With vaccinations becoming a hot political issue over the last few years, a UK nonprofit is kicking off a campaign to help drive “conversations about vaccines, community protection, trust and working together in research.”
Part of that campaign includes the launch of a new comic, One for All, All for One, that’s available digitally today and will be released in print later this month. The comic is written by Planet Divoc-91’s Nabeel Petersen and illustrated by Cape Town street artist Mohamed Hassan.
“Vaccines are one of the most effective tools that we have to protect people against life-threatening infections,” said Prof. Bella Starling, co-director of One for All, All for One. “Yet vaccine hesitancy is on the increase worldwide, prompted by misinformation, poor access and infrastructure, suboptimal communication from clinicians, public health and policy makers, and lack of awareness. For me, the co-creation of the comic’s narrative (with scientists, healthcare workers, community and faith leaders, young mothers, young adults and artists) is one of the most important aspects of this project.”
Here’s the description from We Are Vocal:
Drawn by young South African street artist Mo, the story stars teenagers Tadala and Mayeso. Caught up in the flurry of voices surrounding them, the pair examine a wide range of information to develop their own conclusions about vaccines. With the help of family, scientists and their community, they also discover how they can have a say in research.
The comic reflects the views and experiences of young people, students, community-based youth groups, young parents, health surveillance assistants, community and faiths leaders, artists and researchers in the global South and North, who were all involved in creating it. The comic also draws on sound scientific and social science research.
“We chose comics as the medium because they cross cultural boundaries and allow for audiences of all literacy levels,” Petersen said. “We hope that the comics will encourage people, policy-makers and researchers to think further about how they might collaborate in equitable and positive ways.”
Here’s a look at some of the interior pages:
Print copies will be available later this month, timed for release with The Global Health Network Conference 2022 in South Africa.