The World Health Organization (WHO) has praised the efforts of young Saudis who launched a campaign against TB in the Kingdom earlier this year. The health awareness campaign “Million young people unite against tuberculosis” was organized by Saudi youth last March. The WHO has lauded the initiative and hoped that the new campaign next March would also be successful, according to Mohammed Bakhrieba, main organizer of the campaign and partner of the World Health Organization Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO). Thousands of young Saudis are preparing to participate in the campaign next March, he said. The campaign's organizing committee has chosen schools and universities to host events and plans to conduct activities in five mega malls in Jeddah to raise awareness against the deadly disease, particularly among the youth,” he said. The WHO said the participation of about 30,000 individuals in the earlier campaign not only attracted the attention of local media but also of networks, such as MBC and Rotana. This level of exposure allowed for health messages about tuberculosis to reach thousands of individuals locally and millions internationally. The event was also captured by online media outlets, such as YouTube and Facebook. One of the main reasons for the success of the efforts made was in organizing press conferences, and television and radio coverage. The youth, the sector which the organizers were most keen to target, were enticed by celebrities taking part in the event, such as Yousef Al-Jareh, host of cable television's talk show Adam. They were also captivated by the music created especially for the event and by the films about tuberculosis produced by young people. “This year we are targeting 100,000 individuals to deliver the message to 10 million people around the world with the help of the media,” Bakhrieba said. “At the moment we need 700 volunteers to help us with our work,” he said.
