African football stars raise awareness of coronavirus on social media

A man in a protective mask walks past a poster depicting Egyptian footballer Mohamed Salah in Cairo on May 18, 2020.

Several African football stars have taken part in a social media campaign to raise awareness among Africans about methods of preventing coronavirus, according to a statement from the Confederation of African Football (CAF). Entitled “Stay Safe for Africa,” this campaign uses the keyword # 19KickUpsAgainstCovid19 on social media. She invites legends of African football to record videos of them performing 19 juggles.

Launched by CAF and Speak Up Africa, a militant platform for sustainable development, the campaign has already brought together videos from Ahmed Hassan (Egypt), Perpetua Nkwocha (Nigeria), Joseph Yobo (Nigeria), Karim Haggui (Tunisia) and Trésor Lomana Lualua (Democratic Republic of the Congo). In addition to football stars, anyone can participate by posting their own video and calling on five other people to do so.

" This initiative (…) aims to empower communities and individuals to take simple and effective preventive measures against the transmission of the virus ”, explains CAF in its press release. It is "Saving lives through awareness" in Africa, she says. "Even if the football season has been suspended, we must all stand together, respecting physical distance, in order to combat this disease and misinformation", hammered Anthony Baffoe, CAF deputy secretary general, who himself posted a video.

To date, the African continent has officially registered nearly 210,000 cases of Covid-19, including more than 5,600 deaths. CAF notes that "The high population densities, community life or even limited access to water and sanitation" are risk factors that can accelerate the spread of the virus in Africa.

The World with AFP

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