With funding from USAID, CCI is working with the National Department of Health, Provincial Departments of Health and other partners to implement Risk Communication and Community Engagement in all nine Provinces of South Africa. Specifically, CCI is mandated to support the following RCCE competencies.

Risk Communication Systems: Support the South African Government to engage with the mobile service providers to publicize COVID-19 key messages using the mobile companies platforms and develop a media monitoring feedback loop with the broadcasters.

Internal and partner Coordination: Support the establishment of Communication Coordination streams to ensure alignment and avoid duplication; provide input at RCCE Technical Working Group meetings; and support a partner mapping exercise and support national level risk communication and community engagement orientation workshops with key sectors including transport, tourism, home affairs, DIRCO, CSOs, basic education, agriculture, traditional practitioners, etc.

Public Communication: Using innovative approaches, produce evidence-based messages, communications materials and dissemination approaches; support for the development of IEC material including translation and rebranding of established (NDOH, CDC, WHO) messaging and media toolkits into local languages, as well as tailoring imagery and messaging for local consumption; adapt key messages on prevention and myth-busting for use on social media platforms- Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; adapt key messages on prevention and myth-busting for short messages (USSD) platform; support dissemination of factsheets from Government (National and Provincial); produce content (scripts) and translate for community radio stations; buy media spots (airtime) on community and regional radio stations to disseminate messages; and support stakeholders with scripts and live reads for Interviews on Radio, social media, etc.

Community Engagement: Engage priority communities (using on the ground platforms) to adopt prevention protocols and communicate prevention messages; engage community leaders (traditional, political, faith, etc.) in high-risk communities as part of entry and to sensitize and provide them with messaging; and support door-to-door visits/sensitization in high-risk settings through the provision of risk communication messages to community structures

Addressing uncertainty and perception and managing misinformation: Conduct a landscaping analysis to document existing processes for rumors and fake news monitoring; develop a rumor monitoring system for use to track and monitor misinformation and fake news; conduct social media analytics and produce weekly summary reports, and track myths and misconceptions and issue weekly corrections. CCI contributes to the weekly Social Listening report for South Africa and is part of the Africa Infodemiology Response Alliance (AIRA).

Capacity Building: CCI supports capacity building efforts including planning for COVID-19 capacity building webinars.  

Department of Basic Education COVID-19 vaccination programme: CCI is supporting the Department of Basic Education with communication for the Basic Education sector vaccination rollout programme. The programme targets to reach 582,000 teachers and non-teaching staff in the sector.

For more information contact Mogale at Mogale@ccisa.org.za