Originally announced at the 2019 Reaching the Last Mile Forum, World NTD Day is an opportunity to translate awareness into action, secure increased resources for NTDs, and facilitate leadership and ownership of NTD programs from the most impacted countries.
Speak Up Africa partners with organisations and individuals from private and public sectors to increase awareness and action for the elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Leading impactful convenings in Francophone African countries, Speak Up Africa is spearheading initiatives with high-level stakeholders, private and civil society organizations, artists and the media, coming together by saying No to NTD.
Youth Leadership Initiative
To mark the fourth annual World NTD Day, held on January 30th, Reaching the Last Mile and Speak Up Africa launched the Youth Leadership Initiative (YLI) and co-hosted the first in a series of youth talks in Kaolack, Senegal.
The Talk brought together young advocates, government leaders, civil society, and private sector representatives to debate how young people can best be engaged in decision-making spaces to help cross the last mile of NTD elimination. Strong recommendations were made to local authorities and policy makers on the need for capacity building of targets and the importance of involving youth in the national effort to eliminate Neglected Tropical Diseases.
CIVIL SOCIETIES ORGANIZATIONS
Journalists
Through the Lines of Impact initiative, we collaborated with 8 French and English speaking journalists from West and East Africa to increase quality media production on NTDs and the need to involve youth in ending NTDs. In Kaolack, one of Senegal’s endemic areas for NTDs, we organised a « Media Tour » to enable journalists to interact with affected communities as well as a « Youth Talk » on youth engagement in fighting NTDs. Read more about the journalists of the Lines for Impact initiative:
Media Tour
The « Media Tour », a flagship component of the Lines of Impact initiative, offers journalists a tangible experience to interact with communities affected by health issues as well as actors involved in the response, research, and implementation of innovative solutions.
On the 2023 World NTDs Day, journalists from national and international media including RFI, West Africa Democracy Radio, Le Soleil, Vibes Radio Senegal, were invited to Kaolack, an endemic region for NTDs in Senegal.
Lines of Impact
In partnership with journalists across the continent, we are working to increase the quantity and quality of reporting on the issues we care about: neglected tropical diseases, malaria, immunisation, gender equality, research and development and sanitation.
Through this initiative, we are ensuring that these issues and their solutions are at the heart of media conversations.
By ensuring a steady stream of media coverage, the initiative raises awareness among the general public and our decision makers and amplifies the voices of those affected or marginalised across the continent.
Countries
To mark World NTD Day in 2021, and in close collaboration with NTD Programs throughout West Africa, The Monument de la Renaissance in Sénégal, Place de la Concertation in Niger, Monument du 22 Novembre in Guinea and the Etoile Rouge in Benin were part of a worldwide campaign, where more than 60 monuments in 40 cities and 24 countries were highlighted in Orange and Purple in a worldwide demonstration of unity in the fight against NTDs.
Senegal
Benin
Niger
Guinea Conakry
Painting to #EndTheNeglect - a fresco on the basketball court in Ouakam
In Senegal, Speak Up Africa teamed up with creative agency Yard, RBS Crew, the Basketball African League, Ecobank Foundation, Special Olympics and Sarah Diouf, Creative Director and Founder of Tongoro to create a fresco on a basketball court in Ouakam, at the foot of the Monument de la Renaissance, highlighting the neglect in neglected tropical diseases, and bringing attention to these devastating diseases.
