I am profoundly grateful to have been selected to be one of the Digital Advocates under the Elimination of Trans Fats in East Africa Region Campaign run by the International Institute for Legislative Affairs. The 6-month long initiative aims at laying the effective groundwork for successful elimination of partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) which have detrimental impact on our cardiovascular health. This project is policy focused aiming at petition governments to legislate on elimination of Trans Fatty Acids.
Given that the success towards elimination of IP-TFA is dependent of different levels of stakeholder engagement, IILA is keen to engage digital advocates in sharing knowledge and effective implementation of the project. The effective use of social media is an integral element of a policy advocacy campaign. Working strategically with the digital advocates in pushing for elimination of IP-TFA will help to create a favorable environment for policy change. Key stakeholders, such as policy-makers and key opinion leaders, can be drawn to the cause through effective and strategic social media advocacy. At the same time, consistent digital advocacy will build public awareness and inspire people to take direct action towards this cause. As a digital advocate myself, I am looking forward to working with IILA to eliminate the TFAs through effective digital advocacy and policy formulation.
ODUOR KEVIN 