Award-Winning Health Campaigns You Should Learn From

"Wisdom is like a baobab tree; no one individual can embrace it." — Ghanaian proverb

Now and then, a health campaign emerges from the thick fog of generic posters and boring PowerPoint decks and slaps you with brilliance. It makes you laugh, cry, question your life decisions—or at least remember to wear a mask. In Africa, where health communication often contends with 11 official languages, erratic electricity, and village gossip more powerful than Google, pulling off a successful campaign is no small feat.

But some teams have cracked the code. Below are award-winning health campaigns across Africa that combined creativity, cultural relevance, and that magic ingredient—authenticity.

1. MTV Shuga – "Down South" (South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya)

Award: Peabody Award, AfriCAN Award, United Nations-endorsed

MTV Shuga isn’t just your average soap opera. It’s a sizzling, youth-driven TV series and transmedia campaign that teaches everything from HIV prevention to consent and mental health—with plot twists worthy of Nollywood.

Its real genius? Companion radio dramas, WhatsApp chatbot counselling, live drama roadshows, and even comic books. This isn’t "edu-tainment", it’s edutainment on vibes and steroids.

📚 MTV Staying Alive Foundation. (2024). MTV Shuga: Igniting change through storytelling. https://www.mtvshuga.com

2. The Nivi Campaign – AskNivi (Kenya & Nigeria)

Award: Global Digital Health Award, 2022

Let’s face it, most people would rather ask Google or their nosy aunt about sexual health than speak to a nurse. Nivi flipped that script by launching a WhatsApp chatbot, “AskNivi”, offering private, judgement-free SRH advice, and referrals to trusted clinics.

Think of it as your cool, educated cousin who gives accurate advice without judging your situationship.

📚 Nivi. (2022). AskNivi: Empowering people through digital health tools. https://www.asknivi.com

3. Durex Ghana – "No One Gets Left Behind" (Ghana)

Award: SABRE Awards Africa, 2023

Durex took a humorous but bold approach to safe sex with their campaign using talking condoms, slang, and Ghanaian humour to destigmatise condom use. Their ads ran in taxis, barber shops, university hostels—and let’s just say, the streets were talking.

One animated condom famously said, “If you won’t use me, at least return me to the pack!” A whole mood.

📚 Holmes Report. (2023). SABRE Africa Awards: Health Campaigns. https://www.provokemedia.com

4. Ministry of Health Egypt – "100 Million Seha" (100 Million Healthy Lives)

Award: WHO Recognition, 2020

This massive national campaign aimed to screen more than 60 million people for hepatitis C and NCDs. The campaign included everything: mobile vans, door-to-door testing, SMS alerts, public rallies—even footballers as health ambassadors.

In true Egyptian fashion, they blended old-school mobilisation with digital reporting dashboards, proving that even the pyramids can go paperless.

📚 World Health Organization. (2020). Egypt eliminates hepatitis C through mass campaigns. https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/egypt-s-success-in-eliminating-hepatitis-c

5. Zambia’s Ministry of Health – "Tuma Hospital" Animation Series

Award: UNFPA Zambia Impact Communications Grant, 2021

This hilarious animated YouTube series educates youth on reproductive health through the antics of a fictional hospital staff. It’s clever, unfiltered, and packed with humour and real-life issues—like explaining contraceptives to your crush or dodging family planning myths.

You laugh, you learn, and next thing, you're Googling how to volunteer at your local clinic.

📚 UNFPA Zambia. (2021). Tuma Hospital: Animation meets health education. https://zambia.unfpa.org

6. Kasha – E-Commerce Meets Education (Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa)

Award: Cartier Women’s Initiative Laureate, 2021

Kasha isn't just a digital store for women’s health products—it’s a digital campaign wrapped in empowerment. From social media storytelling to SMS nudges, they’ve helped normalise buying pads, condoms, and family planning tools online.

Because sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is order a pregnancy test kit from your phone—without that kiosk auntie raising eyebrows.

📚 Kasha. (2021). Empowering women through health and tech. https://www.kasha.co

What Made These Campaigns Win?

Let’s be honest—some campaigns die the moment they leave a donor’s PowerPoint. But these succeeded because they:

• Used humour and local languages (and slang!)

• Leveraged mobile and WhatsApp for scale

• Trusted storytelling over lecturing

• Partnered with real community influencers (not just verified Twitter accounts)

• Made it easy for audiences to act, not just clap

And as every auntie in a church health committee knows, the secret sauce is relevance.

Lessons for African Healthpreneurs

Whether you're building the next healthtech app or pitching a malaria awareness programme in Kampala, remember this:

"When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind." — African proverb

The roots of a strong campaign lie in culture, clarity, and creativity. Don’t be afraid to be a little crazy. As these award-winners show, if you make people feel something, you’ve already won half the battle.

References

Kasha. (2021). Empowering women through health and tech. https://www.kasha.co
MTV Staying Alive Foundation. (2024). MTV Shuga: Igniting change through storytelling. https://www.mtvshuga.com
Nivi. (2022). AskNivi: Empowering people through digital health tools. https://www.asknivi.com
UNFPA Zambia. (2021). Tuma Hospital: Animation meets health education. https://zambia.unfpa.org
World Health Organization. (2020). Egypt’s success in eliminating hepatitis C. https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/egypt-s-success-in-eliminating-hepatitis-c
Holmes Report. (2023). SABRE Africa Awards: Health Campaigns. https://www.provokemedia.com