The Office of Gambia’s First Lady and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the country have partnered with star artists Jizzle and Sanna Singhateh, aka ST, to release songs to educate and sensitise the public on COVID-19 or coronavirus.
The first of the two songs produced by Jerreh Jallow, popularly known as Jizzle, was released on Friday. ST’s song will be released very soon, according to a statement on Saturday by the UNICEF office.
The First Lady of The Gambia, Fatoumatta Bah Barrow, hailed the collaboration with UNICEF and the two artists as an important milestone in the country’s fight against the coronavirus.
“Communication is vital to the containment of the spread of coronavirus. These songs will educate, inform and raise the awareness of the general public especially the youth and vulnerable members of society about the preventive measures and the symptoms of the virus.”
The First Lady has made a personal commitment to reach out to Gambians with proper information about COVID-19 and how they can protect themselves.
“We need the power of positive thinking more than ever before and I hope that these songs will be shared, and that the messages contained therein would naturally address any element of doubt or misconceptions that people may have about the pandemic.”
UNICEF’s Country Representative Sandra Lattouf said she believes the songs have the potential to awaken the public to the realities of the coronavirus and motivate people to take action to fight it and keep Gambia safe.
“These songs contain strong messages on preventive measures against the coronavirus. We are confident that people will learn from these messages and be inspired to take action to protect themselves and others around them,” she said.
“As members of the national COVID-19 taskforce, we have identified strategic priorities to support the government in keeping the people safe from the virus,” Ms. Lattouf said.