About the 2023 Awards

Since WHO first declared COVID-19 a public health emergency in 2020, scientific understanding of the virus and its characteristics has expanded rapidly, and as more information has been gathered, public health and social measures have had to be adjusted.¹

Many national health authorities and media outlets issued daily scientific and status updates, as well as guidance on new policy measures and prevention approaches. While such information played a significant role in shaping public understanding and behaviours, the volume and velocity of information made it difficult for people to digest.²

Thankfully, social media became a source of information and guidance, connecting us with global influencers, community activists and scientific specialists, who shared the latest updates and helped make sense of what was happening. These COVID-19 influencers used their platforms to share best practices and relay the latest changes surrounding the pandemic, building on efforts by health authorities and governments to keep us well informed and protected.

Social media allowed us to make sense of the pandemic.

More than a simple competition, the 2023 COVID-19 Influencers Social Media Awards provide a safe space to honour the social media users who helped combat misinformation and drive understanding of the pandemic when we needed it most.

The UniteHealth Social Media Awards were first established in 2014 to recognize the vital roles played by social media users in relation to key global health and sustainable development issues, and have three focused goals in 2023, to:

Identify and honour the COVID-19 influencers who emerged during the pandemic, and introduce them to wider audiences and across multiple platforms;

Support the pandemic recovery phase
by bolstering the valued social media connections that the pandemic has catalysed; and

Strengthen preparedness against future pandemics and disease outbreaks by sharing lessons learned around social media ‘network readiness’.

The Awards Team

Tim France (PhD)

Awards Producer

Khawndao Lubinski

Project Manager

Punchita Singkaew

Nominations Manager

Lisa Rice-Duek

Partnerships Adviser

Anthony Armenta

Content Developer

Prajuab Tunyu

Web Developer

Benya Rattanawichai

Graphic Designer

Chisomo N Msoffe

Social Media Manager

Kerrie Hirst

Events Manager

The Awards are convened by UniteHealth, a community-focused organization dedicated to advancing global health through the strategic use of social media. Its mission is to recognize and celebrate excellence in the use of these tools, and to facilitate ongoing dialogue and discussion surrounding key themes and challenges in the field of global health.

The UniteHealth Social Media Awards have been successfully held twice in the past, focusing previously on ‘Health System Strengthening’ (in 2014) and ‘Malaria Heroes’ (in 2015).