The number of children in Nigeria who die before their fifth birthday is one of the highest in the world.
Madubi (which means "reflection" 鈥� literally "mirror") is a Hausa-language radio drama helping families and communities in northern Nigeria make informed choices about immunising their children against life-threatening diseases such as polio.
The power of radio
The 15-minute weekly radio drama is broadcast in partnership with local radio stations in areas where levels of child immunisation are low and the risk of a polio outbreak is high.
The drama addresses the barriers to immunisation and aims to build family and community support for protecting child health. It does this by providing information about the causes and consequences of vaccine-preventable diseases, and by dispelling myths and misconceptions about immunisation. Listeners can engage with the programme via social media. Research shows that regular Madubi listeners are twice as likely to know that 鈥榗ontaminated water鈥�, and 1.7 times more likely to know that 鈥榚ating with dirty hands鈥� can transmit polio compared to non-listeners.
The drama is accompanied by radio and TV spots that explain how immunisation can protect child health and family life. The programme brings the discussion to the people with followed by discussion. One health worker, interviewed as part of the programme, said, "Immunisation doesn鈥檛 just protect one person, it protects a whole community."
Training local media
大象传媒 Media Action trainers are working with local radio stations in the focal states of Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Jigawa and Zamfara to boost technical production skills and understanding about immunisation. The training aims to improve the ability of local journalists to produce their own programmes and radio spots.
Read more about the impact of the project here: Tuning in and changing lives - the power of radio to reduce polio in Nigeria.
Project information
| Funder | Media Engagement for Supporting Demand Creation for Childhood Immunisation (MERCI) |
| Dates | December 2014 - 2017 |
| Donor | |
| Themes | Health |
| Outputs | Radio drama series; Community discussion programmes,radio and TV PSAs |
| Partners |
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