AU COVID-19 Vaccination Bingwa Initiative 2023 For Southern And Western Africa Regions (Fully-Funded)

Deadline: February 25, 2023

In April 2022, the chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC) officially launched an African Union public-private-youth initiative co-led by Africa CDC under the name “African Union COVID-19 Vaccination Bingwa Initiative” as part of the Africa CDC’s Programme of Saving Lives and Livelihoods.

Bingwa is the Swahili word for “Champion”. The initiative seeks to establish a network of COVID-19 vaccination youth champions across the continent to accelerate the uptake of COVID-19 vaccination in Africa.

Africa CDC is therefore announcing a call for applications for young Africans from the Southern and Western Africa regions who are motivated and willing to contribute to the acceleration of the COVID-19 vaccination uptake in their countries, to apply for the African Union COVID-19 Vaccination BINGWA initiative. The selected BINGWAs (champions) are expected to perform the following duties for a period of up to 12 months:

Develop a community engagement plan to mobilize their respective communities including friends and families to get vaccinated fully against COVID-19
Support capacity-building efforts to onboard social actors within the community to help mobilize for the COVID-19 vaccinations
Organize innovative youth-focused events to mobilize young people and the broader community to take up the COVID-19 vaccines e.g. Campaigns, community mobilization, peer-to-peer advocacy, etc.
Serve as AU/Africa CDC focal points for youth vaccination in their respective countries.
Participate in the capacity building training organized by Africa CDC in preparation for their deployment to respective countries/communities.
Document progress recorded in mobilizing their respective communities and the improvement in vaccination rates in their community.

Benefit

Africa CDC under Saving Lives and Livelihood Programme will provide a living allowance for a period of 12 Months to all the selected BINGWAs and meet all the costs associated with learning and development materials associated to the initiative including travel, daily allowance, and training organized by Africa CDC with the support of Packard Foundation and the Government of Canada.

Eligibility

Open to citizens and residents of:
- The Southern Africa Region. The following countries are part of the Southern Africa RCC region: the Republic of Angola, the Republic of Botswana, the Kingdom of Eswatini, the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Republic of Malawi, the Republic of Mozambique, the Republic of Namibia, the Republic of South Africa, Republic of Zambia and the Republic of Zimbabwe.
- Western Africa Region. The following countries are part of the Western Africa RCC region: Republic of Benin, Burkina Faso, Republic of Cabo Verde, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, Republic of Gambia, Republic of Ghana, Republic of Guinea, Republic of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Liberia, Republic of Mali, Republic of Niger, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Republic of Senegal, Republic of Sierra Leone and Togolese Republic.
Aged between 18 – 35 years (must be under the age of 35 when completing the 12 Months of service)
Possess a post-secondary education (Bachelor’s and/or Master’s will be an added value)
Available in 2022/23 to dedicate 12 (twelve) months as a BINGWA
Committed to living and working in their country for the entire duration of deployment
Proficient in the local language and at least one of the AU working languages (Arabic, English, French, Kiswahili, Portuguese, and Spanish)
Have at least 1-year verifiable community and/or youth engagement experience and 1-year professional work experience. (Experience in the Public Health domain will be an added advantage)
Must be fully vaccinated (Proof of vaccination is required)
Proven ability to use a computer system and familiarity with MS Office applications and social media tools/platforms
All applications should confirm their availability to travel for the week of training.

Application

Applicants are expected to fill out the application form online with their personal information, educational and professional background attaching a:

The statement briefly details why they want to become BINGWA and What are the challenges/gaps hampering vaccination in Africa and in their country specifically
Proof of Education achievements (degrees).
Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination status, and
A two (2) pages curriculum Vitae Maximum.