The South African CAMO-Net Hub, in collaboration with the Cape Town Systematic Healthcare Action Research Project (C-SHARP) and local NGO Masincedane Community Service, has launched Phaphama Sibonisane – meaning “Wake up. Be alert. Let us learn together” – South Africa’s first community-led Indigenous antimicrobial resistance (AMR) awareness campaign.
The launch took place on 4 September 2026 at the Christian Fellowship Centre in Nomzamo Township, Western Cape. The campaign places the community at the heart of AMR education and awareness through culturally appropriate communication.
Co-created with the community
The campaign was co-created with 21 community health workers (CHWs), who are also members of the Nomzamo community. The process began with the first of three co-creation workshops and a baseline survey exploring community knowledge and awareness of AMR.
At the second workshop, the survey findings were presented, helping the CHWs identify the campaign’s key message: the importance of not sharing antibiotics. In response to gaps in community knowledge, they also selected a culturally relevant way to communicate this message.
Their choice? Poetry.
The CHWs identified a trusted member of the community to become the campaign champion. Working in isiXhosa, the champion developed an AMR awareness poem and first performed it for the 21 CHWs during the third workshop. Their feedback helped refine the language and message, ensuring that the final poem was relevant and meaningful to the community.
Phaphama Sibonisane – Wake up. Be alert. Let us learn together.
From poetry to action
The campaign launch brought together around 270 people, including representatives from the Provincial Department of Health, local health facilities, the South African Police Service, NGOs, religious and community leaders, and members of the Nomzamo community.
The campaign champion’s performance was a highlight of the event, demonstrating how local language, culture and trusted community voices can make complex health messages accessible and engaging.
Stakeholders welcomed the initiative and emphasised the importance of taking the AMR message beyond the launch to reach more people across the community. They also highlighted the potential to translate the poem into other local languages and adapt it for delivery by culturally relevant community champions in different settings.
Why it matters
Phaphama Sibonisane demonstrates the power of community-led health communication. Rather than simply delivering information to communities, CAMO-Net worked alongside community members to understand their knowledge, listen to their ideas and co-create a message in a format that resonates with them.
The campaign will run until World AMR Awareness Week, with a post-intervention survey planned to assess its impact on community knowledge.
The message is simple: Wake up. Be alert. Let us learn together.
