Mr Ogweno Stephen was invited by the World Heart Federation to present at the World Heart Assembly in a very distinguished panel discussing the crucial topic of Why evidence no longer matters: Communicating heart health in a time of crisis. The all-star panel that tackled this topic included Maria Van Kerkhove, COVID-19 Technical Lead for World Health Organization, Petra Khoury, Director Health and Care Department for International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent , Stephen Ogweno, Founder and CEO of Stowelink Inc, Andrea Baer, Executive Director of Mended Hearts, Esti Nurjadin , Chairwoman of Indonesia Heart Foundation and was Moderated by: Borjana Pervan, Director of Communications and Strategy for World Heart Federation.
Some of the key points that were shared during this exciting discussion included:
- Trust has been identified as one of the most important ingredients for reaching people and having an impact on their actions. If there is trust, doors will be opened.
- Governments need to nudge their citizens, especially young people towards healthier living i.e. by introducing and giving a lot of priority to health practices in schools, i.e. through healthier school diets, physical activity spaces and routines and banning advertising of unhealthy products near schools, making the built environment support healthier living etc. Health communications needs to be simplified (different media, audio, visual , etc) and the focus needs to be on health, and healthy living, not just preventing a disease.
- By creating meaningful partnerships – we engage in programmes and partnerships with these mini-influencers and ambassadors where they are not only seen as icons to be admired, but they actually contribute to the programme, course or initiative that we partner to them with as meaningful contributors and partners. By finding them where they are – Influencers, advocates and role models are already strong in specific fields, that why we admire them. So as opposed to wanting them to fit into our agenda, we should empower them to be stronger at their agendas that make them attractive and meet them where they are with support and encouragement. If they are active on social media, don’t make them on ground ambassadors and vice versa.
The full recorded panel will be shared when its ready .
The World Heart Summit convenes world leaders in cardiovascular health in the heart of global health diplomacy, just ahead of the 75th World Health Assembly.
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STEPHEN OGWENO 