Gabadinho drums up support for Malawi immunisation campaign
Orlando Pirates striker Gabadinho Mhango has joined a cast of celebrities in promoting an immunisation campaign, which Unicef Malawi is championing during World Immunisation Week.
Unicef Malawi is confirmed to have engaged Mhango to drum up support for the week observed from April 24 to 30 under the theme Long Life for All.
In a recorded statement, Mhango added his voice to the significance of vaccines against life-threatening diseases.
“Together, we can dispel the myths, appreciate the legitimacy of vaccine development and ensure everyone has access to vaccines,” he said.
He said he was able to make it as a professional footballer because his parents vaccinated him as a baby.
The former Bloemfontein Celtic and Bidvest Wits forward said he felt obliged to encourage vaccines because he was a ‘dad too’.
More than 1.1 billion children have been immunised in the past 20 years, saving 4-5 million lives each year and helping to reduce child deaths by half.
UNICEF Malawi has also Mhango in a domesticated polio vaccination campaign awareness messages.
Mhango is, despite being starved game-time at Pirates, the poster boy of Malawi football, boasting some 55,000 followers on his Twitter handle.
His popularity has soared after singlehandedly dragging the Flames to an unprecedented Round of 16 for Cameroon’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations finals.
By Peter Kanjere