In Johannesburg, the Cities for Better Health Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative (COPI) has a new name – one that signals growing local ownership and a foundation for long-term change.
Johannesburg has given its fight against childhood obesity a name that belongs to the local government itself. What was once known as the Childhood Obesity Prevention Initiative (COPI) in Johannesburg will now be called Asibe Healthy: Jozi Kids.
The shift is more than a rebrand. It signals that the programme is not an external project with a technical title, but something communities can identify with and claim as their own. “Jozi” is the city’s widely used nickname, and pairing it with “Asibe Healthy” – isiZulu for “Let’s get healthy” – grounds the initiative in both local identity and local language.
That sense of familiarity matters. Across Johannesburg, the new name will appear in schools and the community when interventions roll out over the next few months, so children, teachers and parents can see it as a part of daily life. The aim is clear: to make healthier food, more physical activity and stronger wellbeing part of the culture, not just part of a project plan.
The decision to adopt the Asibe Healthy banner came from COPI Johannesburg’s steering committee, which includes the Gauteng Province Departments of Health and Education and the City of Johannesburg. By linking to an established provincial campaign, Jozi Kids becomes part of a trusted platform that communities already know. It also creates a foundation for scale, making it easier for other South African cities to adopt the model without starting from scratch.
For Gauteng’s health authorities, this is a way to embed prevention work in a long-term strategy. For Johannesburg, it is a chance to affirm its role in shaping the future of child health in the province.
The name itself was chosen deliberately. Local teams wanted something that could speak directly to families and signal permanence. A fresh visual identity ties Asibe Healthy: Jozi Kids to Gauteng’s broader public health and wellness efforts, helping it stand out while staying connected to the larger health movement.
This kind of visibility matters. It helps children, teachers, and families see the programme not as a pilot – but as a long-term commitment embedded in local systems.
In the coming months, Asibe Healthy: Jozi Kids will work with partners and schools to co-design a package of nutrition and physical activity interventions, which will initially be implemented in 10 schools in Soweto. Another 12 schools have been selected as comparison sites for data collection - they will also receive tailored support in other locally identified priority areas, such as literacy.
This co-designed approach reflects what local ownership makes possible: delivery that adapts to context, guided by the people closest to the challenges.
Learn more about COPI here: Childhood obesity prevention
