevention and treatment behaviors when in-person outreach activities are restricted due to safety concerns.
Malaria care efforts have long included the recommendation to seek care for fever within 24 hours. However, the emergence of COVID-19 has drastically changed the care-seeking habits of populations around the world. Public opinion polls across 18 African countries show that about 45 percent of people needing health care services ultimately delayed, skipped, or were unable to complete health care visits. Unable to speak to these concerns through normal in-person channels such as community theater performances, PMI, as a rapid and inexpensive adaptation, turned to social media to reinforce life-saving messages about continuing to seek care for fever, even during the pandemic.
Facebook, in close collaboration with PMI and implementing partner Breakthrough ACTION, developed the campaigns’ videos and customizable templates for posting. Teams from the countries received comprehensive training and support on developing and promoting content on Facebook, access to the customizable creative content, and Facebook ad credits aimed at extending the reach of the campaign.
Launched on August 20, World Mosquito Day, the campaign reached nearly one million Facebook users in the first week. By September 20, #SeekCareForFever had reached over 4.7 million Facebook users, including approximately 38 percent of all Facebook users in Liberia, 39 percent in Niger, and 65 percent in Sierra Leone. Throughout the campaign, over 387,000 users engaged with the posts by liking, commenting, or sharing the content.
Even after social distancing guidelines and other COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, the teams trained through this activity will continue to complement and add value to malaria prevention and treatment programs through social media efforts. Already, they have started using social media to promote other essential malaria prevention measures, such as encouraging everyone to sleep under a mosquito net, pregnant mothers to take malaria prevention medication during pregnancy, and parents to give their children the full course of malaria prevention medication.
