Project Spotlight

WHO Reaches Millions to Help End Mental Health Stigma

On behalf of Facebook, Upswell trained and supported the social media team at the World Health Organization (WHO) in the run-up to World Mental Health Day 2016. Our training focused on creating content people could use to care for the people they love, and on actively managing comments and community. WHO’s team came up with the Black Dog post. No ad money was ever spent on it, and to date it has been viewed more than 100 million times. The content has also had an impact on the lives of many thousands of people living with depression.

WHO set out to break the stigma around depression

WHO launched a Facebook campaign on World Health Day to support people living with depression. One in four people experience mental illness in their lifetime, yet the stigma around depression persists. The campaign aimed to break that stigma and encourage people to seek help. WHO’s flagship video was shared over 66,000 times, spreading awareness of depression and of the importance of seeking help for mental health issues.

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More Project Spotlights

Combatting Zika in Brazil

Upswell worked with UNICEF and Facebook to help Brazilians protect themselves and their loved ones from Zika. It was the first time Facebook data was used to shape a public health campaign. Much of the credit goes to the team at UNICEF Brazil, and we still count it among the best examples we have seen of social media data used to protect lives.

Social media campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccination in Nigeria

Upswell supported a data-driven social media campaign, built with 17 local organizations, to reduce COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among healthcare providers in six Nigerian states. An independent study found that it led to increased vaccination rates in the targeted states.