The World Health Organization (WHO) is betting on an innovative approach to stop preventable diseases: engaging digital influencers to directly convey prevention messages to the public through social media.
This strategy comes in the context of the cholera outbreak that has been affecting the country since January 2025, with 27,609 cases and 769 deaths recorded in 18 provinces. In addition to containment actions on the ground, the WHO has recognized the importance of occupying the digital space with life-saving content, especially among young people, where incorrect information often circulates.
Between May 15 and July 22, the WHO launched the digital campaign “Together Against Cholera,” which featured six Angolan influencers: Dr. Aurea de Carvalho, Carla Morais, Xofela, Leocádia Tamara, Maria Correia, and Stela de Carvalho. Six educational videos were produced and shared on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, with content focused on hygiene, sanitation, and public health.
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Monitoring data from the WHO’s social media pages show that the impact was significant: the videos exceeded 600,000 views, with an average of 3,353 likes, 100 shares, and 70 comments per post, totaling more than 20,000 interactions.
Television presenter Stela de Carvalho, who supported the initiative, highlighted its importance, stating: “Participating in this campaign was a way to use my voice to save lives.” For her part, influencer Xofela reinforced the social role of social media, emphasizing: “Campaigns like this show that social media can be used for the common good.”
According to João Carlos Domingos, WHO communications assistant in Angola, this approach is increasingly necessary: “Digital has become the main channel of information for many young people, but it is also where a lot of misinformation circulates. We need to fill that space with content that saves lives.”
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With the encouraging results of this campaign, the WHO in Angola intends to extend this strategy to other areas of public health, namely the prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, measles, and hepatitis.
The influencers involved have already expressed interest in continuing to collaborate, reinforcing the idea that digital communication, when well guided, can be a powerful ally of public health.
