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Publication date: February 2022

Authors: Akunna Penny, Manju Gautam, Alasdair Stuart

As part of the , ´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action produced a radio drama, Story Story, accompanying social media content, public service announcements (PSAs) and provided training with local media practitioners, to tackle stigma and discrimination around disability in Nigeria. This content was broadcast from November 2020 to November 2021 through local radio partners in six states – Enugu, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Kano, Kaduna, Kogi and Lagos and on ´óÏó´«Ã½ World Service.

This briefing draws on a literature review and key insights from ´óÏó´«Ã½ Media Action’s mixed-methods evaluation of the drama conducted in June and July 2021. The evaluation included a large-scale quantitative household survey and qualitative research in the six states.

It examines the evidence for using drama to address disability-related stigma, discusses lessons on how best to engage audiences on disability inclusion through media and evaluates the impact of the Story Story drama on audiences. It also includes examples of characters, storylines and dialogues to illustrate how the drama addressed disability inclusion and related stigma.

Around half of Story Story listeners with disabilities (48%) said they liked the drama because it addressed issues that concerned them, suggesting (like other listeners) that the drama effectively addressed disability-related topics.

Advanced statistical analysis (controlling for other factors) showed that regularly listening to, and engagement with, Story Story was significantly associated with more positive attitudes towards people with disabilities.

This briefing concludes by reflecting on what the evaluation tells us about the role that media and communication, specifically drama, can play in supporting disability inclusion and tackling disability-related stigma and discrimination.

To learn more about the insights uncovered from this research please see the document above. Further information on the project and our work to promote equity, diversity and inclusion can be found via the links below.