Dr Sajjad Fazel: ‘Social media can be used for public good, not just celebrity gossip’
We spoke to Dr Sajjad Fazel, the Founder of the Swahili-language social media health service Afya Yako. Dr Fazel is a Tanzanian Doctor of Pharmacy, health writer and public health advocate. You can check out the Afya Yako project on Kwanza Tv and visit Dr Fazel’s Facebook, Twitter & Instagram accounts to find out more.
What is Afya Yako and when did you launch?
Afya Yako is a health initiative that I founded in June 2016. Afya Yako uses the reach of social media to educate the public on various health issues primarily focusing on diseases and health problems affecting the East African population. Afya Yako is a Swahili based health education and awareness program that started on twitter weekly, and has now spread to Facebook and Instagram.
What did you set out to achieve when you founded Afya Yako?
Tanzania is a country facing the double burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases. It is also a country with scarce and poor health infrastructure especially in rural areas. With the spread of smart phones and cheap 3G internet, I founded Afya Yako to educate the public on various health issues and also answer pressing health questions that they may have. A lot of NGO’s and health institutions focus on treatment rather than health education. Non-communicable diseases cannot be cured but managed. Hence, preventing them through promotion of a healthy lifestyle is very important.
What kind of impact have you created to date?
The impact is quite huge due to the appreciation and following of thousands of Tanzanians in regard to the Afya Yako Initiative. Afya Yako has impacted individuals in many ways; some have quit smoking, others have started eating healthy foods and keeping a diet. Some have started exercise groups and preach good health in their individual communities. Apart from individual impact, Afya Yako has created awareness on the harmful effects of shisha smoking which has partly assisted the government on the sheesha ban in August 2016. The initiative has also championed prevention of Non-Communicable diseases through lifestyle changes which the ministry of health has embraced late 2016. Through the Afya Yako initiative I have also advocated for blood donation drives, contraception use and many more. On another level, Afya Yako has brought a sense of realization to the Tanzanian population that social media can be used for the benefit of the public and not only for celebrity gossip as previously perceived.
How do you measure your impact?
I measure my impact through a very basic feedback method. I measure the public’s feedback on various health issues, and while this is not quantitative, it does give a deep qualitative view of the impact Afya Yako has on individuals and groups of people both in urban and rural areas.
How could you more effectively measure this impact?
The best way would be to gather all the followers of the initiative and administer an online survey in order to get some statistical data. This quantitative data would complement the qualitative information collected.
What is currently stopping you from being more effective?
Currently, I’m trying to expand the initiative to involve videos and text messages to reach a wider audience. This of course takes a lot of time and planning. I also need more man power to reach the full potential and am currently working on recruiting volunteers for the same.
What challenges have you had to overcome since you launched?
One of the main challenges is helping someone in a rural area who needs specialist advice and attention. An idea of having an online platform for specialist doctors to engage with the public is in the pipeline.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you got started?
I have learnt that there are some social media platforms that have a greater reach than others. I’ve also learnt that different types of content reach different numbers of people on social media as per the algorithms set. It is something that I learnt not so long ago after beginning the initiative and had I known it at the beginning, the reach may have been bigger and the content more precise.
Do you have any advice for other social entrepreneurs hoping to start a similar venture?
Yes, My advice to other social entrepreneurs is to first test out your idea, measure the impact and then think of scaling it up. Often entrepreneurs think about scaling up an idea without looking at the basics.
