Social Norms
Social norms action with informed and engaged societies
Social Norms
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Dhibcaha Nolosha (Drops for Life)

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Dhibcaha Nolosha (Drops for Life) is a radio show that aims to improve understanding about polio and challenge negative attitudes towards vaccination. Created in response to a polio outbreak in Somalia that started in May 2013 (a country with no outbreaks in the previous 6 years), the 15-minute magazine show is broadcast on the BBC Somali Service and is produced by BBC Media Action. Funded by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the show aims to tackle extremely low levels of polio immunisation in the country which could, the UN has warned, lead to an epidemic across the entire region.

Communication Strategies

This radio programme sets out to improve understanding - explaining what polio is, how it is transmitted, and how the vaccine works. One way of doing so is to draw on health advice and research in an effort to dispel myths and increase support for polio vaccination. After an expert explains the issue of the week, there is an on-air discussion among people with different views of that week's topic.

 

Dhibcaha Nolosha incorporates personal stories and audience feedback; this is a strategy for providing a space in which the audience can ask questions and have their fears allayed. The programme also takes into account the fact that some people believe that polio vaccination is dangerous, which has led to attacks on health workers and vaccinators. According to BBC Media Action, in addition to telling the personal stories of vaccinators, Dhibcaha Nolosha is careful to engage respectfully with those in the audience who may disagree with the concept of vaccination.

Development Issues

Immunisation and Vaccines

Key Points

As Somalia recovers from decades of conflict and natural disasters, BBC Media Action cites estimates showing that one million children in that country are at risk of polio, which can cause permanent paralysis and for which there is no treatment or cure. Only 17% of children in Somaliland receive the recommended 3 doses of polio vaccine before age 1; in Puntland, this figure is just 8%. In South Central Somalia, immunisation levels have been extremely low for the past 3 years.

 

During pretesting of the programme, some of the comments from participating mothers include:

  • "Before [I listened to the pilot episode,] I thought polio was a traditional illness. I didn't know that it's such a dangerous disease and that it's something that can be prevented by a vaccine."
  • "Many people who didn't know the importance of vaccination will now understand it after listening to the programme."
  • "I always thought that these vaccines were infecting us with something else but now I know the vaccine is for prevention."
Partners

BBC Media Action, with UNICEF funding

Sources

BBC Media Action website, accessed September 22 2014. Image credit: © Getty Images